Byron bed tax bid
Visitors to Byron Bay may be slugged with a bed tax

By Renee Mickelburgh
Copyright 2001 Nationwide News Pty Ltd.
Article date: September 9, 2001
 

The shire council plans to introduce the levy into its caravan parks as early as next month. The revenue-raising move follows increasing environmental and social concerns that tourists -- numbering about 1.2 million a year -- are loving the town to death.

And while the New South Wales Government refuses to allow the council to slap the tax on privately-owned houses, at least one holiday accommodation operator has already indicated he will voluntarily pay bed tax to the council.

Byron Shire Mayor Tom Wilson said he expected the tax to be introduced to caravan parks by next month.

The tax, expected to be $1 to $1.50 per adult bed, per night, will be introduced to Byron's seven council-controlled caravan parks.

Cr Wilson said accommodation tariffs were not expected to rise as a result of the tax.

"The council has the obvious difficulty of having so many people come to the shire, (but) no genuine revenue going on to council," he said. "We've got erosion threats. Not too many councils in NSW have the problems in developing their communities that we have.

"Any threat to our beaches is also a threat to our economic base, which is tourism."

When the GST was introduced last year, the NSW Government scrapped its controversial 10 per cent bed tax on temporary accommodation in the Sydney metropolitan area.
 

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