(Image from Northern Bruce Peninsula website.)
Objections are being raised in Northern Bruce Peninsula to a proposed expansion of the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT).
Council heard from past president of the Tobermory Chamber of Commerce Griffin Salen and residents on the proposed expansion during a meeting on Jan. 8.
In May, Northern Bruce Peninsula began moving to expand the MAT, which currently only covers short-term rentals like AirBNBs.
Staff recommended it further include hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and other short-term accommodations.
The MAT is set at a rate of four per cent and currently applies to private short-term accommodation (STA) residential dwellings rented to provide accommodations on a temporary basis of a period of less than 30 days.
The municipality is required to provide half of the net MAT revenue to the Tobermory Chamber of Commerce, which is used to support local tourism.
Salen says the Chamber of Commerce is not in favour of the MAT expansion and its effect on commercial businesses.
“The rational for this MAT tax when it came in to STAs was to level the playing field,” says Salen. “Our main argument on this is that we already have a tremendous amount of money coming in from parking reserves and parking revenues. Until that money is spent, and there is a clear plan of what exactly this four per cent on commercial operators needs to go to, we don’t think it’s time to bring this in.”
In a memo sent to the municipality from the chamber, it says small seasonal businesses are already struggling with reduced demand and the need to reduce rates. Additionally, it says any more fees passed on to customers will only hurt businesses and discourage people from visiting.
“Implementation must be carefully planned. Accommodators will need time to set up the tracking, accounting and communication with guests required for implementation. Businesses will need to revise their accounting programs to implement at MAT,” says the memo from the chamber.
Engagement surrounding the possible expansion was made available at the end of November when the topic was put on the municipality’s website, Lets Talk NBP, which to date has 69 responses.
CAO Peggy Van Mierlo-West says engagement on the website will end on Jan. 26, at which point staff will come back to council with a report in February with the comments received from residents.