City of Toronto issued the following announcement on March 27.

The City of Toronto is implementing a four-per-cent Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) on all hotel accommodations within Toronto as of April 1 and short-term rentals on or after June 1, pending the enactment of the short-term rental bylaw.

The MAT is applicable to all rooms used for rental accommodation for stays of four hours or more. Other services, including meeting room rentals, food and beverage, room services, internet and phone charges, are excluded from the tax provided they are itemized separately on the bill.

The MAT will be applicable to motels, hostels, private and fraternal clubs, condo hotels, short-term rentals, multi-use complexes used for transient accommodation, and all Toronto hotels, including full service, limited service and small hotels.

Hotel guests will be charged the MAT when they pay for their accommodation as of April 1 and the invoice will include a separate line identifying the tax.

The short-term rental bylaw is under appeal at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and will only come into effect on or after June 1, pending the OMB decision. For short-term rental guests, the tax will be automatically collected through the short-term rental platform's transaction process.

The provincial government's Transient Accommodation Regulation 436/17 came into effect on December 1, 2017 and provides the necessary provisions for municipalities to implement a MAT. On January 31, City Council approved a mandatory MAT in Toronto.

A portion of this tax will provide funding for Tourism Toronto to support the city’s tourism industry. The tax will also provide funds for City programs and services, such as road repair, transit, police, paramedic services, economic development, culture, parks and recreation.

More information on MAT rates, exemptions and penalties is available at toronto.ca/matax.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/TorontoComms, on Instagram at instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at facebook.com/cityofto.

Original source: https://www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/news-releases-media-advisories/?nrkey=F4A31C11559BEBDE8525825D005B2DFD