diff --git a/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/controllers/tag.py b/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/controllers/tag.py
index 25e74fdf576..0320f2be72e 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/controllers/tag.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/webapps/galaxy/controllers/tag.py
@@ -90,7 +90,6 @@ class TagsController(BaseUIController, UsesTagsMixin):
         user = trans.user
         item_class = self.get_class(item_class)
         q = '' if q is None else q
-        q = q.encode('utf-8')
         if q.find(":") == -1:
             return self._get_tag_autocomplete_names(trans, q, limit, timestamp, user, item, item_class)
         else: