By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull
On Nov. 6 the voters of Hollister approved a five percent tourism tax on each sleeping room or campsite occupied and rented by transient guests and certain docking facilities. At its Jan. 17 meeting the Hollister Board of Aldermen had its first reading of Bill. No. 2008-03. If approved at its second reading at the boards Jan. 31 meeting the city of Hollister’s Municipal Code will be amended to add a Tourism Tax ordinance implementing the tax effective Apr. 1.
The proposed ordinance provides that the 5 percent tax must be collected and paid, on certain transactions, to the city of Hollister by every person engaged in the business renting or leasing living quarters, sleeping rooms or accommodations in connection with any hotel, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility. The taxable transactions are those where businesses required to pay the tax are leasing or renting to “transient guests.”
A transient guest is defined as “any person who rents or leases living quarters, sleeping accommodations, sleeping room or a part thereof” in a business required to pay the tax, for 30 consecutive days or less. The proposed ordinance contains specific definitions for each of the general types of bushiness required to collect and pay the tax, hotels, bed and breakfast inns, campgrounds, and docking facilities. Although there is no separate definition for “Motel” that term is included under the definition for “Hotel.” The definition of “Docking Facility” makes it very clear that the tourism tax only applies to those transactions where the dock owner “rents slips to recreational boats which are used by Transient Guests for sleeping.”
Under the ordinance all the tourism taxes collected must be deposited into a Tourism Tax Fund account which must be kept separate and a part from all other funds of the city. The funds in the Tourism Tax fund may only be used for the promotion of tourism.
The ordinance defines the “Promotion of Tourism” to mean actions taken to accelerate the growth or progress of tourism with the city. Its noninclusive list of such activities includes tourism related public infrastructure improvements and tourism related advertising and publicity.
Under the proposed ordinance up to 70 percent of the tourism tax collected could be used for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and operating tourism related infrastructure improvements, including but not limited to sidewalks, streets, highways, roads, waterworks, wastewater facilities, etc. The 70 percent available could fluctuate because not less than 30 percent of the tourism taxes collected must be used for tourism related advertising and publicity purposes. If 40 percent of the tourism tax collected is used for such publicity only a maximum of 60 percent would be available for infrastructure. The amount available for infrastructure could be reduced by up to another 2 percent because of the provision allowing for up to 2 percent of the tax to be used for the necessary expenses involved with the administration and collection of the tax.
Hollister City Administrator, Rick Ziegenfuss said that it is anticipated that the city will start collecting the tax effective Apr. 1. He also said that after final passage of the tax and before its effective date the city plans to offer training in the new ordinance to those businesses that will be required to collect the tax.
Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.
