Nations were surprised to discover out that U.S. Customs and Border Protection hopes to enact a vacationer levy, especially the EU. 36 nations were chosen as the group required to pay to enter the U.S. a $14 “operational and travel promotion” for the traveler levy. Yahoo! News explained that if the traveler doesn’t have a U.S. visa, then he or she could have to pay the tax.
Is tourist tax as EU says, ‘inconsistent with facilitating transatlantic mobility’?
The European Union has been very open in its opposition to the United States’ newly instituted tourist tax masquerading as an operational and travel promotion fee. Many nations, including Australia, Germany, France, Japan and the United Kingdom, may have travelers on the sea or in the air that have to pay the cost. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) used to be free as it checked foreign tourists against terrorist databases and no fly lists, but now the fee, according to Homeland Security, will be paid for with the vacationer tax. The NY Times explains that will have to have internet access along with a credit or debit card on them. This is to help them shell out the vacationer tax as they go through the ESTA program. The ESTA may deny individuals in which case they have to shell out for something else. A non-immigrant visa could be what is required for these people. ESTA isn’t required to tell applicants why they were denied.
What your tourist dollars pay for
$10 is all that is really required for the travel promotion fee however $4 extra is there to help shell out for administration, says Homeland Security. So long as a tourist submits ESTA application details prior to traveling, the process typically runs smoothly. Unless your visa expires, you should be able to get into the United States of America multiple times in two years with authorization. Of course, if homeland security decides you have to reapply, then you may have to still. Additional details concerning the vacationer levy (aka the “operational and travel promotion fee”) could be found at CBP.gov, the website for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Further reading
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/08062010_2.xml
Yahoo! News
news.yahoo.com/s/ynewspoint/20100907/ts_ynewspoint/ynewspoint_ts3556
