R.I. hotel tax collections show increase in July

HOTEL TAX COLLECTIONS rose 2.8 percent in July, compared to July 2013's collections, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue.
HOTEL TAX COLLECTIONS rose 2.8 percent in July, compared to July 2013's collections, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue.

PROVIDENCE – The director of the R.I. Department of Revenue described state hotel tax collections as “up modestly” for July.

The state department released its fiscal 2015 state 5 percent hotel tax collections report for July 2014 Wednesday afternoon, showing that collections increased 2.8 percent – $2 million to $2.1 million – on a year-over-year basis.

July is the first month of the fiscal year, meaning that the year-over-year and fiscal year-to-date results are identical.

“State hotel tax collections were up modestly on a year-over-year basis for July. Some of this tepid growth can be attributed to unique events that occurred last year, such as the Tall Ships in Newport, which did not take place this year. All in all we have no complaints as positive growth is always better than negative growth,” Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly said.

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The state hotel tax requires hotels to charge a 5 percent tax on the rental of rooms in the state and, together with the separately levied 1 percent local hotel tax, represents a fair gauge of hotel activity in Rhode Island during a given period.

Tax revenue from the state hotel tax is divided among eight regional tourism bureaus, the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, the R.I. Convention Center Authority, and the state and its 39 municipalities.

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