[StBernard] REMINDER! St. Bernard Hotel/Motel fee on Saturday's ballot

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Thu Oct 2 21:50:15 EDT 2008


St. Bernard Parish officials encourage voters to support hotel-motel tax

Measure to support tourism only charged to those staying overnight in hotel
rooms, fishing lodges, bed and breakfasts or campgrounds



St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro Jr. and the Parish Council are
encouraging voters to support a proposition for a Hotel-Motel Tax that will
be on the ballot Saturday, October 4.



This fee only will be charged to guests who stay overnight in a hotel-motel
room, bed and breakfast, fishing lodge or campground. This is not a tax or
fee charged to residents of St. Bernard Parish.



Since Hurricane Katrina, tourism efforts have been funded by a one-time
"tourism recovery grant" that funded the development of the
www.visitStBernard.com <http://www.visitstbernard.com/> website, the
production of commercials that aired on WWL-TV, print ads, promotional
brochures and participation in tradeshows and other efforts marketing St.
Bernard Parish as well as hosting the Oh Boy Oberto Redfish Cup, which aired
on ESPN2.



These marketing and advertising campaigns brought visitors to St. Bernard
from around the country, generating sales tax dollars that in turn has
helped the local economy.



"Voting for this measure will fund more tourism activities and is not a tax
on local people," Taffaro said.



The fee cannot exceed 2% of the rental rate for the room. For example, for a
room with a daily rate of $70, the fee would equal $1.40. The law requires
the money collected from the fee to be used for tourism related activities.



The full text of the proposition as it will appear on the ballot is as
follows:

Parishwide Proposition

Summary: 2% tax upon the rent or fee charged for the occupancy of hotel
rooms, motel rooms, and overnight camping facilities within the jurisdiction
of the St. Bernard Parish Tourist Commission (said Tax to be in addition to
any other taxes thereon), with the proceeds of the Tax (after paying
reasonable and necessary costs and expenses of collecting and administering
the Tax) to be used for the purposes of attracting conventions and tourists
into the area of the jurisdiction of the Commission, including, but not
limited to, advertising, promotion and publication of information.



Shall the Parish of St. Bernard, State of Louisiana (the "Parish"), under
the provisions of La. R.S. 33:4574.1, and other constitutional and statutory
authority, be authorized to levy and collect, a tax of two percent (2%) (the
"Tax"), upon the rent or fee charged for the occupancy of hotel rooms, motel
rooms, and overnight camping facilities within the jurisdiction of the St.
Bernard Parish Tourist Commission (said Tax to be in addition to any other
taxes thereon) (an estimated $50,000 reasonably expected at this time to be
collected from the levy of the Tax for an entire year), with the proceeds of
the Tax (after paying reasonable and necessary costs and expenses of
collecting and administering the Tax) to be used for the purposes of
attracting conventions and tourists into the area of the jurisdiction of the
Commission, including, but not limited to, advertising, promotion and
publication of information?












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