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Thursday, October 23, 2008

City Council raises the hotel tax

The price of a hotel room is going up
A City Council committee yesterday approved a 1.2 percentage-point increase in the city's hotel-room tax, with nearly half of the new revenue - or about $2.3 million a year - helping to pay for higher-than-anticipated costs to expand the Convention Center.

The remaining anticipated revenue would be split between the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. Each would receive almost $2 million annually to promote the Philadelphia region.

For hotel guests, the tax increase would amount to an extra $1.40 per night, and raise the city's total hotel-room tax from 14 percent to 15.2 percent.
Posted by Ben Waxman @ 11:58 AM  Permalink | 3 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:48 PM, 10/23/2008
    15.2 % seems pushing the limit. Selling this as $1.40 a night increase, I think, may miss the point. The hotel tax like the convention center subsidy directs money away from individual's ability ( might I say "right" ) to choose how to spend his or her money. Has anyone done a rigorous Return on Investment analysis for all the money spent. I am thinking of the kind of an analysis a real company, that is, private investment company who has to explain to investors whether the decison was a good one. a kind of Lessons Learned.
    — bobguzzardi
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:48 PM, 10/23/2008
    15.2 % seems pushing the limit. Selling this as $1.40 a night increase, I think, may miss the point. The hotel tax like the convention center subsidy directs money away from individual's ability ( might I say "right" ) to choose how to spend his or her money. Has anyone done a rigorous Return on Investment analysis for all the money spent. I am thinking of the kind of an analysis a real company, that is, private investment company who has to explain to investors whether the decison was a good one. a kind of Lessons Learned.
    — bobguzzardi
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:54 PM, 10/23/2008
    And this is only the beginning, more and more government is going to look at increasing taxes as revenue...hang on to your wallets & pocketbooks the "'change' we need" is in them!
    — Angie200


3 comments
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