The city asked the provincial government on Sept. 30 to implement a temporary Municipal and Regional Major Events Tax (MRDT) on short-term lodging sales in the years leading up to the tournament to help fund extra staff, security and resources and event-specific things. such as training locations and a “Fan Fest” area. The MRDT amendment to the Provincial Sales Tax Act has been introduced in the BC Legislature and will now move to second reading. The city of Vancouver declined an interview with CBC, but in a statement, it said it would have to run at “above and beyond the city’s normal operating levels” for the World Cup. “The City of Vancouver is working with the province on how MRDT could be implemented within the city and further details will be released as the process is determined,” it said. Vancouver and Toronto are among the 16 cities that will host the tournament in North America and will host 10 of the 70 inter-event games in the event. The specifics of the tax, such as when it will be implemented in Vancouver and for how long, have yet to be determined. Communities can apply for an MRDT Major Events through Destination BC to receive support and approval from the ministers of tourism and finance. The Major Events MRDT is a limited-time tax of up to 2.5 percent on hotels and short-stay accommodations. It can be implemented in addition to an existing MRDT — already in place in more than 60 areas of the province — that communities can use to provide funding for tourism marketing, programs and projects. But adding taxes on top of taxes is a worrying step for some. “You have to be careful about what level of taxation you start overlaying on things,” said Peter Milobar, BC Liberal MLA for Kamloops–North Thompson, adding that there are still many questions to determine the criteria for which communities could apply. . BC Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the temporary surtax is not a new idea, citing the four per cent resort area tax introduced in Whistler in 2007 to help the municipality cover the costs of the 2010 Winter Olympics . “We see the potential benefits for other communities working to put BC on the international stage and strengthen our economy,” said Robinson. The BC Hotel Association declined to comment.
