Auburn, California, Hotel Tax Increase, Measure J (November 2016)
| Measure J: Auburn Hotel Tax Increase |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 8, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Defeated
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| Topic: |
| Local hotel tax Expires in: Never |
| Related articles |
| Local hotel tax on the ballot November 8, 2016 ballot measures in California Placer County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Auburn, California |
A hotel tax increase measure was on the ballot for Auburn voters in Placer County, California, on November 8, 2016. It was defeated.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of applying the city's hotel tax to home-sharing units, such as those advertised on AirBnB, VRBO, and Homeaway, and increasing the city's hotel tax from 8 percent to 10 percent. |
| A no vote was a vote against this proposal to apply the city's hotel tax to home-sharing units, such as those advertised on AirBnB, VRBO, and Homeaway, and to increase the city's hotel tax from 8 percent to 10 percent. |
Election results
| Measure J | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| No | 4,079 | 59.95% | ||
| Yes | 2,725 | 40.05% | ||
- Election results from Placer County Elections Division
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
Shall an ordinance be adopted to amend the Auburn Municipal Code to amend the definition of "operator", so the tax is collected by all persons receiving consideration from the rental, including on-line hotel brokers and vacation rental agencies and shall the rate of the TOT be increased to 10%?[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Auburn City Attorney:
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BACKGROUND. Nearly every California city charges a "transient occupancy tax" ("hotel bed tax") to guests of hotels, motels and similar lodgings who stay 30 days or less. Counties charge such taxes in areas outside cities. The City of Auburn currently charges an 8% tax on stays in hotels with three or more rooms for rent. Hotel operators collect the tax when guests pay for their rooms and pay it to the City. This is a general tax which can be spent on any lawful purpose of the City including its police, fire, street maintenance and other services. MEASURE J. This measure would make three changes to Auburn's tax: 1. It would raise the rate from 8% to 10%. 2. It would require online rental services - such as AirBnB, VRBO and Homeaway - to collect the tax. 3. It would eliminate the three-room requirement and tax all short-term lodgings. The rest of the City's hotel bed tax ordinance would not be changed. The measure requires simple-majority voter approval. A "yes" vote approves the increase of the tax to 10%, includes online rental services among the hotel "operators" who must collect it, and taxes 1 – and 2 – room hotels. A "no" vote rejects these proposed changes and maintains the City's existing tax.[2] |
” |
| —Auburn City Attorney[3] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[3]
- Bridget Powers, Auburn City Attorney
- Teresa Wilson, community member
- Charles M. Richardson, community member
- Steven Galyardt, community member
- Philip N. Booker, community member
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[3]
| “ |
Please VOTE 'YES' on increasing the City's hotel/motel tax. People come to Auburn because it has a unique historical character. The increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax will help us preserve our City, maintain a high level of service to our citizens, and keep Auburn a beautiful place to visit, as well as work and live. An increase in the hotel/motel tax will NOT be a tax increase for Auburn residents and will not harm the tourist industry or visitors since they also benefit from a clean, safe, and beautiful place to visit. The increase on a $100 per night room is only $2 and only $1 on a $50 room. The City of Auburn currently levies an 8% Transient Occupancy Tax (T.O.T), often called the hotel and motel tax. Hotel and motel guests pay this tax. The hotel/motel tax is a significant revenue source of the City and the tax is currently used for tourism promotion and to help support basic City of Auburn services such as police, fire, street and building maintenance and multiple community projects through the General Fund. Increasing the hotel/motel tax from 8% to 10% would provide an additional $60,000 (approximately) in revenue each year for the City's General Fund. Measure J would also require online rental services such as AirBnB, VRBO and Homeaway to collect the tax if they also collect rent for renting rooms in Auburn. Approval of this measure would keep the City of Auburn's T.O.T. tax at the same level as several other cities in Placer County. In Sacramento City or County, the Transient Occupancy Tax is currently 12%. Placer County voters in the Lake Tahoe area previously approved an increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax from 8% to 10%. A 'YES' vote on Measure J is a 'YES' vote to maintain quality city services. [2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[3]
- Thomas N. Hudson, Executive Director, California Taxpayer Protection Committee
- Ed Rowen, President, Placer County Republican Assembly
- Debra Jackson, Chairman, Placer County Tea Party
- Jean Pagnone, Treasurer, Placer County Taxpayers Association
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[3]
| “ |
This is a TAX INCREASE that will damage the business climate in Auburn. This ill-advised measure will make it less attractive for tourists to visit our city. Many nearby communities have no hotel tax at all, or much lower tax rates, so this tax increase will encourage tourists to stay outside Auburn city limits. When we chase tourists out of Auburn, we not only lose the tax revenues, but we also lose the money those tourists would have spent in our city. This makes no sense at all. To make matters worse, this measure attempts to force Internet travel websites, vacation rental agencies, and other out-oftown tourism facilitators that collect rents for property owners to register with the city, collect the city's Transient Occupancy Tax, and make the tax payments at the higher rate. Other cities have been sued for attempting this same tactic, which may violate federal law. A great deal of taxpayers' money will have been wasted if we lose the inevitable legal challenges. Even if we win, it is likely that many tourism facilitators and vacation rental agencies will stop advertising for Auburn rentals, which would be an economic disaster. Taxes are already high enough and the City of Auburn already has enough of our hard-earned money. They do not need this tax increase. Instead of raising taxes and creating bureaucratic red tape, our politicians need to promote tourism, encourage local businesses, and support local economic activity. The politicians need to get out of the way when travel websites and vacation rental agencies are trying to get people to visit our city. Please send a message by voting NO on Measure J.[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of Auburn, California.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Auburn Local hotel tax. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Placer County Elections, "Measures for the November 8th 2016 Presidential General Election for Placer County," accessed October 22, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Placer County Elections, "Measure J," accessed October 22, 2016
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