Disgruntled Wanaka accommodation providers protested this week over the proposed introduction of what was recently described by the Queenstown Lakes District Council as "the next best thing to a bed tax".
However, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden and council finance officer Stewart Burns asserted the review was "not a tourist tax", "not a bed tax" and "not additional funding".
The council had already been recovering visitor costs for "more than 20 years" and the changes provided a transparent explanation of the costs recovery, Mrs Van Uden said at a public meeting in Wanaka this week. Visitor costs recovery is just one aspect of the three-yearly general rate review announced in March, for which submissions close on Monday.
The general rate brings in about $15 million, nearly 30% of total rates, and historical differentials were becoming hard to justify.
The accommodation and commercial rate sectors will bear an increased differential for visitor costs.
Last month the Motel Association issued a statement declaring its disapproval of a "visitor tax" and calling the council review "bizarre".
At the meeting, up to 20 Wanaka accommodation providers grilled council finance manager Stewart Burns and Mrs Van Uden on the changes, while at least 50 people attended a similar Queenstown meeting.
Some accommodation providers were concerned their small businesses did not justify an increased differential, while others were worried some people would not declare short-stay businesses to avoid rates.
Accommodation provider Meg Taylor said the council was again targeting "the easy ones, who employ people".
Mr Burns and Ms Van Uden blamed the confusion about a "visitor tax" on "incorrect media reports".
A notional charge per day per visitor of between 17c and 50c, depending on ratepayer category, had been mooted, but this was not an extra tax or additional funding, Mr Burns said.
"We are talking about a review of how the current rates are being allocated ... there is no additional tax on top of what's being paid now," he said.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council was collecting 2.5% more rates but whether there would be an actual increase in an individual's rates depended on whether the property valuation had risen or fallen, in line with a 9.5% average drop in valuation, Mr Burns said.
"So if your valuation decreased by more than 9.5%, you should see a rates decrease. If your valuation decreased by say 5%, there will be a rates increase." Ms Van Uden said while the accommodation sector bore the brunt of a differential change, it benefitted from other changes in roading taxes.
The community had been calling for a visitors' tax and there was a strong argument for collecting visitor costs through accommodation and commercial sectors, she said.
"It is not a new tax. It's been in place for over 20 years.[That's what we] want people to understand ... those who are calling for a visitor tax."
Submissions for the long-term plan review also close on Monday, with about 150 already received.
Submissions on both reviews can be delivered to council offices or made on line.
