Is QLD’s ‘bed tax’ a smack in the face for accom providers?
The tourism accommodation sector is on its knees right now and Local Government in Queensland is calling for a bed tax - surely, they cannot be serious? A bed levy campaign backed by councils across the Sunshine State would be a death knell for tourism says industry body.
Is this call for a bed tax a direct attack on more than 50,000 people reliant on the accommodation sector to survive? Peak industry group for hotels, motels, serviced apartments, resorts, caravan parks and small regional parks, thinks it is.
The Accommodation Association points out how tone deaf they think this Government campaign is, given how much the accommodation sector has been severely impacted by COVID-19 and with recovery not expected for at least 6-12 months even when restrictions ease. The sector is already one of the most highly taxed in Australia.
Dean Long, CEO, Accommodation Australia said “Queensland hotels, motels, caravan parks and accommodation providers right around the state are already struggling as a result of the devastating impact of COVID-19 with recovery unlikely before the middle of next year.”
“We are doing everything we can to keep the 9,000 people who are employed full-time in our hotels, motels, caravan parks, resorts, and serviced apartments in jobs so that the tourism sector, including in Queensland, is able to re-open and kick-start the economy. This is a sector that is already heavily taxed and the calls to add yet another tax to that burden are frankly tone-deaf and self-defeating.”
“This is a sector that already carries the weight of millions of dollars in council rates, state taxes and federal taxes each year plus a range of select taxes including the pedestal tax and taxes on car parks. Adding a bed tax to that mix in the current economic devastation shows a worrying lack of reality which endangers local jobs, and the families and businesses that rely on the accommodation and tourism sectors.”
The tourism accommodation sector in QLD pay more than $650 million in local and state charges each year:
- 60,000 tourism accommodation jobs have been lost due to COVID-19 with 8,000 Queenslanders now unemployed
- Revenue is down a massive 85%, or $3.8bn in just 3 months as a result of COVID-19
- The continued closure of the border is costing the QLD economy $3.1 billion
- At best, forecasts show demand for our sector will be down at least 50% lower than the pre-COVID volumes until at least March 2021
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