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Hi,
We're operating a modestly sized resort and during the afternoon of 6th December our local municipal announced upon us, backdated to 4th December, an additional 10% tax on our accommodations, with immediate effect and they have ordered, quote, "An additional 10% based on gross receipts shall be collected at the end of every month" ... and that is all they have ordered.
But, municipal clerks have delivered to us a quantity of "Weekly Guest Reports" that they dictate that we must complete for them to collect every Monday and amongst the information they are demanding is the name of the guest, their gender, their nationality, the type of accommodation they are occupying and their room number.
Now my background is from the airline industry and, unless in exceptional circumstances and/or required by a law enforcement agency, it is illegal for airlines to divulge personal informations of their customers, it's considered confidential information.
We've already had a local man or few looking through a pretty lady's bathroom window so we're very loathe to divulge personal informations of guests unnecessarily and unless there is a law that determines that we must do so.
By the order of the local municipal we must pay an additional 10% of our accommodations revenue every month end, there is no order that we must divulge guest personal informations and it is irrelevant if they are male or female, black or white, in room five, six or seven or if the room has one bed or two beds, they all pay the same 10% tax!
Tourists normally register at a service desk on their way in to town so we're confident that this is the local municipal wanting to compare those tourist informations with the amount of tourists that are being declared for this 10% tax by the resorts.
But this is a confidentiality issue, one of our semi-regular guests is a local dignitary who stays with us whilst enjoying his discreet affair with his mistress and this is just one example of why we should, and need to, be keeping our guest informations confidential.
So, please, my question is can the municipal legally demand such informations from us and/or are we legally entitled to decline to divulge such informations?
Thank you
We're operating a modestly sized resort and during the afternoon of 6th December our local municipal announced upon us, backdated to 4th December, an additional 10% tax on our accommodations, with immediate effect and they have ordered, quote, "An additional 10% based on gross receipts shall be collected at the end of every month" ... and that is all they have ordered.
But, municipal clerks have delivered to us a quantity of "Weekly Guest Reports" that they dictate that we must complete for them to collect every Monday and amongst the information they are demanding is the name of the guest, their gender, their nationality, the type of accommodation they are occupying and their room number.
Now my background is from the airline industry and, unless in exceptional circumstances and/or required by a law enforcement agency, it is illegal for airlines to divulge personal informations of their customers, it's considered confidential information.
We've already had a local man or few looking through a pretty lady's bathroom window so we're very loathe to divulge personal informations of guests unnecessarily and unless there is a law that determines that we must do so.
By the order of the local municipal we must pay an additional 10% of our accommodations revenue every month end, there is no order that we must divulge guest personal informations and it is irrelevant if they are male or female, black or white, in room five, six or seven or if the room has one bed or two beds, they all pay the same 10% tax!
Tourists normally register at a service desk on their way in to town so we're confident that this is the local municipal wanting to compare those tourist informations with the amount of tourists that are being declared for this 10% tax by the resorts.
But this is a confidentiality issue, one of our semi-regular guests is a local dignitary who stays with us whilst enjoying his discreet affair with his mistress and this is just one example of why we should, and need to, be keeping our guest informations confidential.
So, please, my question is can the municipal legally demand such informations from us and/or are we legally entitled to decline to divulge such informations?
Thank you
