A question of taxes was hardly a taxing one for as it voted unanimously in favour of the five-year renewal of a two per cent hotel room tax at its Jan. 9 meeting.

The current agreement with the province to collect the tax on behalf of participating municipalities expires this August.

The money raised through the hotel tax benefits , which now depends on the tax for 64 per cent of its funding 鈥� up from 46 per cent in 2008, when the agency was still receiving start up funds from .

The tax, which must still be approved by the and the, is collected by the province on behalf of Tourism 91原创 and distributed through the Township and City.

In order to implement the hotel tax, which is done through the Ministry of Finance, the support of 51 per cent of hotels (representing 51 per cent of available rooms in a community) and that of the municipality is required.

However, in the City, that figure has been easily surpassed, with all of the municipality鈥檚 six hotels 鈥� with a total of 342 rooms 鈥� on board.

鈥淥ne hundred per cent of hotel properties that were reachable indicated their support (for the tax),鈥� said Alnoor Tejpar, as he and Tourism 91原创 executive director Deborah Kulchiski made a presentation to City council.

Councillor Dave Hall asked whether an occupancy comparison had been done between the 53 communities in B.C. which charge the two per cent tax 鈥� including both 91原创 City and 鈥� and those that don鈥檛.

Guests want to know what a hotel鈥檚 room rates are and what that fee includes, for example, is breakfast provided, said Tejpar, who is the general manager of the Hampton Inn and Suites on the 91原创 Bypass, as well as the owner/manager of the Best Western 91原创 Inn on Glover Road, which falls within 91原创 City limits.

鈥淧eople assume there is a tax.鈥�

After peaking in 2007 and 鈥�08, and then dropping off with the global economic crisis, hotel occupancy rates in 91原创 are once again leveling off and beginning to climb, said Tejpar, who is also a  Tourism 91原创 board  member.

Hall then asked whether the province had the power to raise the rate at which the tax is levied, or to 鈥渃law back鈥� any portion of the revenue, if it found itself short of funds.

That could not happen without a change in provincial legislation, explained Mayor Peter Fassbender.

鈥淰ery few communities get 100 per cent of hotel support,鈥� said Fassbender. The City has that, he noted, adding the Township is well on its way toward full support from its hoteliers as well.

鈥淭here鈥檚 one property I鈥檓 aware of (in the Township) that will not support it,鈥� he added, in an apparent reference to the Princess and the Pea bed and breakfast, whose owner, Wally Martin, is an outspoken opponent of the tax.