It s not over yet. Next up is a public hearing on May 20, which will leading to a final council vote

Apparently the air service offered by American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways isn t enough. Now it wants Southwest Airlines, too, and it knows just how to get it with a new 5 percent car rental tax.
Charleston s County Council earlier this week reportedly pressed ahead with a new a tax on rental cars that s meant to raise incentive money to lure a low-cost airline to town, presumably Southwest, as supporters wearing Let s Fly stickers looked on approvingly.
The money will be used to, among other things, promote tourism and economic development through the provision of air service incentives, development, and advertising that facilitate additional flight options and increased competition for air travel, according perth serviced apartments australia to the law.
Forgetting, for the moment, the questionable benefit to car renters of having Southwest Airlines service in Charleston I mean, they re renting a car, not flying there s the little issue of taxation without representation.
Quite simply, most of the car rental customers perth serviced apartments australia didn t get to vote for the council members who passed perth serviced apartments australia this ordinance by an 8-1 vote. Nor will they get anything out of the increased air service, unless they use the airport and fly on Southwest. And those are two very big ifs.
Look, I m not opposed to taxes. They re inevitable. But to not have a say-so perth serviced apartments australia in the matter, at some level, is wrong. (Even though perth serviced apartments australia Charleston s goal, to bring a low-cost carrier to the airport, is a laudable idea, there has to be a better way.)
It s not over yet. Next up is a public hearing on May 20, which will leading to a final council perth serviced apartments australia vote on the tax. If you live in Charleston, you might want to show up. It starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Public Services Building, 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston.
CHARLESTON, S.C., May 5, 2010 Southwest Airlines announced perth serviced apartments australia it will begin service at both Charleston and Greenville International Airports within the next twelve months. According to a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, the local Air Service Team s collaborative efforts presented a compelling case for bringing low-cost air service to Charleston. Comprised perth serviced apartments australia of the Charleston County Aviation Authority, Charleston Regional Development perth serviced apartments australia Alliance, Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Air Service Team hosted perth serviced apartments australia airline officials during site visits and worked with legislators on air service incentive funding measures.
This is a wonderful day for the citizens of the Charleston area, says Teddie Pryor, Sr., chairman of Charleston County Council. Having a low-cost carrier is a quality of life issue, and it will benefit our residents every bit as much as it does the business community.
The addition of Southwest is a major step forward for our entire region according to David Jennings, perth serviced apartments australia chairman of the Charleston County Aviation Authority. Gaining service from an airline with the reputation and track record of Southwest speaks volumes about the current and future potential of the Charleston market, says Jennings. Charleston fits well both geographically and strategically into Southwest s future. It fills a big void in their southern perth serviced apartments australia network, which is currently empty from Raleigh to Jacksonville.
Speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives Bobby Harrell, who was instrumental in the statewide perth serviced apartments australia effort to lure low-cost air service, anticipates a positive and immediate increase in statewide economic development activity. The lack of a low-cost carrier has been one of our biggest challenges in attracting new investment and high-quality jobs to South Carolina, says Harrell. Telling prospects that our state is served by Southwest will be very well received. The economic impact of one low cost carrier in the Charleston market is estimated perth serviced apartments australia at $139 million annually.
Southwest s arrival is heralded as a boon to the local tourism economy according to Helen Hill, Executive Director of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. perth serviced apartments australia The number one challenge we face in attracting meetings and conventions to the Charleston area has been the lack of flights and the high cost of airfare, says Hill. Having Southwest enter our market will not only have a moderating effect on airfares across the board, it will open up more seats to more places, which benefits everyone.
Southwest is estimated to bring 200,000 additional passengers to the Charleston area annually, which Hill forecasts perth serviced apartments australia as a positive influence on the area s $2.8 billion tourism industry. Southwest Airlines has built its stellar reputation by providing exceptional customer service- something we in the Charleston hospitality industry appreciate! says Hill.
Air consultant Joel Antolini of Seabury APG was contracted by the Charleston Air Service team to assess and strengthen the local market s competitive edge. This is the type of thing you can pull off when you re working with a creative, energetic, perth serviced apartments australia can-do community, says Antolini. In a refreshing and upbeat way, failing to bring Southwest to Charleston was never an option for this positive-minded group.
