[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by defrey12

That's why we leave Feb/March. Roughly $10k net pays for a nice vacation and we don't have to deal with the crowds. As you said, 2% is not going to deter anyone.

Florida is WAY too crowded for 9 months out of the year. Just look at the many traffic red lights on either coast and many central areas like The Villages......for 9 months people sit through red lights in a line of 10 to 20 cars. This causes pollution and the price of gasoline to go up. We need FEWER tourists, not more. So, my opinion is to make the tourist tax as high as possible to discourage the obvious OVERCROWDING.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

...

The lists of "costs" could be expanded to include infrastructure and roads, since tourists don't click their heels 3 times while reciting "there's no place like Sumter Square" or "there's no place like Disney World" and suddenly appear in their destination.

Doubtful. Using tourism money for general fund expenditures is strictly prohibited.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Only 100%????? I'd make it 500%. If one wants to own a revolving door motel, they should not place it on a residential street in the middle of a 55+ retirement community.

I have to agree with that one. And the Villas are the worst with their limited parking.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Florida is WAY too crowded for 9 months out of the year. Just look at the many traffic red lights on either coast and many central areas like The Villages......for 9 months people sit through red lights in a line of 10 to 20 cars. This causes pollution and the price of gasoline to go up. We need FEWER tourists, not more. So, my opinion is to make the tourist tax as high as possible to discourage the obvious OVERCROWDING.

Your so right. So what if less people go to Disney and other tourist places and thousands lose their jobs.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Your so right. So what if less people go to Disney and other tourist places and thousands lose their jobs.

I hate to disagree for fear of being banished from the Village of Stu, but.......

A Sumter County tourist tax does not affect Disney, and.......

Disney already charges the Orlando area tourist tax of 6%, triple what is being proposed in Sumter

[Normal]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Homeowners pay property tax toward the costs of roads and other infrastructure. Tourists don't own property, and therefore don't pay property tax. So tourism tax is a tax that THEY pay - that homeowners don't pay.

The usual function of tourism taxes is to pay for costs related to tourism. The lists of "costs" could be expanded to include infrastructure and roads, since tourists don't click their heels 3 times while reciting "there's no place like Sumter Square" or "there's no place like Disney World" and suddenly appear in their destination.

Isn’t that what the fuel tax is used for?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Normal

Isn’t that what the fuel tax is used for?

Fuel tax contributes only around 25% of Sumter County's overall transportation budget. The rest is collected from ad valorem taxes, CDD bonds and assessments, grants and state funds, and various fees.