NBTA’s Lang Testifies Against Proposal to Increase Tax for Allegheny County Car Rental Customers
At a hearing yesterday of the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, County Council, National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Board Member and Pittsburgh Business Travel Association (PBTA) member Paul Lang testified against a measure that would place a disproportionate burden on car rental customers to fund mass transit projects. The proposal would increase taxes targeting car rentals in the county by $2 per day.
In his testimony, Lang stated:
“Taxing rental cars has often been perceived as a tax on ‘outsiders’; those travelers not indigenous to Allegheny County who are just visiting the area. Therefore, some believe that such a tax would not impact the local constituents. However, from a business perspective, this proposed increase in tax would equate to an additional and direct cost to the businesses in Allegheny County. A recent NBTA survey of corporate travel managers showed that more than half of their car rental spending is in fact, in their local markets. Major companies operating in Allegheny County have a significant number of employees originating in other cities who travel to their office locations in Allegheny County. By increasing the car rental tax, you would, in essence, be imposing a hidden tax on your local business community.”
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel organization. U.S.-based NBTA and its regional subsidiaries – NBTA Asia Pacific, NBTA Canada and NBTA Mexico – serve more than 3,000 members in 30 nations around the globe. NBTA has 42 U.S. Chapters with more than 5,000 members. NBTA members are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of global business travel expenditures annually. The association provides industry-leading networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.
For media information, contact:
Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 138
Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 133.
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