Magazine for the professional car and truck rental industry.
Issue link: https://autorentalnews.epubxp.com/i/90712
INDUS T R Y NE WS TRAVEL TAXES: BEST AND WORST CITIES RANKED IN GBTA'S 2012 REPORT DISCRIMINATORY TRAVEL TAXES AND FEES enacted on travel-related services impose an average increased cost on visitors of 57% over general sales tax, according to new research released by the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). Findings from the 2012 annual study of car rental, hotel and meal taxes in the top 50 U.S. travel destination cities found these taxes are often used to fund local projects unrelated to TOTAL TRAVEL TAX BURDEN Lowest Combined Single Day Travel Taxes Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ....................................... $22.21 Fort Myers, Fla. ............................................... $22.21 West Palm Beach, Fla. .................................... $22.21 Detroit, Mich. .................................................. $22.37 Portland, Ore. .................................................. $22.45 Orange County, Calif. ...................................... $22.79 Burbank, Calif. ................................................ $23.74 Ontario, Calif. .................................................. $24.08 Honolulu, Hawaii ............................................. $24.38 Orlando, Fla. ................................................... $24.50 DISCRIMINATORY TRAVEL TAX BURDEN Lowest Discriminatory Increase Over General Sales Tax Burbank, Calif. ................................................ $1.81 Orange County, Calif. ...................................... $3.36 Ontario, Calif. .................................................. $4.66 San Diego, Calif. ............................................. $5.43 Los Angeles, Calif. .......................................... $5.95 Oakland, Calif. ................................................. $5.95 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ....................................... $7.17 Fort Myers, Fla. ............................................... $7.17 Tampa, Fla. ..................................................... $7.17 West Palm Beach, Fla. .................................... $7.17 ANNUAL MEETING 12 November/December 2012 RENT-A-WRECK, PRICELESS GATHER FOR Franchisees from Rent-A-Wreck and Priceless Rent-A-Car gathered with home offi ce staff for the company's annual convention Oct. 16-17 at the Tuscany Suites in Las Vegas. AUTO RENTAL NEWS Highest Discriminatory Increase Over General Sales Tax Portland, Ore. .................................................. $22.45 Boston, Mass. ................................................. $19.17 Chicago, Ill. ..................................................... $16.49 New York, N.Y. ................................................ $15.74 Minneapolis, Minn. .......................................... $15.45 Kansas City, Mo. ............................................. $15.21 Charlotte, N.C. ................................................ $14.88 Cleveland, Ohio ............................................... $14.79 Milwaukee, Wisc. ............................................ $14.76 Washington, D.C. ............................................ $14.68 Highest Combined Single Day Travel Taxes Chicago, Ill. ..................................................... $40.31 New York, N.Y. ................................................ $37.98 Boston, Mass. ................................................. $34.83 Kansas City, Mo. ............................................. $34.58 Seattle, Wash. ................................................. $34.43 Minneapolis, Minn. .......................................... $34.32 Cleveland, Ohio ............................................... $34.22 Indianapolis, Ind. ............................................. $34.19 Nashville, Tenn. ............................................... $34.13 Houston, Texas ................................................ $33.51 tourism and business travel. "Cities and states must think carefully about the sales that local businesses will lose because of the higher costs that travel taxes impose," said Joseph Bates, GBTA Foundation VP of research. "Tax rates that spike add another dimension for travel managers and local busi- nesses. If spending one night in Chicago is 81% more expensive than visiting Ft. Lauderdale, for example, it can have an effect on where busi- nesses decide to meet, hold events and spend their travel dollars." The top 50 markets are ranked in the study in two ways: 1. By overall travel tax burden, including general sales tax and discriminatory travel taxes. 2. By discriminatory travel tax burden, excluding general sales taxes to count only taxes that target car rentals, hotel stays and meals. Discriminatory travel taxes are targeted at travelers or travel-related areas and go above the general sales tax.