The Town of Petawawa is considering a Municipal Accomodation Tax (MAT). On Monday night, representatives from the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association (OVTA) made a presentation to council to highlight some of the benefits this would provide the community. The MAT would be a 4% tax on overnight accommodations such as hotels, motels and Air BnBs, with half the money going to the host community and the other half to the tourist organization. President of the OVTA Board of Directors, Chris Melmoth, says assuming you have a 40% occupancy rate, there would be almost $1.4 million generated in the county.
The biggest earners would be Greater Madawaska Township ($221,000), Pembroke ($212,000), Whitewater Region ($194,000) and Madawaska Valley ($152,000). Other towns such as Renfrew, Arnprior, Petawawa, and Bonnechere Valley would see anywhere from $37,000 to $64,000 added to bring more people to the area. Melmoth says while he knows there has been pushback from some hotel owners in the county, he feels there is a strong benefit to implementing the MAT. He adds this isn’t a new tax and would help municipalities in the county stay competitive with other areas like North Bay, Kingston and the Muskokas. Council received the report and will consider the information before making a decision.