The U.S. Travel Association is encouraging the Trump administration
to turbocharge the reopening of the travel economy by creating a temporary
travel tax credit.
“To reduce the time it takes to get to full recovery,
Congress should create a new tax credit to encourage domestic business and
leisure travelers to travel within a specified time frame, similar to what was
done through the homebuyer tax credit in the wake of the housing crisis,” U.S.
Travel said in a legislative priorities document.
President Trump mentioned the idea in May during a White
House roundtable with restaurant industry executives,
calling the creation of an “Explore America” tax credit “a big deal.”
The association pointed to the administration’s publicly
expressed interest in the idea of the travel tax credit, which as proposed
would be worth 50% of qualified travel expenses incurred in the U.S. between
its launch date and December 31, 2021, up to a maximum of $4,000 per household.
“Qualified travel expenses should include any expense over
$50 that is incurred while traveling away from home in the U.S., with explicit
reference to the expense of meals, lodging, recreation, transportation,
amusement or entertainment, business meetings or events, and gasoline,” U.S.
Travel proposed.
The Covid-19 pandemic has pummeled the travel industry. The
U.S. Travel Association reported today that total spending on domestic travel
will drop 45% by the end of this year and inbound travel spending will fall
75%.