Wednesday, July 26, 2023
The Chief Executive of the Victoria Tourism Industry Council has questioned the state government’s proposed new tourist tax. Premier Daniel Andrews announced a comprehensive revamp of Labor’s housing policy on Sunday, including the contentious tourism charge and new rent restrictions.
Mr Andrews claims that everything is on the table, including a $5 fee on reservations for short-term rentals and motels throughout the state.
Felicia Mariani slammed the proposed new tourism tax, saying she was “lost for words” and that the business was still coming to grips with the decision to cancel the Commonwealth Games.
“The news on Sunday morning about the new tourist tax was really a blow that no one saw coming,” she told Sky News Australia.
“Everyone’s pretty shocked and disappointed that this even on the table for consideration.
“Right now, we are seeing the cost-of-living crunch really affect those people planning holidays.
“Yes, people are still travelling but they are certainly more cautious about how they are spending their money.”
Others in the business, including Airbnb’s Michael Crosby, welcomed the news.
“A tourism levy would mean every short-term rental booking made in Victoria helps contribute to the community,” he said.
“It would work by charging the guest a small fee, about the cost of a cup of coffee, at the time of booking rather than hosts being slugged with higher council rates.
“We have worked with many cities around the world to make this visitor levy work, remitting $USD7-billion in taxes globally to support much-needed community infrastructure, housing projects and services.”
Ms Mariani said that while the state is on the way to recovering, it has not fully recovered from the trauma of the last couple of years.
“When we look at our international performances, Victoria is lagging the rest of the country in recovering our international tourist spend,” she said.
“This is not the time to be putting more hurdles in front of our industry.
“We should be doing everything to get the impediments out of the way so that Victoria can compete aggressively for both international and domestic visitation.”
Labour is also contemplating rent regulations, such as limiting landlords to one rent rise every two years and capping increases.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto also slammed Labor’s proposed extra levies, claiming they are being implemented to make up for previous mistakes.
“They will do anything to avoid scrutiny of their gross incompetence and deceit and are happy to impose more taxes on hard working Victorian workers, families and businesses already experiencing unprecedented cost of living pressures, to cover the cost of their mistakes,” he said.
“Many Victorian renters are struggling, and they deserve well-thought out reforms from the Andrews Government, not policy on the run and certainty not more new taxes.”
Tags: Australia, Tourism, Tourist tax, Victoria
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