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Hotel
tax increase advances plan
By Gromer Jeffers, Jr. Visitors to Kansas City could pay more for their accommodations if voters approve a plan to increase the city's hotel and motel tax. The proposal calls for the tax to be increased to 6.5 percent from 5.5 percent. The City Council's Finance and Administration Committee voted Wednesday to send it to the full council. If approved by the council, the proposal would have to win the state legislature's approval to go to voters in August. The increase would generate $ 1.8 million annually. Fifty percent would go to Bartle Hall and other city complexes, such as Kemper Arena and the American Royal complex; 40 percent would go to the Convention and Visitors Bureau; and 10 percent would be allocated to the Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund. "This would obviously help the Convention and Visitors Bureau," said Councilman George Blackwood, the sponsor of the ordinance and a candidate for mayor. "Ninety-five percent of the taxes are collected from people who do not live in Kansas City." Richard Adie, immediate past chairman of the Hotel and Motel Association of Greater Kansas City, said he supported the increase. Kansas City would still have a lower hotel tax than Midwestern competitors, Adie said.
Reprinted with permission of The Kansas City Star |
