A tourism accommodation levy could be coming to St. Stephen.
Chief administrative officer Jeff Renaud presented the draft bylaw to the municipal council at its January committee of the whole meeting.
The proposed levy is currently set at 3.5 per cent, the same as what accommodations in Saint Andrews charge.
“I think we do need to put something in place,” said Mayor Allan MacEachern, during the meeting. “We’ve always been putting this on the back burner because we didn’t have the big H beside us over there, the hotel.”
“But then I come to find out at a meeting with Saint Andrews, actually, there’s a lot of benefit to it, and it wouldn’t hurt to get this in place anyway because we’re going to have that soon.”
The accommodation levy bylaw would require those providing tourism accommodations to register with the municipality each year. It would then collect the tax from guests, and provide it to the town on a quarterly basis.
Renaud said the money can then be used for tourism promotion, development, and fees required by the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission.
“It’s becoming expected by the most travelling public,” he said. “If it is a way for us, one, to offset the cost we incur through the RSC, support tourists and tourism events that bring local dollars into the downtown without hitting the taxpayer at the end of the day … it certainly has a lot of benefits.”
He said it would be critical to implement it in the right manner.
Coun. Emily Rodas, who said during the meeting that she recently opened an Airbnb, said she was concerned the levy would be perceived negatively given there are no major hotels in the area, only small operators.
“It feels frustrating because there is nothing else here so it’s almost like a deterrence to starting those types of things,” she said at the meeting.
“So, when we have a hotel, it’s different. But when we have nothing here and then you’re kind of expecting the business owners who are running these smaller places to be able to offer accommodations, then it feels frustrating because there’s nothing else here. So, it’s almost like a deterrence to starting those types of things.”
MacEachern said this might not come into effect right away, but the municipality will need it when the town secures a major hotelier.
Coun. Earle Eastman said the registration of business might actually help the municipality understand how much accommodation is available.
“For the levy itself, being hard, all you’ve got to do is make sure your invoice is done right. Because if your invoice is done right, you’re going to put in HST anyways, and you’re going to frigging put the levy in there. So, it’s not that hard,” he said.
For Coun. Joyce Wright, St. Stephen is lagging behind other places.
“While I understand the frustration of another step involved, I also think that we are lagging behind, it’s almost unheard of. I’ve never stayed anywhere recently where there is not a levy,” she said.
Wright said she also appreciates it would reduce the burden placed on the taxpayers of the municipality by a tourism levy imposed on them by the RSC.
Renaud said there has been no evidence, based on discussions with hoteliers in the past, that a tourism levy would deter it from building or operating in the community.
Coun. Wade Greenlaw said he would like to seek feedback from businesses on the tourism levy.
“I’m sure there’s good examples of it in Saint Andrews,” he said. “They can say it’s not much extra work for whoever the business owner is, or it is a lot of work for the business owner.”
The council will need to bring the bylaw to a regular meeting of the council. It must receive three readings, pending any amendments, and go for a final vote.
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