Study reveals cities with highest, lowest travel taxes

Discriminatory travel taxes and fees on travel-related services can add up quickly for travelers. A recent study by National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and Concur, the world’s leading provider of on-demand Employee Spend Management services, determined that discriminatory travel taxes and fees such as car rental, hotel and meal taxes impose an average increased cost on visitors of 56 percent on top of general sales tax.

“The business and travel communities are increasingly concerned about the negative impact that taxes targeting travelers have on the greater travel industry and local economies,” said NBTA Executive Director and COO Michael W. McCormick. “It is unacceptable that visitors, whose general tax dollars can help to keep a community afloat in difficult economic times, are forced to pay so much more taxes and fees to fund projects unrelated to the services they purchase.”

The total tax burden is in central city locations and factors in general sales taxes and discriminatory travel taxes. Discriminatory travel taxes are those imposed specifically on travel services above and beyond general sales taxes.

U.S. cities with lowest total tax burden:
1.       Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
2.       Fort Myers, Fla.
3.       Portland, Ore.
4.       Detroit, Mich.
5.       Honolulu, Hawaii

U.S. cities with highest total tax burden:
1.       Chicago, Ill.
2.       New York, N.Y.
3.       Boston, Mass.
4.       Seattle, Wash.
5.       Minneapolis, Minn.

U.S. cities with lowest discriminatory travel tax rates:
1.       Orange County, Calif.
2.       San Jose, Calif.
3.       Burbank, Calif.
4.       San Diego, Calif.
5.       Ontario, Calif.

U.S. cities with highest discriminatory travel taxes:
1.       Portland, Ore.
2.       Boston, Mass.
3.       Minneapolis, Minn.
4.       Indianapolis, Ind.
5.       New York, N.Y.