When Taxes Are Taxing

Let me start with some facts.  The other day, I was looking at a few itineraries and these points made me scratch my head, not in disbelief but in disappointment.  (Note, to protect any pricing or contracts, I am not using negotiated rates nor supplier names, but trust me, that doesn't change the story!) 

Round-trip international airline ticket, in business - $5414.00

1. Base fare on that ticket, meaning the portion of the ticket that can be discounted - $3439.00  
2. The other $1975 was made up of taxes, fees and surcharges.  
3. Of that, just under $1000 was a fuel surcharge. That's right, almost 20% of the cost of the ticket goes directly to the carrier to help cover their fuel costs and companies don't get a single penny of that to count toward corporate contracts.  

Car rental from the airport rental counter - $69.24/day

1. The base rate on that rental - $53.07/day
2. In some cities, travelers are paying for things like new stadiums, road construction and other "special projects" simply because we traveled to that city.   
3. Per day taxes are $16.17
4. Let's say this was a 3 day rental - $207.72

Hotel reservation at the mid-tier, city center hotel - $225.82/night

1. Booked rate on the hotel - $194.00/night
2. In this city, there two taxes; city and state. 
3. Per day taxes are $31.82
4. Again, a 3 night stay - $677.46

Let's recap this:

Cost of air, car, hotel - $6299.18
Taxes/Fees for above - $2118.97
Just over 1/3 of the cost of the trip is for taxes and fees.  Some are passed off to the federal, state or local government entities and some are held by the supplier to subsidize their programs. 

Most of my peers know these facts painfully, but if not, maybe this will make you think about travel and travel spend differently.  Until the next time, keep going.