Car rental taxes at major U.S. airport locations have climbed to an average of 28 percent over the base rate for car rentals, up more than 2 percentage points from March 2005, according to a study released today by Travelocity.
Taxes in five cities total more than half of the base rental rate. Kansas City, Mo., had the highest tax rate, at 63 percent of the base rate. Seattle, Anchorage, Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth were next, all with taxes causing slightly more than a 50 percent increase in price. Phoenix; Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, N.M.; Las Vegas and Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport rounded out the top 10, all with a tax-fueled 40 percent or more increase from the base rate.
Taxes had the least impact at several major California airports, including LAX, San Diego and Sacramento. All showed less than a 10 percent increase in base rate because of taxes.
Taxes at airport locations averaged 25.8 percent of the base car rental rate in March 2005, when Travelocity last issued a study on car rental taxes.
As it did with the 2005 study, Travelocity also noted that taxes continue to cause a disparity between on-airport and off-airport rental locations. The 10 highest tax rates at off-airport locations ranged from only 34.7 percent to 21.6 percent, compared with the 63 percent to 43.6 percent range for on-airport locations. In addition, five cities—Atlanta; Kansas City, Mo.; Seattle; Anchorage and Dallas/Fort Worth—showed a difference of more than 30 percentage points in taxes at on-airport locations compared with off-airport locations.
The National Business Travel Association recently has made combating these car rental taxes, often the results of local and state governments seeking funding for civic projects, a top priority
(BTN, July 17). NBTA leaders have united the major car rental companies in the effort and also will have its members rally against such proposals when they arise in their regions.
Travelocity based its study on rentals of compact and full-size cars from locations within cities with the top 100 airports in the United States in terms of passengers. The study occurred over a three-day period ending Dec. 10.