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Travelers pay more tax in Chicago than any other U.S. city
The U.S. cities where travelers incur the highest total tax burden have been named and shamed.
Research by the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), reveals travelers to Chicago have the highest total tax burden in central city locations.
The research looked at general sales taxes and discriminatory travel taxes to compile the list.
Taxes on elements such as hotel lodging, car rentals and restaurant meal all amount to $41.04 per day for a traveler in Chicago.
Second on the highest total tax burden list is New York ($38.65), followed by Minneapolis ($36.70); Kansas City ($36.61) and Indianapolis ($36).
Cleveland, OH; Boston; Seattle; Nashville and Houston make up the rest of the top-10, with single day travel taxes ranging from $34.16 to $35.41.
GBTA says the burden of these taxes fall on the traveler, yet the money generated is "regularly used to fund local projects unrelated to tourism and business travel".
The top 10 U.S. cities where travelers incur the lowest total tax burden in central city locations, factoring in general sales taxes and discriminatory travel taxes, are: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and West Palm Beach, all in Florida, (all $22.61); Detroit ($22.80) and Portland, OR ($22.86).
Orange County, CA; Burbank CA; Honolulu; Ontario and Orlando make up the rest of the top-10, with taxes ranging from $23.61-$24.94.
When looking at discriminatory travel taxes – those imposed specifically on travel services – Portland, OR has the highest, followed by Boston; Indianapolis; Minneapolis and Chicago.
New York, Washington, DC; Kansas City, Charlotte and Milwaukee make up the rest of the top-10.
The top-10 cities with the lowest discriminatory travel taxes are all in either California or Florida, with Burbank, CA, the lowest in the country.
GBTA Foundation vice president of research Joseph Bates said: "Municipalities are under pressure to raise revenue wherever they can, but imposing too heavy a tax burden on business travel is a shortsighted strategy.
"With taxes rising in every area of society, companies and travel managers are taking an increasingly hard look at the price they’re being asked to pay to visit any given city or region."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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