- ABC News
- January 2, 2012
AC
For business travelers who'll be back on the road this new year, there's some good news: Cities don't appear eager to increase taxes for renting a room or eating a meal. "We're not aware of any move to raise taxes on the travel industry," says Lars Etzkorn, program director for the National League of Cities. "By and large, local governments are still belt-tightening. Any increase in taxes affects the marketability of that community, and so it's never done without careful consideration." But with many cities still struggling amid a slow economic recovery, some may ultimately decide to raise taxes on business travelers and tourists rather than boost the property taxes of local residents to help bolster their budgets, some travel experts say. "We have localities hurting for revenue sources," says Joe Bates, senior director of research for the GBTA Foundation, the education foundation for the Global Business Travel Association. "So they may see this as one more way to tap into the...