On Tuesday, after hearing from local overnight accommodations organizations, including Stay PEC and the Licensed Short-Term Accommodators of Prince Edward County, Prince Edward County Council passed a motion that will freeze its Municipal Accommodation (MAT) Tax at 4 per cent for the remainder of council term.

The MAT Tax, which has been collected since February 2021 in Prince Edward County, is applicable to (and collected by) any roofed accommodation with guests staying for less than 30 consecutive days. The tax powers originate from the 2017 provincial Bill 127, which afforded municipalities the MAT as a tool for revenue generation for the purposes of promoting tourism as an economic driver for communities.

This was in response to accommodator fears that the county was going to raise the MAT Tax to six per cent, which in their view would further disincentive overnight stays by tourists, who are already looking to many other destinations that are now an option to travel to (since the lifting of most pandemic restrictions) to maximize their inflation-curtailed purchasing power.

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