R.I hotel tax collections rise in August

PROVIDENCE – The state’s 5 percent hotel tax collections increased year over year for August, but is rising at a slower rate than it did a year ago, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue’s latest report.
This past August, the state collected $2,612,907 as compared with $2,403,916 a year ago, at rate of growth of 8.7 percent, said Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly. However, the rate of growth a year ago was 11.6 percent.
Likewise, in fiscal-year-to-date data, the department collected $4,754,365 this year so far, at a 6 percent rate of growth over the previous year to date of $4,486,452. However, that rate of growth is also less than the prior year, when it measured 8.7 percent.
This state tax is levied on the rental of lodging for less than 30 consecutive days at the state’s hotels, motels and some bed and breakfasts.
“This slowdown in state hotel tax collections growth may portend slower growth in the tourism market for the coming year,” Gallogly said in a press release.
However, she noted that in the new fiscal year, state hotel tax collections boosted tourism promotion budgets statewide by just over $140,000.
“With those extra monies, I am confident that we will see increased visitations over the rest of the fiscal year as the result of these enhanced promotion efforts,” stated Gallogly.
Collected by the Division of Taxation, the money is disbursed by a complicated formula to state general revenues, local municipalities, eight regional tourism bureaus, as well as the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority and the Providence Warwick Convention Visitors Bureau.
The full report can be found at http://www.dor.ri.gov/Revenue%20Briefs/.

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