Resort city tax on the ballot

SANDPOINT — Don’t be surprised when you find the latest iteration of the resort city tax waiting for your approval at the polls this weekend.  

If cleared by voters, the measure will instate a 7-percent motel and hotel occupancy tax for stays shorter than 30 days in length. The tax is a 2-percent increase to the existing bed tax of 5 percent. If voters approve the measure, it will go into effect for 10 years, at which point it will need to be renewed at the polls once again.

Proposed as a method to collect revenue from Sandpoint’s tourists, the bed tax targets an industry that almost no local resident uses: hotel rentals. The surcharge to any stay of less than 30 days at a motel, hotel, bed and breakfast, or vacation rental home goes directly to supporting city infrastructure, streets, public safety services, public parks and the property tax relief fund.

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