San Benito County Transient Occupancy Tax (Hotel Tax), Measure I (November 2014)
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A San Benito County Transient Occupancy Tax (Hotel Tax), Measure I ballot question was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in San Benito County, California. It was defeated.
If approved, Measure I would have authorized the county to increase its transient occupancy tax - or hotel tax - from 8 percent to 12 percent.[1]
Measure I would have also amended the hotel tax code of the county to change the current definition of "Operator," making the tax apply to any person receiving revenue from a rental or hotel room. This would have included brokers, service providers and other intermediary hotel contractors, including those operating online and outside of the county boundaries. Since Measure I did not pass, an 8 percent hotel tax continued to only be imposed on owners, proprietors and managing agents.[1]
The tax had last been increased in 1986.[1]
County officials estimated this tax increase would have brought in about $1.3 million in additional county revenue over the following decade.[1]
Election results
| San Benito County, Measure I | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 7,771 | 60.85% | ||
| Yes | 4,999 | 39.15% | ||
Election results via: San Benito Registrar of Voters
Text of measure
Ballot question
The question on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
Shall the ordinance, approved for submittal to the voters by San Benito County Resolution 2014-74, be adopted to amend the San Benito County Code to (1) increase the Transient Occupancy Tax rate from eight (8%) to twelve (12%) percent upon persons occupying hotels within the County’s unincorporated area and (2) 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?[2] |
” |
Full text & impartial analysis
Both the full text of the ordinance that would have been enacted by the approval of Measure I and the impartial analysis provided by the office of the county counsel are available here.[1]
Support
Supporters
Margie Barrios, San Benito County Supervisor for District 1, signed the official arguments in support of Measure I on behalf of the county's board of supervisors.[1]
Arguments in favor
Supporters of hotel taxes in general argued that a hotel tax is paid by visitors to the county, making it less harmful to the county's own taxpayers and economy than other taxes. They also argued that it is a good tax since visitors to the county partake of local services while in the area and should pay for them. Supporters of Measure I, specifically, argued that the tax increase proposed in the measure would bring the county's hotel tax up to the levels of surrounding cities and counties and would not create any competitive disadvantage for the tourist and hotel industry, while giving a great source of revenue to the county and leaving residents largely unaffected by the higher tax.[1]
Opposition
No official arguments in opposition to Measure I were submitted.
See also
- Local hotel tax on the ballot
- San Benito County, California ballot measures
- November 4, 2014 ballot measures in California
External links
Footnotes
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