After reading an article earlier today by Dale Dyck I am more convinced than ever this taxation scheme will appear in more and more locations not only in Canada, but around the world. Dale discussed and I would agree with, the fact that tourism usually flies under the radar, in terms of government attention, when compared with more traditional industries. When American visitation (Canada’s largest source of tourism revenue) fell during the last couple years, where was the government to lend a hand to struggling hotels and hospitality operators? The Government was too busy bailing out the auto industry with their large unionized work force; and a little thing called tourism slipped under the radar.
However, despite government neglect, the tourism sector consists of resilient and brilliant problem solvers who find a way to survive no matter the cost. Subsequently Dale references hotels and their desire, more so than other tourism operators in the same city, to ensure the long term success of their industry. Until this point it has been the hotels, not tour operators, who have been implementing and collecting the tax. Is this fair? Probably not, but it is likely to continue into the future and you need to be prepared.
Please feel free to take a look at Dale’s article here. It is an interesting read about an issue which is going to become more and more prevalent in various markets around the world.
