Originally Posted By SuperDry Not sure where exactly this belongs - WE is hopefully close enough. Check out: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tourism13sep13" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/na tionworld/nation/la-na-tourism13sep13</a>,0,6727554.story?coll=la-home-nation "Rasulo suggested the possibility of government funding of tourism promotion, possibly in the form of an exit tax on foreigners as they leave the United States." The main jist of the story is that international tourism is on the rise worldwide, except in the US where it's declining. Several factors were cited. But I found it very interesting that Rasulo is suggesting a new tax and a government program as a remedy.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss He is the chairman of Disney theme parks and resorts, worldwide. So basically #2 in the company.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer So basically, Jay Rasulo wants our government to run ads to say "Please come visit Disney Parks in the USA".....
Originally Posted By alexbook So, the tax is supposed to increase the number of visitors? How does that work? And what happens if you don't pay the tax? Are you stuck in the U.S.?
Originally Posted By debtee I can't get the link to open it says it's not longer available? Can someone please tell mw what it says? I don't understand the concept? Does the tax benefit International guests in your country or penalise them? If it's like the programe in Australia, then it's actually been successful for tourists. A person that lives overseas and that's just visiting Australia, can present their shopping dockets at the airport on exit from our country and be excempt from our sales tax so claim a refund on tax paid during their visit! Is this what he's suggesting?
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>A person that lives overseas and that's just visiting Australia, can present their shopping dockets at the airport on exit from our country and be excempt from our sales tax so claim a refund on tax paid during their visit! Is this what he's suggesting?<< Not likely. In the US, sales tax is local, which is why it varies from place to place. Some states like Oregon have no sales tax at all.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Mexico used to have something similar to this, where there was a fee that needed to be paid at the airport on the way out of the country. It might still be in place, but now it's included within the airline ticket price. It took me by surprise one year, when I was leaving mexico afer a week's visit, and barely had enough cash on me to take the airporter home once I got back to the states. Except suddenly I was required to pay about $15 or $20 just to get out of the country. It created a real problem for me because I was then stranded at my local airport after arriving and had to call a friend to come pick me up. I'm against this idea. We don't want to make it difficult for visitors to leave the U.S. - quite the opposite.
Originally Posted By debtee So this proposal is for Tourists to pay a tax on leaving the country? How is this supposed to encourage people to visit the USA? I would assume this would have the opposite effect.
Originally Posted By irishfan >>How is this supposed to encourage people to visit the USA?<< From what I can gather Rasulo wants the USA to be promoted overseas as a holiday destination (like the Australian, "where the bloody hell are you" campaign), and these promotions would be funded by this exit tax. New Zealand has a departure tax, $25 has to be paid when you depart.
Originally Posted By jonvn and if they don't pay the tax....? Probably would get stuck on an airline ticket, to be collected by corporations.