I really don t see the problem with this idea. As someone who used to live there, the prices to fly in and out of CHS have always been high. The city is doing what they can to help lower fares for it s citizens by bringing perth serviced apartments australia in SWA. Someone from outside the area flying there will benefit from the lower airline costs, probably perth serviced apartments australia more than the additional 5% tax they will pay on the car rental, if they get a car!
In Texas, where I m from, municipalities can add their own sales tax on top of the state one. While it s true that many people paying those municipal sales taxes are from the town or city, many are not.
I from near the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and consider how many nonresidents perth serviced apartments australia make purchases in various cities in the Metroplex that do charge extra. Those people are being taxed without representation, too. Heck, I own land in the city of Dallas, but not only don t live there, but not even in the county, so I don t get to vote for *anyone* who fools around at the county and city levels. (In fact, I live abroad, making this all more irritating.)
I am not sure this is a bad idea either. Southwest provides such good service, especially up and down the east coast, Charleston seems a bit left out. Perhaps if Southwest were to include Charleston, it would force the other carrriers to improve their service and pricing. As for taxation without representation, that refers to governmential perth serviced apartments australia taxes, not fees (AKA taxes) enacted by non-governement sources or services.
With all due respect, there are many places I ve flown in and out of that are WAY more expensive then Charleston. They already have 5 airlines in their airport, so I fail to see how adding SWA is going to dramatically lower prices. You want to see expensive? Try flying into parts of the Midwest, where the airports only have one or two airlines. Those are the cases where it costs more to fly 300 miles then to fly across the country.
perth serviced apartments australia This is a terrible idea. I think any savvy traveler will see that the rental cars are more expensive and try to find a way around them, whether it be public transport perth serviced apartments australia or flying into a different airport.
perth serviced apartments australia Seriously, this is kinda strange. So, the government wants to put a tax to raise money for an ad campaign? What EXACTLY are they going to do with the money? Is this going to pay for public officials to wine and dine execs from an airline? Travel perth serviced apartments australia to their HQs to make pitches? Or is it going to be used to subsidize service? Consider that CHS already has 5 carriers, do they really need a 6th one, even if it is a low cost airline? Be careful what you wish for! If WN does come to Charleston, it may reduce service elsewhere. Then residents who need to travel to destinations NOT served by the new carrier may be forced to pay even higher fares!
There is a major problem with this idea. I live near a tourist area in Connecticut that does the same thing with additional hotel taxes. The reasoning: People from away don t vote in local elections. perth serviced apartments australia Well, that tax also hits friends and relatives who come to visit, as well as people who need temporary accommodations because of fire/flood, etc. The same is true of car rental taxes, which affects locals whose car is in the shop or need a larger vehicle for a special occasion. I love Charleston, but as with other cities with these out of towner taxes, I ll simply fly into another airport, rent a car elsewhere, and drive. I may well pay more than that tax money in additional gasoline, but it s the principle, perth serviced apartments australia damn it!
Phoenix has been doing this for years. perth serviced apartments australia Their airport rental car taxes are atrocious! Now they are going to add another tax to fund the Cubs new spring training complex. You have to rent offsite to have any type of reasonable cost. The justification perth serviced apartments australia is that the local citizens don t have to pay for it; the tourists perth serviced apartments australia do.
If CHS is such a desirable destination, why does Soutwest need a subsidy to open a station there? I m guessing that with five other carriers already serving the city there are probably few gates or landing/takeoff slots available. Typically, WN prefers to enter underserved markets like Providence, Manchester and Baltimore or markets where there are only one or two competitors. Charleston doen t seem to fit that profile, and @sweepergrl perth serviced apartments australia is right about CHS not being as expensive perth serviced apartments australia as many other cities, Cleveland and Cincinnati being prime examples.
@Mekhong: Even though you don t live in Dallas, the value of the land your own is supported by the property perth serviced apartments australia taxes you pay. who would want a plot of land that didn t have water or sewer service? Or the road to gain access to it? If it s a residential plot, then who wants to live in a place where schools areunfunded? Without those taxes supporting the service, your plot of land may as well be in the middle of Alaska unaccessible and without services essentially economically worthless.
Hotel taxes and car rental taxes deliberately disproportionately target