Pasco County commissioners voted to double the bed tax to 4 percent, after staying at 2 percent for decades.
- Pasco County commissioners vote to double bed tax
- Bed tax raised from 2% to 4%
Friends or family coming from out of town to visit will now have to pay a bit more to stay in a hotel room. For instance, a hotel stay that would cost you $100 would now have a $4 tax on top of it--in addition to sales tax and other fees the hotel may charge.
Many people are in favor of the move, including Henry "Chip" Wichmanowski, President of the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce. He feels the tax will lead to more tourists coming to the area.
"The beauty of this is, it's not our citizens here that are going to be paying those taxes, it might be some of their relatives. But we're not going to be able to draw tourists to this area without the infrastructure to do that draw," Wichmanowski.
He also hasn't heard any complaints from member hotels. The county said the tax hike means it will get a million dollars more a year for tourism.
The money is used to promote Pasco tourism and will also go toward construction, like the new sports complex in Wesley Chapel.
Even double, commissioners say Pasco's tourist tax is still lower than surrounding counties. Hillsborough and Hernando are at 5 percent and Pinellas charges 6 percent.