Add Utah to the list of states where the American Society of Travel Advisors' (ASTA) grassroots campaign has paid off in achieving positive results.
In what is yet another big win for the travel agent community, the Utah legislature has passed a tax reform proposal with no additional tax on travel advisors.
"We are happy to report that the bill passed last night (S.B. 2001) would tax only a limited number of services, including pet boarding, towing, parking lots, Uber and other ride-hailing apps, and dating referrals, but not travel agency or tour operator services," ASTA wrote in an alert to its Utah members. "The Governor is expected to sign the bill in the next few days."
The legislation would have affected more than 150 travel agency retail locations across the state, according to ASTA, which thanked its Utah members for assisting in the campaign. The organization gave special thanks to Brian Hollien of Morris Murdock in Salt Lake City for visiting the legislature, attending tax reform task force meetings and keeping ASTA and its members in the loop.
"Without his efforts, our chances of avoiding a tax increase would have been much reduced," ASTA said.
The latest win in Utah comes just months after ASTA secured similar key victories in places like California, where travel agents received an exemption from California's Assembly Bill 5 designed to limit the use of independent contractors in businesses.
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