Civitas in the News
By Andrew Levine, Forbes Contributor
Whoever created the hotel bed tax was a genius. Every year the bed tax (also known as the “transient occupancy tax”) adds billions to the coffers of local governments and conveniently comes from visitors rather than local residents.
A significant portion of that money is usually redirected to the support of tourism marketing and tourism-related capital projects. But at times Mayors and City Council Members have found other general fund uses for these revenues. And that can be a significant frustration to a local tourism community.
Enter a new funding innovation that supplements the hotel bed tax called the “TBID” or “Tourism Business Improvement District.” In the United States, 150+ TBIDs are now generating over $250+ million per year – funding that is controlled by the tourism-related businesses who agree to an assessment on their guests (read the complete article here).
