At its April 8 meeting, Lake of Bays Council agreed to move forward with a task force that will investigate the implementation and distribution of a Municipal Accommodation Tax in the township.
Morgan Lonsdale, Economic Development Coordinator for the Township, told council the plan is to ensure proper consultation with stakeholders with the hopes of presenting a final bylaw to council in the fall of 2025.
“This group will help shape the road map for implementing the MAT tax with the goal of fostering support from all stakeholders. This process will offer valuable insight into the fund management and highlight tourism opportunities identified by those directly involved in the industry,” she said.
In her report to council, Lonsdale also stated: “The proposed Task Force is recommended to provide guidance in the implementation of the MAT program in the Township of Lake of Bays. This approach will ensure key stakeholders are actively involved in shaping various aspects of the initiative, including the tax rate, revenue distribution, organizational structure, and spending priorities.”
The task force will be led by the Township CAO and comprise two members of council, the Township Deputy Clerk, the Township Economic Development Coordinator, the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, the Executive Director of Muskoka Tourism, and three accommodation operators, including one short-term rental operator.
Councillors discussed the number of task force members and representation. Lonsdale indicated that those numbers and composition could change, but the idea is not to have too many members in order to keep the task force nimble.
Lake of Bays Mayor Terry Glover said he supports the initiative and summarized what it means for the municipality.
He said the tax is paid for by the tourists not the accommodation operators, “and that money gets put into a pool and half of it, roughly, depending on how the agreement’s made, goes to the Township and half of it goes to the resorts to work on projects like marketing, developing things that will help them continue to operate.”
Glover said the amount of the MAT that goes to the Township will be used to support projects tied to tourism. “That’s an interesting point because if you were to take a look at just the parks budget alone, you could take a good portion of that and say… we do our parks for people visiting the town and what that would in fact do, [it] would relieve the taxpayer in general and it’s including the resorts, it would relieve their taxes as well because we all have to pay to keep those things running.”
Prompted by a question from Councillor Jacqueline Godard, Lonsdale noted that the province allows municipalities to keep up to 50 per cent of the MAT. Glover said that’s what he’d like to see.
“Like Mayor Glover said, this a positive step for the community,” said Councillor Rick Brooks, who emphasized that all geographical areas of the township should be represented.
“I look forward to having this added revenue not only for our communities but, you know, for extra tourism in our township. I think this will be a great opportunity for everyone to enjoy the benefits of added services to the Township without actually having to tax the taxpayers. So to me this seems to be a win-win situation,” said Councillor Bob Lacroix.
Councillor Nancy Tapley declared a pecuniary interest for reasons of employment and did not take part in the discussion.
You can find the report from staff by clicking HERE (pdf).
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This tax may not seem like much if you are staying at a hotel in the city for one night, but the few resorts left on Lake of Bays are based on families who stay for a week.
They rarely use the township’s parks and trails as the resorts have these on property.
Their guests do shop in stores and bakeries and restaurants in the area adding to the economy.
This tax for a family of 4 on a week’s stay adds a large chunk to their bill. This will definitely be a deciding factor for some families who have already been hit hard by the economy.
We are going to lose business and the council is blind to this reality.
Rebecca Bell
(40 years experience working at a Lake of Bays Resort)
In today’s climate, it is obvious that Council, Mayor and Staff of the Township of Lake of Bays are tone deaf. They want to put a tariff on people willing to visit and spend money in the Township. The idea that the Township can “tax itself to prosperity” is simply wrong. A much better idea would be to lower taxes to drive economic growth.
As resident of Township of Lake of Bays, and part of a family the owns and runs resort I am not surprised. Raising taxes is core to how this Township operates. We are the most overtaxed and underserviced residents and businesses in Ontario.
I think the Municipal Accommodation Tax is a brilliant way to raise additional funds for the township. The tourists that invade Muskoka use the services that the local taxpayer have paid for. The parks budget is an excellent example of a service that tourists use. We pay outrageous property taxes in LoB and it’s time for the tourists to pay some of the cost to operate the municipality.
lol…..Yet another LOB tax albeit on the visitors to the area. Like this increase in cost for them won’t deter their want to visit the area. I can’t wait to see my tax burden relieved as per Mr. Glover’s comment. Some how I think this is wishful thinking on my part
I guess that is one way of fixing the tourist problem. Lake of Bays already collects a fortune in taxes but doesn’t offer garbage pickup. So now you want to add extra to the bill and then keep half of it so I’m guessing there will be raises coming just like the district council.. like I said good way to get rid of tourists.. can’t wait to see how fast the business declines because people will be able to go elsewhere cheaper.