FAQs

A municipal accommodation tax (MAT) is a tax paid by visitors on short term overnight accommodations and remitted to the municipality. At least 50% of the net revenue is directed to a destination marketing organization with a mandate to promote tourism and marketing within the municipal boundaries. The other 50% can be used by the municipality for investments to enhance tourism, community amenities, or other municipal purposes.

Tourism is defined as all activities that people engage in when travelling outside their usual environment for any purpose. For the purpose of these business activities, a visitor is someone who takes an overnight out-of-town trip or an out-of-town same-day trip of 40 kilometres or more away from their home for purposes other than commuting to work or school, being on a diplomatic mission, going shopping as part of a regular activity, and going to regular appointments for health care or religious ceremonies. For international visitors, it also excludes students who stay in Canada for 75 or more nights.

A municipal services corporation (MSC) operates independently from the municipality with a separate bank account. The advantages of the Town establishing the Corporation include: 

• Satisfying the Province’s requirement for a non-profit tourism organization to serve as an Eligible Tourism Entity that utilizes a minimum of 50% of the MAT revenues; 
• Adopting a MSC model, which provides accountability, corporate responsibility and reasonable controls through the role of the voting members; and 
• Ensuring Town Council, as sole voting member, will be responsible for selecting and electing the Board of Directors (which will include Council representatives) that establish the governance framework for business plans, expenditures and Corporate policies. 

The benefits of establishing a MSC extend beyond that of tourism development. MSCs often conduct business in a manner that meets the private sector requirement of timely, efficient and effective decision making. Once established, the MSC can also carry out a variety of other revenue-generating activities, provide the municipality with increased debt financing capacity and contain the risks associated with the activities within the corporation.

Based on information compiled to Town Council contained within Staff Report FN011-25 in reviewing the accommodation sector in Bracebridge, taking into consideration their average room rate and % occupancy rate calculations, a proposed 4% MAT collected from the hotels and Short Term Rental Accommodations (STRA) the total estimated revenue of $530 thousand annually. The Town would then transfer fifty percent (50%) of the annual collected MAT revenue (less the Town's reasonable costs of collecting and administering the MAT that are attributable to each fiscal year).  Review the entire report FN011-25 on item 7.4.