Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Town of San Anselmo Hotel Tax, Measure F (November 2009)
A Town of San Anselmo Hotel Tax, Measure F ballot question was on the November 3, 2009 ballot for voters in the Town of San Anselmo in Marin County, where it was defeated.[1]
If Measure F had been approved, it would have imposed a first-time-ever hotel tax in the Town of San Anselmo. There is only one business in the city that qualifies as transient lodging -- the San Anselmo Inn -- and taxes that visitors to the inn would have paid under the proposed tax would have amounted to about $50,000 a year.[2]
Election results
| Measure F | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 2,258 | 60.33% | ||
| Yes | 1,485 | 39.67% | ||
- These final, certified, results are from the Marin County elections office.
Support
- Mayor Peter Breen supported Measure F. He said, "The $30,000-$50,000 collected from out-of-town visitors for general services will otherwise have to come out of the pockets of our own taxpayers."
- The Marin Independent Journal's editorial board supported Measure F. They said, "Measure F is not targeting the San Anselmo Inn, but visitors to town. It is a charge tourists expect."[3]
Opposition
Jeff Kroot and Kay Coleman, who were candidates for the San Anselmo Town Council, opposed the tax. So do Peter and Julie McNair, who own the San Anselmo Inn.[2]
Reasons given for opposing the tax were:
- Most hotel customers in San Anselmo are relatives of San Anselmo residents or people who come to do business in the town.
- If those hotel customers have to pay 10% more for their lodging, they are likely to visit less often. This will hurt not just the San Anselmo Inn but shopkeepers and restaurants in the area.
- "We do not feel it's in the best interest of the town. A, it's not good timing, and B, it's going to discourage people from staying here."
- If visitors have to pay a higher tax to stay in San Anselmo, some will instead chose to stay in cheaper motels in San Rafael. With fewer visitors staying in San Anselmo, businesses in San Anselmo that benefit from more visitors to the town will suffer, their sales will be less than they otherwise would be and this will actually lead to a decrease in sales taxes collected in the city.[4]
Neutral
The San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce decided not to take a position on Measure F one way or the other.
Ballot question
The question on the ballot:
| Measure F: "Shall an ordinance be adopted establishing a uniform hotel users tax of 10% on hotel rooms in San Anselmo to be paid by hotel guests with the revenue to be used for Town general purposes, which if approved, shall be effective July 1, 2010?"[5] |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ CBS 5, "Nine local measures on Marin ballot November 3," October 23, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Marin Independent Journal, "Hotel-users tax on ballot in San Anselmo, much to chagrin of town's only inn," September 25, 2009
- ↑ Marin Independent Journal, "Editorial: IJ's recommendations on Ross Valley ballot measures," October 12, 2009
- ↑ CBS 5, "San Anselmo voters will decide two measures on November ballot," October 23, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| |||||
