DOR: Hotel, meal and beverage tax collections climb in May

THE STATE Department of Revenue said local 1 percent hotel tax collections rose 11.7 percent year over year in May, and local 1 percent meal and beverage tax collections rose 10.7 percent year over year in May. Five percent hotel tax collections increased 11.7 percent year over year in  May. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
THE STATE Department of Revenue said local 1 percent hotel tax collections rose 11.7 percent year over year in May, and local 1 percent meal and beverage tax collections rose 10.7 percent year over year in May. Five percent hotel tax collections increased 11.7 percent year over year in May. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

PROVIDENCE – Hotel tax collections increased 11.7 percent year over year in May, and meal and beverage tax collections rose 10.7 percent, the state Department of Revenue said this week.
According to the fiscal 2015 Local 1 percent hotel tax collections report, $302,532 was collected in May, and $3.1 million has been collected fiscal year to date, a 9 percent increase compared with the prior fiscal period.
“The solid results for May 2015 jumped the fiscal year-to-date over fiscal year-to-date growth rate through May to 9 percent, a level we haven’t seen at this point in the fiscal year since May 2011,” Acting Director of Revenue David M. Sullivan said.
The local 1 percent hotel tax is collected on the rental of rooms in the state and remitted, in full, to the municipality in which the room rental was located. Similarly, the 1 percent meal and beverage tax is collected on the sale of a meal and /or beverage prepared away from home and remitted in full to the municipality where it was consumed.
A total of $2.3 million was collected in May through the 1 percent meal and beverage tax, and $21.6 million was collected fiscal year to date, a 7.1 percent increase compared with the previous fiscal period.
Sullivan said the increases could have been the result of the Volvo Ocean Race in Newport in May. He called the year-over-year growth in May “robust” at 10.7 percent, and “significantly higher” than the 6 percent year-over-year growth recorded in May 2014. He said the fiscal year-to-date increase also was substantially higher at 7.1 percent compared with the 5.2 percent calculated for the same prior-year fiscal period.
Also, the state released its 5 percent hotel tax collections report for May on Wednesday, showing an 11.7 percent increase year over year to $1.5 million. Fiscal year to date, collections grew 9 percent year over year to $15.3 million.
This tax is collected on the rental of rooms in the state and distributed to regional tourism districts, municipalities, the state of Rhode Island, Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau and the R.I. Convention Center Authority.
“The year-over-year rate of growth in state hotel tax revenues continued its strong double-digit percent increase in May, indicating a good start to the summer tourism season. This continued increase in state hotel tax revenue provides those entities with the responsibility to promote tourism and enhance the visitor experience in Rhode Island with greater ability to do so going forward,” Sullivan said.

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