PMC to be abandoned, decreasing tax burden on tourists

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Created on Monday, 14 October 2013 15:33

Written by Editorial staff

On October 11, the government announced the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) currently imposed on people travelling to Australia will be frozen.

This is fantastic news for migration agents and their clients!

The PMC was introduced in 1995, according to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, and was designed to replaced Departure Tax.

It was a payment of $55, required of those who travelled out of Australia - whether they intended to return or not.

Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, said the PMC was increased by a total of 45 per cent under the previous government - price hikes, he said, that came without warning.

The PMC, along with increasing visa charges for tourists, has also put a significant tax burden on those visiting Australia in the past - something that registered migration agents are no doubt well aware of.

Mr Robb said the previous government saw both systems as "an easy way to raise revenue, with no consideration to its undermining effect on the competitiveness of our tourism sector".

He added that the carbon tax introduced by the previous government effectively reduced the profitability of Australia's hotels and made the cost of airplane tickets increase dramatically.

This made Down Under an expensive holiday destination, and most likely encouraged tourists to seek out other, more affordable options when deciding where to travel.

That's why Mr Robb is thrilled that the PMC is being abandoned, calling it a "major show of support for Australia's tourism sector" and a sure-fire way to attract more tourists to our shores.

He is also pleased by the governments decision to get rid of the carbon tax.

However, it's not as if Australia's tourism sector is struggling or anything. On the contrary, it constitutes our largest services export industry, according to Mr Robb.

He revealed that "international visitor consumption" exceeded $26 billion in 2011-12.

With the PMC frozen, Australia stands a better chance of achieving its Tourism 2020 goal - that is, to double overnight visitor expenditure in the next seven years.

Mr Robb said the tourism industry hopes to be making between $115 billion and $140 billion through overnight visitor expenditure by the end of the decade.

"By freezing the PMC at its current level for the full term of this government and by getting rid of the carbon tax we are sending a clear signal that this Australian government greatly values the tourism industry and is determined to do all we reasonably can to make it more competitive not less," concluded Mr Robb.