Zoe Moffatt
Star Weekly is looking back at the best stories of last year, and this is one of them.
Tourism Macedon Ranges (TMR) has criticised the state government’s decision to implement a short stay accommodation platform tax, saying it will “exacerbate the emerging slump” in regional visitor spending.
This backlash follows the announcement on September 20, that from January 2025, short stay accommodation platforms will be taxed 7.5 per cent of the short-stay accommodation platforms’ revenue.
The revenue raised will go to Homes Victoria to build and maintain social and affordable housing, with 25 per cent to be invested in regional Victoria.
TMR chair Andrew Towner said the tax means visitors will choose day trips instead of overnight stays and the local economy will suffer.
“Macedon Ranges will be hit particularly hard by this tax,” he said.
“Due to our close proximity to Melbourne, 79 per cent of the region’s visitors are day-trippers who spend only $81 each [according to the Daylesford Macedon Ranges Destination Management Plan].
“By comparison, overnight visitors spend $398 in local businesses.”
Mr Towner said the lack of traditional hotels and motels in regional Victoria means short-stay accommodation is important.
“The state government’s new short stay accommodation tax will exacerbate the emerging slump in regional visitor spending and stall the tourism recovery,“ he said.
“This is a tax on holidaymakers, not a tax on the short-stay booking platforms. TMR encourages the government to consult with industry to develop solutions that will not damage our regional economies.”
The Lancefield Guesthouse owner Peter Chiller said the decision is very short sighted, and won’t fix the housing problem.
“I’m very disappointed, I think it’s a disaster,” he said, “The problem they are trying to fix is housing, this isn’t going to do that, it’s just going to hurt tourism.
“One of the problems we have in the Macedon Ranges is there’s a lot of single cottages for people to stay in, and it supplements the owner’s income.
“This tax is going to drive people away from those individual properties into larger commercial properties, and gives them an unfair advantage.
“We’ve got so many extra costs coming in at the moment… and now this, you just can’t keep passing the cost on.”
When announcing the levy, then premier Daniel Andrews conceded the 7.5 per cent levy would not be universally popular.
“Some people will say it’s too high, some people will say it’s not high enough,” he told reporters.
