%16 scuba tax in Cozumel?

[ggunn]

Kelemvor, hotels taxes aka soak the tourist taxes are separate from sales tax and resort fees. The are only charged on lodging. They pass because locals don’t stay in hotels. I don’t know of any similar USA tax.

Quite possibly I am misunderstanding what you are saying, but hotel taxes are common in the US.

 

[loady]

Quite possibly I am misunderstanding what you are saying, but hotel taxes are common in the US.

Everyplace in America has a hotel lodging fee separate from sales tax and resort fee. Only sales tax applies to Cozumel boat dives.

 

[DandyDon]

I don't know what fees they are adding on but Florida's sales tax is 6% and their hotel tax is 6% according to Mr. Google. Do you suppose the hotel has it's own fees? Be interesting to see a breakdown.

Simple answer, YES. Works out to 28% or so.

 

[loady]

State lodging tax requirements

Can choose a place with no resort fee . Cant choose a place with no tax.

 

[cvchief]

We are talking primarily about a value added tax, which is a whole different taxing method. Lots of countries have them and they are kind of large"

VAT Per Country | Value Added Tax Rates By Country | USCIB

And that is before the addition of 3% hotel tax in Qroo.

Visit Ft Lauderdale says they are at 13: Taxes: 7% sales tax on purchases and 6% tax on hotel rooms in Broward County. (The lowest tax burden in the US according to the Global Business Travel Association.)

And that is the US who isn't doing the VAT thing, yet at least.

 

[kelemvor]

Kelemvor, hotels taxes aka soak the tourist taxes are separate from sales tax and resort fees. The are only charged on lodging. They pass because locals don’t stay in hotels. I don’t know of any similar USA tax. Normal USA Sales tax is what’s charged on everything but unprepared food. That’s what I’m talking about on Mexican diving. MOST Coz operators include it in the listed prices. The one that I used, when the tax was added made it one of the more expensive dive companies. But because of location and schedule I didn’t have a choice. In ca at least sales tax not supposed to be charged On labor, like a car mechanic. Resort fee is most egregious in Vegas. Some states have tried passing truth in resort fees disclosure laws but I don’t know if any have succeeded.

In California, they call the hotel tax "Transient Occupancy Tax." I found documents referring to a state TOT in CA but didn't find the rate. LA County charges a 12% TOT, cities such as Colton charge 10%. Sales tax will apply as well, but only for part of your bill. They're cumulative. It's possible that there is someplace in the USA with no hotel taxes beyond just sales but I bet you would struggle to find such a place. In Florida, we call it a "hotel tax" and it's cumulative with sales tax. Most counties have a hotel tax, most cities also have a hotel tax, ad I'm not sure about a state based hotel tax. Probably because that's how we handle taxes in FL instead of having an income tax.

The situation is crappy. Requires a computer to figure out what you'll actually be paying. Or really, what the hotel will be paying (since the seller is the one on the hook to actually pay the taxes). Current laws allow the tax to be passed on and listed separately. It would be silly and frankly impossible to stop businesses from passing them on but I think the separate listing is bad.

In Eastham, Massachusetts the tax comes out to 13%
In Safety Harbor, FL the tax comes out to 19%
In Orlando, FL the tax comes out to 12%
Those are total taxes. I don't care if it's called "sales" or "Occupancy" or "Hotel" or "Transient Occupancy" or "Jock" or "Cow Flatulence". Actually I'd be a little happier if they called it all "Cow Flatulence" because at least it would be kind of funny.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

@DandyDon it would be a bit of a drive, but I can usually get to Coz out of OKC for $400 or less, Southwest does the 2 free bags. Even when the prices show $600, they usually drop back to 300-400 in a few days.

Usually, OKC is cheaper than leaving out of Dallas. MYHOUSE Parking fee, 15.98% Parking tax(still cheaper than Coz), resort fee, custom tire DNA marking fee by neighbors dog, all payable in beer or Nitrox.

Now back to the regularly scheduled Scubaboard whining. Is Vagisil a site sponsor?

I happily pay the gringo tax if it means I'm not dealing with judges, tenants, pissed off momma cows trying to kill me, or my wife and dog arguing about who I love more....

Jay

 

[ggunn]

The bottom line is all I care about. Diving is an expensive hobby; we all know that; all I want to know is how much I need to budget for a trip.

 

[yle]

Communities use hotel taxes to fund themselves off the visitors. I’ve heard of high VAT / sales taxes in Europe but not in less developed countries . In Europe they are included in the price. We are supporting the Cozumel economy with our dollars. After paying a fortune to fly to Coz, experiencing all these various Cozumel taxes and fees , and the airport shuttle boss selling me tickets then claiming not enough passengers so I’d have to either buy all the seats or pay a $25 taxi to drive ten minutes, forcing us to leave the airport to get a $10 taxi, I’m ready to go to Honduras and dive Roatan for similar diving at lower prices. Or to Asia for much lower prices. I don’t know that a budget Cozumel dive vacation is possible.

I think that when you compare everything for Cozumel vs Roatan vs SE Asia... cost of flights, convenience of travel, time spent in transit (much less for a flight to Coz vs a flight to SE Asia...), infrastructure available (lodging options, restaurants, etc... and what happens if you have an emergency, need medical care or have to get home quickly?), in addition to the actual cost (even including a 16% tax in Coz...), you'll likely find that Cozumel, by objective comparison, is by far the best value.

 

[DandyDon]

DandyDon it would be a bit of a drive, but I can usually get to Coz out of OKC for $400 or less, Southwest does the 2 free bags. Even when the prices show $600, they usually drop back to 300-400 in a few days.

Huh? You're 20 miles from Will Rogers which is handy, but whatever. SWA doesn't book fares from Lubbock to Cozumel. I do wonder why, but they do whatever they want to.

MYHOUSE Parking fee, 15.98% Parking tax(still cheaper than Coz), resort fee, custom tire DNA marking fee by neighbors dog, all payable in beer or Nitrox.

That made no sense, but okay.

Now back to the regularly scheduled Scubaboard whining. Is Vagisil a site sponsor?

What? Oh, you're not a Supporting member so you're getting ads that are based on your search history, so I guess you or someone searched for something to do whatever that does.