News : Proposed Hotel/Motel tax Explained

Dear Vinton Residents, The City of Vinton has placed a 7% Hotel/Motel Tax question on the upcoming election ballot that will be decided on November 7, 2017. The proposed 7% Hotel/Motel Tax is a transient tax that would be paid only by visitors and patrons staying at a hotel or motel located within City limits. To date, 173 cities and counties in the State of Iowa have such a tax. If passed, the tax would go in effect on July 1, 2018. Proceeds from the Hotel/Motel tax would be used for community events, cultural and recreational programming, tourism and various other projects. Let's look at an example. If a hotel room costs $100 a night, that one room will generate $7.00 in additional revenue. Let's assume we have 10 hotel rooms rented 5 nights a week. □ 50 hotel rooms ($7.00) = $350.00 in additional revenue a week. □ $350 (52 weeks) = $18,200 in additional revenue a year coming back to Vinton. Seventy-five percent on the yearly revenue will be retained for community events, cultural and recreational programming, tourism and various other projects. The remaining 25% will be used at the discretion of the City. Visit http://vinton.info/hotelmotel-tax-information/ for additional information as well as links to the Iowa Department of Revenue's website. Please consider voting YES for Vinton's future by supporting the hotel/motel tax on Tuesday, November 7th. Thank you for your consideration, Melissa Schwan Vinton Unlimited Director