Question about Sumter County Tourism Tax
 

On Oct. 13, the Sumter County Commissioners are holding a public hearing to decide the future of the county tourist tax. I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) the tourist tax is an "occupancy tax" paid by Sumter hotels. The tax is used to help fund events that bring tourists to the county. Part of the tax helps fund entertainment at Sumter and Brownwood squares.
In the POA bulletin it says that commissioners have indicated they want to eliminate the tax.
What am I missing? Why would "we" want to repeal the tax? It doesn't cost taxpayers anything. That tax helps pay for square entertainment... so to continue to have nightly entertainment the money has to come from somewhere else. Sell tickets? Only have entertainment a few nights a week?
Can someone explain the benefit of repealinig that tax?

Maybe because The Villages (r) owned Brownwood Hotel now has to pay this tax? Added fees that increase the price of hotel rooms may deter some groups from renting rooms, meeting rooms, etc. from a particular hotel.

Details matter.

Occupancy tax is collected for rentals 180 days or less. The landlord pays it, although it may be rolled up in the rent. It is a state requirement, the county cannot repeal this tax. The state will collect a tourism tax on behalf of the county. In Sumter county it is one percent. County officials can repeal or change this tax but not the state's tax.

Even if the tourism tax is repealed occupancy tax will be paid. It is 8% in Sumter County. References to sales tax or occupancy tax in this thread are 100% incorrect. The link referred to by the poster above is dangerously inaccurate.

The form you file with the state specifically includes a line for the tourism tax. It IS NOT 12% as that article states.

I might have said "occupancy" in my post but it is a County Tourist Development Tax. I believe it is a tax paid by hotels (not rentals). A portion of that tax is used to fund entertainment at Sumter and Brownwood squares.

My question is - why would "we" want to repeal that tax?? It's paid by hotels and goes for entertainment. If it's repealed the money has to come from somewhere else. Or reduce/eliminate entertainment.

could it be the developer told his puppets to do so?

That's incorrect it is paid by rentals, specifically rentals of 180 days or less.

OK. Thanks. But my question isn't who pays the tax, my question is why would we want to eliminate it? If we repeal the tax, money for entertainment will have to come from somewhere else... or reduce/eliminate entertainment.

It is interesting that the vast majority of Florida counties do not have the supplemental tourism tax. This is a small tax on a limited type of tax revenue.

Could it be that it is not a large amount for Sumter county? Most likely but I don't know this for a fact.

Edit to add:. Let's talk numbers. Let's say there are 2,000 rooms for rent in Sumter county at any given moment. Let's further speculate the daily rate per room in 120.00. let's use a occupancy rate of 50% . If so then the annual tourism tax collected is 438,000. While substantal it is small compared to the total county budget.

I know we're getting off subject, but I actually emailed someone at Sumter County, tonight, and he emailed me back!!!
Here is his answer:

Square entertainment is partially funded through:
Tourist Development Tax Revenues which are generated by overnight guests staying in Sumter County RV parks / campgrounds, hotels, motels and condominiums. As a rule, any short-term lodging of 6 months or less is subject to the 2% tax in additions to Sumter County's sales tax.

It is not funded by: Ordinance 2004-025 which authorizes a 2% tourist development tax for each dollar of the total consideration charged for lease or rental of properties as set forth in Section 125.0104(3), Florida Statutes.

Given the recent rise in covid-19 cased in TV the Commission should perhaps cancel future meetings until after the first of the year in the interest of preserving the health of the commissioners and those who will want to attend their meetings.

Yes, in the interest of health, we should not meet or go to work so people can starve to death. Good thinking.

They don’t want to repeal the tax they just want to stop paying the $100000 to fund square entertainment. This is what the commissioners said would happen if they were not re-elected. Punishment for voting them out.

The next board can easily re instate the tax or fund music thru general budgets . even the CCDS can fund it . it's about 25 cents a month per person . and by the way concider all the things the tourism taxes can do: lake county for years gives $50,000 -100,000 to bring the bass tournaments, and bike rallyes which actually do bring in more tax dollars and tourism . I doubt the music Sumter contributes to brings in anywhere near what Lakes events do .

The hotel collects the tax from the people who stay there. As usual the residents pay for everything. The marketing for this place is misleading and in most respects not true.

