News : Hotel/Motel Tax Q&A

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. Here are some commonly asked questions and answers regarding the hotel/motel tax. Q. Does Vinton already have a hotel/motel tax in place? A. No, Vinton does not. 156 cities and 17 counties throughout Iowa have such a tax already in place. Many of the cities have been collecting the tax for decades. Q. When would this tax go into effect? A. If passed, it would go into effect on July 1, 2018. Q. Are the citizens of Vinton responsible for paying this tax? A. This tax is paid only by visitors and patrons staying at a hotel or motel located within City limits. If you don't stay, you don't pay. Q. What other communities have a hotel/motel tax? A. In the area, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville, Waterloo, Cedar Falls all have the tax. Cities large and small across the state have this tax. A full list of cities and counties is available on the Iowa Department of Revenue's website. If you've stayed in a hotel/motel in the state of Iowa, you've likely paid the tax. Q. How much is the proposed tax? A. 7% Q. How will the funds be spent? A. Per the Code of Iowa, a portion of the funds must be spent on recreation, convention, cultural or entertainment facilities. The remaining funds may be spent at the discretion of the City. The ballot measure proposes 75% of the funds be turned over to Vinton Unlimited to disburse with the help of a designated committee for recreation, convention, cultural or entertainment facilities. The remaining 25% may remain with the general fund for the City of Vinton. Q. Who will be in charge of the funds? A. The city will receive the funds quarterly from the State of Iowa. Seventy-five percent will be turned over to Vinton Unlimited and a designated committee. The committee will include a representative from the Park & Rec Department, the City Council and the Vinton Unlimited Destination Vinton committee. This committee will accept and review applications for the funds to the spent throughout the community. Q. What type of projects could be funded by this additional revenue? A. Paved recreation trails throughout the community, community art pieces, a splash pad, a new community event, community marketing and cultural programming are just a few examples. The list of possibilities are endless. 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