When Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry’s largest and most important event, was cancelled earlier this month due to fears over the coronavirus, it did more than simply cancel an event. It wiped out an expected half-billion-dollar influx into the Spanish economy.
That means a lot of empty hotel rooms over the course of the week. Restaurants that were booked months in advance will look at open tables. Meanwhile, taxi drivers, temporary workers, and others involved in the event will see significant revenue drops this quarter.
Spain, with a standard 21% VAT rate, will also take a hit. Based on last year’s £420M spent by visitors during the week, the government can expect to miss out on over £82M in VAT payments this quarter. That’s money that the government built their budgets around, which may lead to government programs being reduced or cut.
Source: way2vat.com