Finally someone with a brain! The tourist tax is how Florida residents benefit directly from the tourism industry. This is why you do not vote in 3 commissioners that have no idea what they are doing

Connect the dots. The County Tourist Development Tax is used partially to fund the squares. Most have read posts on here questioning the noise if apartments are approved. Eliminate the tax and you have an excuse to stop the entertainment at the squares. Now they become meeting areas for department dwellers, or common courtyard area. Why would an outgoing board want to do this. The developer has only a short time to get all done he wants done. Most likely all part of a bigger plan.
I'm going to make some popcorn now and get ready to read... rofl

I have a beach condo they collect the tax. I charge it to my renters. Cost of doing business. Why should people who come and use our resources pay the same as me. A Florida tax paying citizen

By the way they hold this meeting every year. It is not whether it is collected it is to determine how it is spent.

The new commissioners coming in had stated that they were in favor of getting rid of this tax , and I think this will just be a start of the cost cutting that we will see . The voters have spoken now will see if you got what you wished for

Villagers who rent their houses out for short time also pay this tax

In my opinion I don't think we should eliminate the tax. One important item it funds is entertainment at the three Villages squares. On the other hand, if the developer wants to eliminate entertainment at the squares, then they might lobby to remove the tax.

There is no benefit to cancelling the tax. This is just the first of many ill-informed moves on the part of the new "anti-developer" commissioners.

“We” don’t want to eliminate the tax. It’s taxes on tourism that keeps both our state income, property and sales taxes low (and I’m not even mentioning estate taxes).

Are any of those taxes more for you here in Florida than where you moved from? Not me, coming from Illinois which has a 4.95% income tax, a 10.25% sales tax (Cook county, Chicago), and the property tax on the house we left, market value about 30% more than our Villages house, was over $15,000.

Eliminate taxes on tourists? Not me!

Why should any tax money go to the entertainment at the square? Seems it only benefits a few select residences.

The thinking is that the entertainment in the squares will bring in out-of-area visitors who will need hotel rooms and restaurants.

And it does bring in visitors - most of whom are here on lifestyle visits.

The tourist tax ensures that the visitors help support our government. And it supports other events in addition to entertainment in the squares. It also supports the "rodeo" that the homeowners association puts on in January, and I think a shooting competition.

One recently elected commissioner did state he wanted to use the square entertainment portion of the tax for other things (he wanted The Developer to pay for entertainment). But I think he got a lot of feedback and reversed his position. I give him credit for that.

Personally, I think it would be "short-sighted" for the new commissioners to repeal the tax. Let's remember... the EMS team ran on a "roll back the 25% tax increase" platform. If they roll back the tax increase and also repeal the County Tourist Development Tax, they have a lot less money to do things that will benefit the residents of Sumter County.

IMO there enough fingers is pot on my tax bill. Any tax repealed in good thing IMO. But, to elected officials it’s blasphemy. And far as the 3 newly elected officials I applaud them, at least they I hope their aren’t yes men yet?

The County Tourist Development Tax is paid for by "visitors"... so it doesn't cost you a cent. If you want to repeal a tax on people that visit Sumter County because it has the word "tax" in it... OK.
You might want to do a little research... because this tax actually decreases YOUR tax rate. If "we" suddenly are on the hook to pay for square entertainment... well then your taxes will increase. Or... there will be no square entertainment.

this makes no sense to me. This action is being taken by the commissioners that are in office now, not the ones just elected. You cannot assign blame to people who haven't taken office yet, even if you don't like the fact that they beat the incumbents. If you think this action is ill informed then it is the people in office now who are ill informed, or still doing the bidding of those who supported them while they are lame ducks.

Exactly. The Newly elected commishioners are so "anti-developer" that they want to end anything that they see tht benifits the developer. Even if the residents are benefit. They need to be watched.

Home owners who rent out their properties pay as well.

Except, it wasn't the "newly elected commissioners" who ended the funding for the square entertainment. Those commissioners aren't commissioners yet. They still have to take their oath of office. The current commissioners are the same ones you've had for years. The CURRENT commissioners are the ones who ended the funding.

I agree. Why would the current commissioners do it? To "stick it" to the new commissioners?
I believe square entertainment is paid for through 2021. But when that ends and the new commissioners are in place, what happens? The new commissioners saying "we didn't end the tax... the old commissioners did" isn't going to sit well with Villagers. All Villagers know is... "I had entertainment before... I don't have it now."

Ttt