Tax protest

Five per cent levy irks hotel owners

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Jan 26/01) - With the territorial government welcoming input from the public on the proposed hotel room tax, some Deh Cho hotel owners are planning to give the GNWT an earful.

Quick quotes "We think it's crazy, to put it mildly." -- Cheryl Patenaude, Fort Providence "The government, I can see their predicament too. They're broke." -- Joanne Deneron, Fort Liard "The costs of operating in the North are already high to begin with, adding another five per cent isn't going to please the average customer." -- Beth Philipp, Fort Providence "If the government wants to help tourism, help us by not having a tax. Don't make it more expensive for people to come to the North." -- Nick Sibbeston, Fort Simpson

Cheryl Patenaude, co-owner of the Big River motel in Fort Providence, said only a small number of tourists venture to the NWT as it is, and a tax would only discourage others.

"I just don't think it's necessary at all," she said. "In most of the small communities, it's government that's staying in those rooms anyway. So what are they going to do, exempt the government?"

Beth Philipp, an owner of the Snowshoe Inn in Fort Providence, said she doubts the amount of revenue generated from the tax, to be earmarked for tourism, will have much impact overall.

Operating costs in the North, combined with increasing fuel costs, is enough for those in the accommodations industry to contend with, she said.

Like Patenaude, she questioned the rationale of imposing a tax when government employees account for such a high proportion of clientele.

An administrative burden for hotel staff will accompany the tax too, she added.

"I am interested in showing up at the public meeting (in Hay River)," Philipp said. "I want to make sure our voice is heard."

Nick Sibbeston, owner of a Fort Simpson bed and breakfast, said he has already voiced his opposition to Finance Minister Joe Handley and Nahendeh MLA Jim Antoine.

Sibbeston said many of his clientele, particularly summer tourists, are not wealthy, and a tax would not be well received.

"Another tax would be a deterrent for people to come North and stay in hotels. It's just another cost that they have to bear," he said.

He also questioned whether the government would follow through on its promise to commit hotel tax revenues towards improving tourism. How would that be done effectively, he asked.

Not all those in the accommodations industry are dead set against the proposed tax.

Joanne Deneron, owner of a Fort Liard motel, said the bulk of her clientele is government related, not tourists. If tax revenues are diverted into tourism, she's in favour of it.

"We really need to have money thrown at tourism, that's the bottom line," she said. "New legislation is always hard to swallow in the beginning."

"The government, I can see their predicament too, they're broke," she said.

"Travelling to other places, there always is a hotel tax ... our cost of living is extremely high. I have a lot of people coming here and they don't realize they're on sewer pump-out and water delivery. They have no concept of that. At a five per cent tax I don't see people being up in arms about it."

The extra paperwork, on the other hand, will be an encumbrance, she said. She added she does has reservations over a possibility of an incremental tax over a number of years.