Representatives of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the Rocky Mountain Business Travel Association (RMBTA), a chapter of NBTA, and car rental companies recently met with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to explain how a proposal to raise car rental taxes in the state would negatively impact local businesses and citizens, as well as the Colorado economy.

Representing NBTA was Bill Connors, CTC, NBTA Executive Director & COO. Representing RMBTA was Pamela McTeer, RMBTA President.

The proposal, as recommended to Governor Ritter by the Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel, would add a fee of $6.00 per day to hotel and car rentals in Colorado to pay for road improvements and transit projects. The fee would place Colorado’s car rental taxes among the highest in the country.

NBTA’s Bill Connors said, “The Colorado proposal calls for a ‘visitor fee.’ We met with Governor Ritter to dispel the myth that taxes on car rentals and hotels only hit out-of-towners. The majority of NBTA member companies spend at least half of their car rental budgets in their home markets. If the State of Colorado starts charging $6 per day on car rentals and hotel rooms, it will be pulling money straight from the bottom lines of the companies doing business in Colorado.”

NBTA and the car rental companies in the meeting pointed out that highway improvements benefit the entire state of Colorado; thus car rental and hotel customers should not bear an unfair portion of the burden for funding those projects.

Connors added, “It was a pleasure to meet with Governor Ritter on this issue of importance to all businesses in his state. I look forward to continuing to work with his office, the Rocky Mountain Business Travel Association, and NBTA members in Colorado to help find a solution to the state’s transportation challenges that does not unfairly target consumers of select services.”