Expand municipal hotel tax to Sussex hotels

With nine hotels proposed in Sussex County, it’s clear the tourism industry is humming. From Lewes to Rehoboth, 800 new hotel rooms are proposed or under construction.
Three new hotels, with 250 of those rooms, are proposed in Rehoboth Beach, where the city is seeking a charter change to allow a 3 percent accommodations tax on hotels, in addition to the 8 percent tax hotels already pay to the state.

Rehoboth Mayor Paul Kuhns has said the measure is on track to be introduced by June. Seaford and Georgetown also plan to impose this tax.

Meanwhile, state legislators passed a measure to allow county governments to impose the same 3 percent tax on hotels, in addition to the statewide tax, but the legislation limits the tax to counties with a population of at least 500,000 people, meaning only New Castle County.

Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf says Kent and Sussex counties could have been included, but officials declined to move forward.

County Administrator Todd Lawson said at this time there appears to be no political will to impose the tax in Sussex. The measure did not come up before council, so the public has had no opportunity to weigh in or to hear from council members.

County hotel owners will certainly complain that online renters are not paying any tax, and that’s a concern worth discussing. But in the meantime, why not capture revenue from all the tourists who stay in hotels?

Sussex County Council should seek enabling legislation for a 3 percent county tax on hotels as well as home rentals, and dedicate the revenues to projects to clean up our waterways, including the ocean and bay, and to beach replenishment and preserving open space, all of which are critical to the future of the tourism industry and to county residents.

Asking tourists to help preserve our Sussex County vistas and keep our water clean makes sense.
It’s time to discuss and adopt this tax.