Prince Edward County council will decide on whether or not to join the cities of Quinte West and Belleville and implement a Municipal Accommodations Tax at a special meeting Wednesday.
A staff report recommends a 4% tax on all short-term stays be charged. That amount would be the same as is being charged in Belleville and Quinte West.
If approved the the tax would come into effect on June 1.
The report shows a conservative estimate of new revenue from the tax at $836,000 a year.
Staff estimate there are 294 motel/hotel/inn rooms, 55 bed and breakfast rooms, 600 Airbnb rooms and 228 short-term accomodations of other types in Prince Edward County.
Prince Edward County itself directs tourism promotion and would receive some of the money collected from the MAT and it’s proposed the Prince Edward County Accommodations Association (stayPEC) receive some of the funds and help decide on other ways the revenue could be invested.
Meanwhile, Prince Edward County’s newly implemented Short-Term Accomodations Licensing Program is going smoothly.
At the special meeting of county council’s Committee of the Whole Wednesday, council will see a staff report showing that staff is optimistic that a goal of 900 licences being issued will be met.
To date 750 licence applications have been received, 80 accommodation providers have been licensed and over 500 are waiting on a final inspection before being licensed.
It’s believed that there are between 1,100 and 1,500 short-term accommodations in the county
If 900 licences are issued, the revenues will match the costs incurred to administer the program and perform inspections and follow-ups.
