This past week, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) released its annual travel tax report on car rentals, hotels and restaurants in 50 top USA cities. Of most interest to travellers are what the GBTA calls "discriminatory travel taxes", which are taxes imposed specifically on travel services, above and beyond general sales taxes. Here are a few highlights.
Worst USA Cities for Travel Taxes
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| Rental car return backup at Portland Airport - the USA city with the highest discriminatory travel tax rate - that will effect your rental car bill |
| 2013 Rank | City | $ over general sales tax |
| 1 | Portland (OR) | $22.86 |
| 2 | Boston | $19.34 |
| 3 | Indianapolis | $18.10 |
| 4 | Minneapolis | $17.46 |
| 5 | Chicago | $17.39 |
| 6 | New York | $15.96 |
| 7 | Washington, D.C. | $15.61 |
| 8 | Kansas City | $15.26 |
| 9 | Charlotte | $15.16 |
| 10 | Milwaukee | $15.04 |
Minneapolis jumped up two spots over 2012 (from 6 to 4), and Washington D.C. jumped up four spots (from 11 to 7).
Best USA Cities for Travel Taxes
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| Enjoy your rental car in California, the taxes won't break the bank |
You may be interested to know that California and Florida are among the states with the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates in the country, making them tourist friendly.
The top 10 U.S. cities with the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates are:
| 2013 Rank | City | $ over general sales tax |
| 1 | Burbank | $1.58 |
| 2 | Orange County | $3.16 |
| 3 | Ontario (CA) | $4.48 |
| 4 | San Diego | $5.27 |
| 5 | Oakland | $5.79 |
| 6 * | Tampa | $7.27 |
| 7* | Fort Lauderdale | $7.27 |
| 8* | Fort Myers | $7.27 |
| 9* | West Palm Beach | $7.27 |
| 10 | Los Angeles | $7.37 |
The biggest change since 2012 was Los Angeles, which dropped from 5th to 10th.
More...
The information gathered by the GBTA is helpful, and we are appreciative of the level of detail the organization shares in its press releases, allowing us to share it with you. You may also be interested in the total travel tax burden rankings - just refer to the references below for more.
All information in this blog post is from the following Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) press releases:
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