PROVIDENCE – March collections of the local 1 percent hotel tax in Rhode Island declined 9.5 percent year over year to $251,919 from $278,000, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue Wednesday.
The collections included $37,969 from the expansion of the hotel tax collection base to include room resellers, online platforms and short-term rentals. New Shoreham saw the greatest nominal year over year change in year over year, declining $53,183 to $12,639. Providence experienced the largest nominal increase year over year at $6,828 to $80,281.
The decline in New Shoreham hotel tax revenue in March was more than double the total year-over-year collection decline in the state.
Fiscal year to date, collection of the 1 percent hotel tax in March totaled $3.7 million, 16.1 percent more than the $3.2 million collected in fiscal year to date in March 2017. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2018, Newport collected the most money for the 1 percent hotel tax, $874,574, on a 10.3 percent year-over-year increase. Providence recorded a year-over-year increase of 11.4 percent for a total of $805,137.
The local 1 percent hotel tax is collected on the rental of rooms across the state and is returned in full to the municipality in which the rental occurred.
