Letter to the editor: What is the Walton County Commission doing with tourist tax?
To the editor:
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners is at it again.Their latest move is an attempt to raise the Tourist Development Tax (TDT), better known as the bed tax, from 5% to 6%. Nothing wrong with raising the tax — other large tourism counties in Florida, like Orange, Miami-Dade, and Hillsborough, charge 6%.
But in the case of Walton County, the BCC doesn’t want voters to decide the matter, especially since voters soundly defeated the referendum last November to raise the sales tax.
Tourism is the life blood of Walton County. In 2017, Walton County tourists numbered 4,010,500, with a total economic impact of $4.4 billion. In 2022, there were 5,300,000 visitors; their spending had an economic impact of $7.2 billion.
When many other resort destinations were closed due to COVID restrictions, South Walton beaches were open for business. Now that the pandemic is over, the situation has changed. Tourism is down in many areas of South Walton, some by 20%-30%. That means bed taxes and sales taxes are down.
So what does the BCC do? They want to raise the bed tax.As of July 1, 2023, the State of Florida will require all counties in Florida to have a voter referendum to approve bed tax increases. As a result, the BCC is scrambling to pass a 1 cent bed tax increase before the end of the month.
Instead of placing the issue on the agenda at the twice-monthly BCC meeting, or put it before the voters, some county officials want to place it on the consent agenda. That means a major decision would get tossed in with a bunch of little ones, like renewing the contract for paper clips.
In recent months, as many as 70% of the BCC’s decisions were about items on the consent agenda. Their strategy seems to be, “Don’t let voters know too much about what we’re doing.”
The new law takes effect July 1, so the BCC must squeeze in two public hearings before a vote can be held.
The Tourist Development Council, which advises the county on tourism matters, hasn’t yet been asked to express their views on the proposed tax increase, or even been officially informed of the BCC’s intentions.
And the concerns of the major bed tax collectors, who overwhelmingly oppose the increase, seem to be of little importance to the BCC.
Art Miller
Miramar Beach
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Letter: What is the Walton County Commission doing with tourist tax?
