ALEXANDRIA, VA – The National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization, yesterday sent letters to the Idaho State Legislature House Transportation and Defense Committee leadership opposing HB93 and HB133, both of which would burden car rental customers with a statewide tax increase of an additional 6% per day to the 6% currently in place. This discriminatory tax would target rental car customers to fund transportation infrastructure projects within Idaho.

NBTA Executive Director & COO Bill Connors, CTC, said in the letter:

NBTA is concerned with the increasing reliance of state and local governments on car rental excise taxes. The common misperception that car rental excise taxes are painless for local residents and businesses is as pernicious as it is incorrect. Adding an additional charge to every car rental on a daily basis is likely to cost Idahoans millions of dollars each year.

In seeking to fund transportation infrastructure, tourism and state marketing — projects which confer benefits on all Idahoans — the Governor has identified car rental consumers as the people who should shoulder these costs. However, as travel budgets are limited, these additional costs will have a negative effect on the entire Idaho hospitality industry. NBTA recently released a study on the top 50 cities with regards to taxes on lodging, car rental and restaurants. Boise, ID is one of the most inviting cities in its handling of taxes on rental cars. Implementation of this new tax would remove Boise and Idaho as one of the most attractive destinations from a tax perspective.

Car rental taxes are bad for consumers and they are bad for businesses. They are especially bad for Idaho companies who already inject millions of dollars into the state economy with their rental car spending. Enough is enough. We urge in the strongest possible terms that you reject HB93 and HB133.

Copyright 2009 National Business Travel Association. All rights reserved. From http://www.nbta.org.
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