The education and research foundation of the Global Business Travel Association released the 2011 findings from its annual study of car rental, hotel and meal taxes in the top 50 U.S. travel destination cities. The study reveals that the discriminatory travel taxes and fees enacted on travel-related services impose an average increased cost on visitors of 56% over general sales tax. These taxes are often used to fund local projects unrelated to tourism and business travel.

The study provides several different views of travel taxes to help readers make informed choices. The top 50 markets are ranked by overall travel tax burden, including general sales tax and discriminatory travel taxes, and by discriminatory travel tax burden, excluding general sales taxes to count only taxes that target car rentals, hotel stays and meals. Separate data are offered for central city and airport locations, as the tax regimes are often distinct.

The research shows the U.S. cities where travelers incur the lowest total tax burden in central city locations, factoring in general sales taxes and discriminatory travel taxes, are:

1. Fort Lauderdale, FL
2. Fort Myers, FL
3. West Palm Beach, FL
4. Detroit, MI
5. Portland, OR

The cities that impose the highest total taxes on travelers are:

1. Chicago, IL
2. New York, NY
3. Seattle, WA
4. Boston, MA
5. Kansas City, MO

Discriminatory travel taxes are those imposed specifically on travel services above and beyond general sales taxes. The U.S. cities with the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates in central city locations are:

1. Orange County, CA
2. San Diego, CA
3. San Jose, CA
4. Burbank, CA
5. Ontario, CA

The cities that impose the highest discriminatory travel taxes on travelers are:

1. Portland, OR
2. Boston, MA
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. New York, NY
5. Chicago, IL

Source: GBTA