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What a Charge
Ask Chris · October 17, 2000

Q: I keep getting nailed in Taiwan with a departure tax. Every time I leave, they squeeze me for about $500TD (about $16).

They only accept payment in local money. Problem is, I turn in all of my local money before I check in to the ticket counter and they want payment in local currency, and they only speak Chinese to me (FYI: notice my last name is "Romano"). When I say I don't have the cash, they said that's fine - just don't try and leave the country.

-- Joe Romano

A: I have to assume that you found some way out of Taiwan. If not, I might be able to persuade this column's readers to take up a collection for you.

It goes without saying that taxes are one of the most annoying aspects of travel. Making matters worse is the fact that you'll probably never benefit from the levies that are collected in Taiwan or elsewhere. From bed taxes to sales taxes, travelers often unwittingly funds projects that have nothing to do with them.

It's a scam, if you ask me. Alexander Nikoloff, a research analyst for Michigan State University's World Travel & Tourism Tax Policy Center, prefers to call it "taxation without representation." Either way, it's as unintelligent as it is unfair.

Interestingly enough, there's fresh evidence that this tax burden is growing heavier. The Michigan State researchers have found that in cities like Buenos Aires, a four-night could set you back $272 in taxes alone. The statistics also suggest that state, local and national governments are relying more than ever on travelers for tax revenues.

Here are a few more numbers, courtesy of the Travel Industry Association of America:

The average international arrival or departure fee in the United States is $12, which doesn't include a $6.50 Customs Service user fee, a $6 Immigration and Naturalization Service user fee, and a $1.45 Agriculture Department fee.
Most hotel taxes - also called bed taxes - are in the 12 percent range. Those taxes aren't always quoted when you're shopping for rates, either. They're a surprise when you check out.
Base sales taxes are somewhere around 8 percent (again, that's an average number, according to TIA.)

I've been socked with these taxes, too. When I left Curacao last year - surprise! - I had to fork over $20. I didn't have the money, so I found an automatic teller machine that charged me a hefty service fee. Departure taxes in the islands range from a low of $8 on Dominica to a high of $25 in Haiti, according to the Caribbean Tourist Organization.

I think it would be one thing if the money collected from travelers went to road improvements, police or new terminals. But many of the newest taxes have been allocated for things that will never affect the average traveler. A new hotel-motel tax in Louisiana could be used to help finance a $100 million auto speedway, for example. Similar levies are funding new athletic stadiums in Boston, Houston and San Antonio.

So are we just going to sit there and take it?

I'm afraid there's not much we can do about these charges. The only way to avoid them is to stay home.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator and author of A Bridge to Nowhere: A Year in the Florida Keys. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. Ask Chris appears weekly on this site.