| The Tax Barometer is composed of four trip elements:
lodging, car rental, meals, and airport arrival and departure. Each element of the
trip is priced according to a standard purchase by a hypothetical "WTTC
Traveler" in each destination.
This trip includes
the purchase of four nights' lodging, four days'
car rental, twelve meals, and one set of international arrival and departure
airport charges. Taxes imposed on these purchases are then
identified, recorded, and developed into a sector index. Next, these elements are
aggregated into a composite index for the destination, based on the average cost of each
element included in the standardized trip. If you would like more information on the
development of the Tax Barometer, please refer to our research methodology. |
 |
Rank |
|
Total tax $ for 5-day/4-night trip: |
$38.98 |
2 |
|
Percentage of total item cost: |
2.18% |
2 |
|
Overall tax index: |
74 |
2 |
The first item in the above table represents
the combined tax total
paid by the WTTC Traveler in each of the four sectors in
Hong Kong. The second
item (percentage of total
item cost)
indicates what percentage of the total bill
is devoted to taxes.
The last item (overall tax index)
reflects the cumulative change in the amount
of tax paid in U.S. dollars between June 1994 and
June 2002.
The rankings show how
Hong Kong compares with other Tax Barometer cities; a ranking of 1
is most competitive, while a ranking of 52 is least competitive.
Summary: Hong
Kong currently has an
overall Tax Barometer index of 74,
indicating an
26% decrease in
travel-related taxes since June 15, 1994.
This decrease gives Hong Kong the second lowest
overall tax index among all 52 surveyed destinations.
This change can be attributed to a significant decrease in the hotel
index, which offset an increase in the air passenger index.
Taxes on car rentals and restaurant meals have remained at their 1994
base index levels. For a five-day, four-night trip to
Hong Kong, travelers
can expect to pay approximately $39.00 in tourism-related taxes, a
total that ranks as the
second lowest
among all surveyed destinations. Hong Kong is one of only two
cities to charge less than $40 in taxes for a five-day trip. |
 |
Rank |
|
Average price for 4-day rental (mid-size) without taxes: |
$372.31 |
- |
|
Total charges for 4-day rental with taxes: |
$372.31 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for 4-day rental: |
$0.00 |
1 |
|
Percentage of total car rental cost: |
0.00% |
1 |
|
Car rental tax index: |
100 |
1 |
|
Summary:
Hong Kong currently has no rental car tax. |
 |
Rank |
|
Average price for 4-nights lodging without taxes: |
$871.79 |
- |
|
Value added tax/sales tax: |
3.00% |
- |
| Total
charges for 4-nights lodging with taxes: |
$897.95 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for four-nights: |
$26.16 |
8 |
|
Percentage of total hotel room cost: |
2.91% |
2 |
|
Hotel
tax index: |
60 |
5 |
Summary: Hotel tax charges in Hong
Kong have decreased 40% since 1994, the result of a 2.0% decrease in
the lodging tax rate. The base index rate of 5.0% was lowered to
3.0% in 1998. Visitors can expect to pay around $26.00 for a
four-night hotel stay, the eighth lowest amount of any surveyed
destination. The percentage decrease ranks as the fifth largest
among all 52 surveyed destinations. |
 |
Rank |
|
Average price for 12 restaurant meals
without taxes: |
$514.87 |
- |
|
Total charges for 12 meals with taxes: |
$514.87 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for 12 meals: |
$0.00 |
1 |
|
Percentage of total restaurant meals cost: |
0.00% |
1 |
|
Restaurant tax index: |
100 |
5 |
Summary: Hong Kong currently has no restaurant meal tax. |
 |
Rank |
|
Air passenger departure tax: |
HK$ 80.00 |
- |
|
Security service charge: |
HK$ 20.00 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for international arrival and departure: |
$12.82 |
17 |
|
Percentage of total trip cost: |
0.72% |
5 |
|
Air passenger tax index: |
143 |
18 |
Summary:
Taxes on international airline passengers in Hong Kong have increased
43% since 1994. This increase is the 35th highest in the air
passenger index. The increase can be attributed to a HK$ 30.00
increase in the air passenger departure tax that went
into effect in October 2001. Air passengers can expect to pay
approximately $13.00 in ticket taxes, a total that ranks as the 18th
lowest among all surveyed destinations. |
 |
|
Barometer No. 3:
The
airport passenger departure tax was increased from HK$ 50.00 to HK$
100.00.
Barometer No. 6:
The lodging tax rate was reduced from 5.0% to 3.0%. Also, the airport
passenger departure tax was reduced from HK$ 100.00 to HK$ 50.00.
Barometer No. 10:
The air passenger departure tax was increased from HK$ 50.00 to HK$
80.00, effective 10-1-01.
|
|
