City of Cerritos Transient Occupancy Tax (Hotel Tax) Increase, Measure A (March 2015)
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| Measure info Amount: Increase to 12% |
A transient occupancy tax (hotel tax) increase measure was on the ballot for Cerritos city voters in Los Angeles County, California, on March 3, 2015. It was approved.
Measure A authorized the city to double its hotel tax from 6 percent to 12 percent. City officials estimated that with the approval of this increase, the revenue from the city's hotel tax would amount to a total of $914,200 per year. If Measure A had been defeated, the annual revenue from the city's hotel tax would remain at about half of this figure.[1]
Generally, supporters of hotel tax increases proposed the tax as a way for the city or county to gain vital tax revenue without increasing taxes on residents, as a majority of hotel taxes are paid by visitors. They also proposed hotel taxes as a way for visitors to pay their fair share for such services as road maintenance, police and fire safety and civil services. In this case specifically, supporters proposed that there was no disadvantage to this tax increase since the 12 percent rate enacted by Measure A was similar to the average hotel tax found in other cities in Southern California, avoiding any competitive disadvantage which was the basis of most arguments against hotel tax increases.
Opponents of hotel tax increases generally argued that additional taxes on hotels would discourage visitors from staying inside city or county limits, harming tourism and the economy.
Election results
| City of Cerritos, Measure A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 5,255 | 70.40% | ||
| No | 2,209 | 29.60% | ||
- Election results from Cerritos City Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The question on the ballot:[2]
| “ |
To assist in the recovery of expenses for providing general city services, including police, library and park services, shall the City of Cerritos adopt an ordinance increasing the existing Transient Occupancy Tax (which is a hotel bed tax) from a rate of six percent (6%) to twelve percent (12%), which is a rate closer to the average for other Southern California cities?[3] |
” |
See also
- Hotel taxes in California
- Local hotel tax on the ballot
- Los Angeles County, California ballot measures
- March 3, 2015 ballot measures in California
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Cerritos Government website, "Measure A press release," accessed January 14, 2015
- ↑ City of Cerritos Government website, “Ballot measures scheduled for election on March 3, 2015,” accessed January 12, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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