DOR: Hotel-tax collections rise 4% in March, 7.8% fiscal YTD

HOTEL TAX collections increased 4 percent year over year in March to $832,401, according to the state Department of Revenue, which released its March 2015 state 5 percent hotel collections report. On a fiscal year to date basis, hotel tax collections grew 7.8 percent, to $12.8 million. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
HOTEL TAX collections increased 4 percent year over year in March to $832,401, according to the state Department of Revenue, which released its March 2015 state 5 percent hotel collections report. On a fiscal year to date basis, hotel tax collections grew 7.8 percent, to $12.8 million. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

PROVIDENCE – Hotel-tax collections increased 4 percent year over year in March to $832,401, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue, which released its March 2015 state 5 percent hotel collections report Friday.

On a fiscal year to date basis, hotel-tax collections grew 7.8 percent, to $12.8 million, the state agency said. The 5 percent hotel tax is collected on the rental of rooms in the state and distributed according to a formula, the DOR said.

In March, regional tourism districts received $310,790, 3.1 percent more in revenue than in March 2014, while municipalities received $186,038, a 2.6 percent increase; the state of Rhode Island received $180,099, a 4.4 percent increase; the Providence-Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau received $128,999, 5.4 percent more; and the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority received $26,475, which was 18.5 percent higher than the year-ago period.

“The year-over-year rate of growth in state hotel tax revenues softened in March except for the Omni Providence Hotel. In spite of this slowdown in the rate of growth, the rate of growth at least remained positive on a year-over-year basis. Unfortunately, the March 2015 results were well below the rate of growth recorded on a year-over-year basis in March of 2014,” acting Director of Revenue David M. Sullivan said in a statement.

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Comparing the first nine months of the fiscal year with the same period last year, regional tourism districts, municipalities and the state all experienced 7.8 percent increases in revenue, to $5.2 million, $3 million and $2.7 million, respectively. The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau had a 7.9 percent increase, to $1.6 million, while the Convention Center Authority received a 7.4 percent increase, to $225,577.

On a fiscal year-to-date basis, state hotel tax collections have increased tourism promotion budgets statewide by more than $500,000 in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, and fiscal 2015 state hotel tax collections through March already exceed fiscal 2014 state hotel tax collections through April, Sullivan said.

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