'Tourist tax' comes into force in the Lagoa municipality
Lagoa has joined the 5 existing Algarve municipalities charging tourist tax, as of April 13th, reportedly to "allow improvements to be made to municipal public and private assets".
Vila Real de Santo António, Faro, Olhão and Portimão were already charging the tourist tax. Albufeira's mayor, José Carlos Rolo, has revealed plans to start charging a tourist tax in May this year.
In a statement released by the Lagoa municipality, the tourist tax, "is configured as a new source of financing that, in a complementary logic, will allow improvements to be made to municipal public and private assets, in the provision of public information and support services to tourists and cultural and recreational services, in a municipality where tourism plays a fundamental role in the economy".
The tax, whichi is 1 euro per night, per person in low season (between 1 November and 31 March) and 2 euros per night, per person in high season (between 1 April and 31 October), is charged, up to a maximum of seven nights in a row, to all guests aged 13 years or over, staying at tourist resorts and local accommodation establishments, such as: hotels, inns, apartment hotels, tourist villages, tourist apartments, tourist complexes/resorts, residential tourism enterprises, tourism enterprises in rural areas, camping and caravan parks, and local accommodation (house, apartment, accommodation establishments, including hostels).
According to the municipality, those that are exempt from the tax are:
- 12 year olds and under
- guests with disabilities, with a disability equal to or greater than 60%
- national and foreign students who enter the University of Algarve and who use tourist resorts and local accommodation establishments at the beginning of each academic year, up to a maximum of 60 consecutive days
- guests whose stay is motivated by medical treatment, including an accompanying person
- guests whose stay is the subject of a proven offer by a tourist enterprise or local accommodation establishment
The collection of the fee, which is then paid to the Municipality of Lagoa, is done by tourist establishments on an electronic platform created by the municipality for this purpose. For this service they are owed a commission of 2.5%, plus VAT at the legal rate in force.
Vila Real de Stº António: Man seriously injured in a collision between car and moped
A collision between a moped and a car yesterday afternoon on the municipal road 511, known as Estrada da Mata, near the Vila Real de Stº António lighthouse, has seriously injured a 53 year old Portuguese man.
The alert was given at 5:14 pm, resulting in an INEM helicopter being dispatched to the scene, in which the seriously injured man was transported to Faro Hospital.
The other driver, a 49 year old Spanish woman, was slightly injured and was transported to the same hospital unit, in a Tavira Fire Department ambulance.
In total, 20 emergency crew were involved in the relief operation, supported by 7 vehicles from the Vila Real de Stº António / Castro Marim Volunteer Firefighters, Tavira Municipal Firefighters, INEM, PSP and the Municipal Civil Protection Service.
Olhão: Woman arrested for stabbing her partner to death
A woman was arrested and detained after, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, fatally attacking her partner with a knife last Friday, in Olhão.
Believed to be drunk, she accused her partner of having a lover and stabbed him with a knife, causing his death.
“The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the preventive detention of the detainee, which was granted by the Criminal Investigation Judge”, according to a statement from the Public Prosecutor's Office of the District of Faro.
This decision was taken after the Public Prosecutor of the Olhão section of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) presented the first judicial interrogation of the 35 year old woman to the Criminal Investigation Court of Faro, who indicted her for a crime of qualified homicide of her 50 year old partner.
According to the Public Prosecutor's report, last Friday, in a house in Olhão, “the detainee bit her partner on the forehead” and then, at around 11:00p.m., after accusing him of having a lover, the suspect “equipped herself with a knife and, under an apparent alcoholic state, struck her companion in the right pectoral region and left dorsal region, causing his death”.
After the crime, “the woman left the scene” and the following morning “surrendered herself to the PSP police station” in Olhão.
After the attack, the victim was rescued at the scene by emergency teams, but it was not possible to perform resuscitation, and death was declared at the scene by the doctor from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).
Silves council allocates half a million euros to local institutions and associations
The Municipality of Silves has signed contracts worth 508,000 euros with almost 100 local institutions and associations, including various local cultural support programs; social, sporting and youth associations.
During the ceremony, the president of Silves City Council, Rosa Palma, thanked the institutions present for the "extraordinary work" they have carried out in the municipality.
"In addition to the logistical resources provided by the municipality to the associative community, the total value attributed, through municipal support programs, has been increasing annually, a very positive factor in leveraging local associations, which is strengthened", said the mayor.
