The economic benefits of tourism activity
have led Portuguese municipalities to seek new financial
resources that allow them to face new public expenses
to mitigate the adverse effects of such growth, creating
public policies that incorporate those effects. This
research aims to analyse existing municipal tourist tax
regulations in Portugal, creating a conceptual framework
to compare them. A content analysis of municipal regulations
on tourist taxes was carried out through a qualitative
approach. A conceptual framework was developed with
several variables, including taxpayer incidence and age,
total and partial exemptions, maximum charges, collection
fees, administrative violations, and economic and
financial justification. Afterwards, a review of existing
regulations was conducted. Despite the economic benefits
derived from tourism activity, there has been a growing
concern among public authorities about its significant
and rapid growth. The negative externalities are a reality
that must be considered when creating and implementing
public policies. To the authors’ knowledge, no framework
is available to compare municipal regulations related to
tourist taxes in Portugal. This research has practical and
theoretical implications for researchers and municipalities
that have already implemented or are planning to
implement such regulations.
