Do you feel ripped off when you book a great hotel or car rental rate, but end up paying a final bill loaded up with taxes and fees? (That are used to fund things you’ll likely never use such as local stadiums or convention centers…)
The Global Business Travel Association has released the 2011 findings from its annual study of car rental, hotel and meal taxes in the top 50 U.S. travel destination cities– and the results might surprise you. For example, cities in Florida and California are cited as having the lowest taxes.
All taxes are not the same…some specifically target travelers, like Phoenix’s $2.50 rental car fee that goes to the “Maricopa County Stadium for debt retirement.” Or the 5% rental car tax imposed by San Antonio to fund “youth and amateur sports facilities.”
Cities with the lowest total tax burden ($20-$25 per day) in central city locations:
1. Fort Lauderdale, FL
2. Fort Myers, FL
3. West Palm Beach, FL
4. Detroit, MI
5. Portland, OR
NOTE: The full list now includes many cities in California where the state sales tax recently declined a full percentage point.
Cities with the highest total taxes (around $35 per day) on travelers are:
1. Chicago, IL
2. New York, NY
3. Seattle, WA
4. Boston, MA
5. Kansas City, MO
Discriminatory travel taxes are those imposed specifically on travel services above and beyond general sales taxes (like the ones imposed on airport car rentals to fund local projects).
The U.S. cities with the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates are:
1. Orange County, CA
2. San Diego, CA
3. San Jose, CA
4. Burbank, CA
5. Ontario, CA
Cities with the highest discriminatory travel taxes (those that single out travelers):
1. Portland, OR
2. Boston, MA
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. New York, NY
5. Chicago, IL
Do you have any examples of outrageous taxes you’ve been forced to pay recently? Do taxes that seem to discriminate against travelers encourage you to travel elsewhere, or do you just grumble and pay up? Please leave your comments below.
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This is what I got for a 4 day rental in Denver this August:
13.35 CITY AND STATE SALES TAX $.96/DY ENERGY RECOVERY FEE $1.60/DAY FACILITY ACCESS FEE 11.11 PERCENT AIRPORT CONCESSION RECOVERY $2.00/DY COLORADO ROAD SAFETY FEE OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT RENTALS GARS FEE OF $5.00/DY APPLIES.
Dallas and Houston taxes/fees total over 50% for rental cars:
Example: IAH DFW
2 Days @ $42.00 $84.00 $84.00
Busing Recovery Fee $ 5.39 $ 4.40
Concession Fee $10.25 $ 9.33
Sports Venue $ 5.55 $ 5.43
Cons Facility Chg $ 8.50 $ 8.00
Veh Lic Recov $ 2.90 $ 2.90
Rental Tax $11.10 $10.86
TOTAL $127.69 $124.92
Bottom line is that a $42.00 per day car ends up beign about $63.00