PROVIDENCE – Collection of the 5 percent hotel tax in Rhode Island in February totaled $922,558, a 15.2 percent increase year over year, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue Thursday.
Regional tourism districts in the state – there are eight regional tourism districts in the state, many including more than one municipality – received $311,914 in February, a 3.6 percent increase from February 2017’s $300,969. Of this tourism district allocation, $9,051 was attributable to hosting platform and room resellers, compared with $1,200 one year prior.
Aquidneck Island received the largest share of the 5 percent hotel tax of any tourism district in the state for the month at $94,680, despite a 3.7 percent decline year over year. Block Island was the district with the largest nominal increase year over year from $1,184 to $16,176.
Municipalities received a total of $213,237 from the 5 percent hotel tax in February, a 17.6 percent increase year over year. Of the total, $11,469 was attributable to hosting platforms and room resellers, an increase from $2,124 in February 2017. Providence was the municipality that received the largest share of the tax in the state at $64,161, thanks to a 14.2 percent uptick year over year. New Shoreham was the municipality that reported the largest increase in hotel tax revenue year over year, increasing $9,299 to $9,929.
The R.I. Commerce Corp. was allocated $274,517 of the 5 percent hotel tax for the month, an increase of 38.1 percent year over year.
The Providence Warwick Visitors Bureau was allocated $122,890 in February, a 2.5 percent increase on the year.
Fiscal year to date, collection of the 5 percent hotel tax totaled $14.6 million, 8.9 percent greater than the $13.4 million collected through the first eight months of fiscal 2017.
Collections by tourism districts fiscal year to date totaled $5.3 million, a decline of 3.1 percent over the year. Collections by municipalities fiscal year to date totaled $3.4 million, an 8.4 percent increase. Commerce RI was allocated $4.2 million fiscal year to date, an increase of 36.6 percent, and the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau was allocated $1.6 million, which represented a 2.5 percent year-over-year decline.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
The booming national economy, resulting from federal tax and regulatory cuts, as our RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity accurately predicted, is resulting in windfall revenues for all states; sales and income receipts up, because more people are working at higher wages. For once, we say THANK YOU to the federal government!