The Fannin County Board of Commissioners is moving forward with raising the county’s Lodging Tax, or Hotel/Motel Tax, from 5% to 6%.
“The opportunity and the motive behind this was that the additional tax revenue from the county standpoint, which we split that 50/50 with the chamber, but we will be putting these additional funds into public safety,” Chairman Stan Helton said during a board meeting Tuesday, October 13. “The idea was to keep the property taxes as low as we can for the property owners in our county, particularly the older folks. The tourism business, which is a massive amount of fuel to this Hotel/Motel Tax, is from visitors. The idea was, instead of putting pressure on the property owners with the
additional safety needs equipment, to shift that back towards Hotel/Motel Tax. We’ve been doing that for some time.”
Following proper advertisements and public meetings regarding the ordinance, the new tax will go into effect January 1, 2020.
The board asked the state legislature to pass legislation allowing the county to increase from 5% to 6% last year. When the state legislature passed the legislation, they actually allowed the county to go up to 8%.
“It’s there, so you could do 6% this year, and if the next Board of Commissioners so was inclined, it could raise it, it just has to go through the publication process,” County Attorney Lynn Doss said.
Both post commissioners have been asked by people within the tourism industry if the county could back the tax increase up to accommodate reservations that have already been booked.
Post One Commissioner Earl Johnson said, “The ones I’ve talked to in cabin rentals have said they’re booking, on their software, 365 days out, and I don’t think that’s an issue for the county to have to contend with.”
He asked if the county had to allow latitude for these booked reservations.
“It’s just like paying a tax to the IRS or the State of Georgia,” Doss said. “This is the tax rate and you pay it or this is the tax rate to buy a car and this is the sales tax.”
Johnson then said he had no problem passing the tax for January 1.
“It’s kind of like being treated just like us in our business, or many businesses,” he said. “If they’ve already pre-booked at the 5%, then what that would mean, essentially, if they’re booked out through next Thanksgiving or next Christmas, someone in the middle is going to eat that extra.”
The county’s public meetings regarding the tax increase will be held Tuesday, October 27, at noon and Tuesday, November 10, at 5:15 p.m. Both meetings will take place in the Jury assembly Room on the third floor of the Fannin County Courthouse.