OKLAHOMA CITY (OKH) — Oklahoma City voters will decide this week whether the city should raise its hotel tax for the first time in 20 years.
If voters approve the hotel tax on Tuesday, it would increase by nearly 4 percent, putting OKC on par with some neighboring cities like Tulsa and Witchita. Officials say the city could benefit from the additional revenue in a number of ways.
According to the city of Oklahoma City, a successful hotel tax increase is expected to generate an additional $11.6 million.
“Seventy-five percent of the tax will go to promoting tourism or visitor numbers, 13 percent will go to financial incentives to attract more marquees and major events, and the remainder will go to redeveloping the Oklahoma City Convention Center and Fairgrounds,” said Zac Craig, president of Visit OKC.
The tax would be levied on people staying in hotels or Airbnbs and would rise from 5.5% to 9.25%, the first increase since 2004.
“We haven’t done this as a community in about two decades, and given all the development that has taken place in Oklahoma City over the last two decades and everything that’s coming up, we really feel like now is the right time to do it,” Craig said.
Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce officials say the tax will cost visitors but benefit residents.
“The residents mostly don’t pay this tax, visitors do, but the beauty of it is that residents get to enjoy all the benefits,” Craig said. “Tourism brings in a lot of sales tax for the city and the state, $350 million to be exact. About $100 million goes into our general fund in the city of Oklahoma City every year.”
But some officials, like JoBeth Hamon, OKC City Councilwoman for District 6, say they will vote no on Tuesday.
Hamon took to social media to voice her opinion.
Polls for the hotel tax election open this Tuesday, August 27.
If the new tax rate is passed, it will take effect on October 1.
Click here for more information about the tax.
