Hotel Tax on Table

Voters in Scottsdale will decide whether to increase the city's hotel tax by two percentage points to 13.92% on March 9. Officials said the increased tax would raise an additional $5.5 million in revenue.

Scottsdale's hotel tax has been at 11.92% since 1998.

The City Council voted Nov. 3 to put the tax increase on the March 9 ballot. The measure, Proposition 200, would allocate half of the additional revenue to the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote tourism in the city, with the remainder used by the Phoenix suburb for tourism-related events and capital projects.

The 22 statements included in election material sent to voters last week comprised 21 in favor of the tax increase and one opposed.

Jobs for Scottsdale in Support of Proposition 200, headed by two former city councilors, said the hotel tax revenues would come from visitors and be used to attract more visitors.

"If we want to continue to attract tourists and groups, who generate Scottsdale jobs and revenue, we have to market to them and build new tourism-related capital projects," the statement said.

The sole opponent is Councilman Ron McCullagh, who said in his statement that revenue from the tax should also finance projects designed to benefit city residents.

"Residents deserve better from an increased Scottsdale bed tax than more noise, heavier traffic, more crime, longer lines, and higher green fees," McCullagh said.

McCullagh voted against putting the tax increase on the ballot. He wanted 20% of the new revenue to go into the city's general fund, with 40% for tourism promotion and 40% for tourism development.

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Arizona
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