http://images.travelpod.com/users/kochwebb/1.1246333793.hotel-girls.jpgRome is considering a hotel tax on the 9 million visitors to the Eternal City each year, a revenue- raising measure that may hurt tourism in the Italian capital and put further pressure on its credit rating.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government proposed the levy to reduce the 500 million euros ($600 million) it contributes annually to help Rome control 9.6 billion euros of debt. Italy authorized the initiative in its 24.9 billion-euro budget-cutting plan, prompting Standard & Poor’s on May 27 to change the outlook on Rome to negative, saying the government was scaling back its commitment to bolster the city’s finances.