The RFGA is once again requesting a lower VAT rate for golf courses.

The headquarters of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation (RFGA) hosted yesterday a meeting attended by the following participants Ángel de la RivaPresident of the RFGA; Miguel NavarroSecretary General and Manager of the federation; Agustín Almodóbar, Senator for the province of Alicante and Spokesman for Tourism of the PP in the Senate; Margarita del Cid, President of the RFGA; Miguel Navarro, General Secretary and Manager of the FederationMargarita del Cid, National Deputy for Malaga and Deputy Spokeswoman of the PP in the Tourism Commission of the Congress of Deputies; and Carlos Pitarch, Member of the Golf Commercial Committee of the RFGA.

The objective of this meeting was to make known the concerns of the golf sector and to request greater collaboration from the political authorities in the strengthening, promotion and competitiveness of this vital tourism segment for Andalusia.

In this regard, the RFGA has once again insisted on the need to restore golf to the category of tourist activity, which would mean returning to the reduced rate of 10%, and which since the end of 2012 has been 21%.

This reestablishment of the Value Added Tax at 10% for golf courses would contribute to the recovery and enhancement of a sector already weakened by the complex socioeconomic situation and which competes on inferior terms with other European, African and Asian destinations.

According to various studies, since September 2012 golf tourism in Spain has not grown as it has in Europe. Thus, in this period, in Europe there has been a 17% growth in golf tourism revenues, but in Spain the trend has been the opposite and there has been a decline of more than 3.5%.

It should be recalled that last April 22, several members of the RFGA participated in another meeting in Madrid with Miguel Ferré, Secretary of State for Finance, with the same topic of discussion: the application of the general VAT rate of 21% to the golf tourism industry.

Photo: From left to right, Carlos Pitarch, Margarita del Cid, Angel de la Riva, Agustin Almodobar and Miguel Navarro.