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Samster

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Just thought I'd share that I was just at a city meeting here where they discussed the revenues from lodging for the last 5 years. Revenues have steadily increased in that time and from 2009 to the present, the lodging tax revenues have increased every year by about $500K. In 2010, there was one new hotel. This year reflected the loss of 2 B&Bs/inns (we were one of those) and no additional hotels were opened.
Here's the caveat - in order to compensate for projected revenue loss due to the downturn in the economy, what do you think our city did? They enacted a 1% increase in lodging tax for 2011, which makes it 8% now. So actually if that were taken into consideration, the growth for 2011 would not be on track with prior years. But, I guess it worked to keep it where they wanted it.
Just thought y'all might enjoy this little snapshot...
 
Samster said:
They enacted a 1% increase in lodging tax for 2011, which makes it 8% now.
Ouch! Our town's lodging and restaurant tax is 2% (state law allows a maximum of 3%). I imagine your 8% generates a LOT of revenue for promotion, conventions, and all the stuff that generates many benefits.
 
Samster said:
They enacted a 1% increase in lodging tax for 2011, which makes it 8% now.
Ouch! Our town's lodging and restaurant tax is 2% (state law allows a maximum of 3%). I imagine your 8% generates a LOT of revenue for promotion, conventions, and all the stuff that generates many benefits..
Most of the lodging tax revenue is earmarked for something other than that. The sales tax is currently at 7%, so there is now a total of 15% added to your bill. Pretty high for the South, I think.
 
Samster said:
They enacted a 1% increase in lodging tax for 2011, which makes it 8% now.
Ouch! Our town's lodging and restaurant tax is 2% (state law allows a maximum of 3%). I imagine your 8% generates a LOT of revenue for promotion, conventions, and all the stuff that generates many benefits..
Most of the lodging tax revenue is earmarked for something other than that. The sales tax is currently at 7%, so there is now a total of 15% added to your bill. Pretty high for the South, I think.
.
Right now 90% of our lodging and restaurant tax money is going for parks and recreation. I'm now on the city Advertising and Promotion Commission (the group that spends the tax money) so I'm going to start pushing them to spend more of it for advertising and promotion like it was intended to be. But it will take years to make much impact. Changing things like this is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier.
 
we are creating a district management organisation which if it works the way it should will kick ass. It is genious cos it is so simple and will be run entirely privately which will keep it honest as if they are crap they will get the sack as opposed to local government which if you are crap they promote you. One branch will be pure marketing for our district, arm 2 is going to be a conference desk, 3 is any kind of accommodation non businesss ie holiday people, 4 restaurant advertising. forget all the others but for example at the moment if an enquiry comes in to one venue in town but they can't take the event they don't particularly refer it anywhere ie we are full sorry which is rubbish the system would now be they would ring the conference desk rather than individual venues which would then put together a bid and the customer would choose which was best so we don't loose the event. Like I said if it works fingers crossed. http://visitbath.co.uk/ would loo sort of like this
 
Samster said:
They enacted a 1% increase in lodging tax for 2011, which makes it 8% now.
Ouch! Our town's lodging and restaurant tax is 2% (state law allows a maximum of 3%). I imagine your 8% generates a LOT of revenue for promotion, conventions, and all the stuff that generates many benefits..
Most of the lodging tax revenue is earmarked for something other than that. The sales tax is currently at 7%, so there is now a total of 15% added to your bill. Pretty high for the South, I think.
.
Right now 90% of our lodging and restaurant tax money is going for parks and recreation. I'm now on the city Advertising and Promotion Commission (the group that spends the tax money) so I'm going to start pushing them to spend more of it for advertising and promotion like it was intended to be. But it will take years to make much impact. Changing things like this is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier.
.
Arkansawyer said:
Changing things like this is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier.
Or a dead elephant.... especially if you have "Town Names" on your committee. You know, the people whose people built the town. They are not usually willing to let go and change things!
 
Samster said:
They enacted a 1% increase in lodging tax for 2011, which makes it 8% now.
Ouch! Our town's lodging and restaurant tax is 2% (state law allows a maximum of 3%). I imagine your 8% generates a LOT of revenue for promotion, conventions, and all the stuff that generates many benefits..
Most of the lodging tax revenue is earmarked for something other than that. The sales tax is currently at 7%, so there is now a total of 15% added to your bill. Pretty high for the South, I think.
.
Right now 90% of our lodging and restaurant tax money is going for parks and recreation. I'm now on the city Advertising and Promotion Commission (the group that spends the tax money) so I'm going to start pushing them to spend more of it for advertising and promotion like it was intended to be. But it will take years to make much impact. Changing things like this is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier.
.
Arkansawyer said:
Changing things like this is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier.
Or a dead elephant.... especially if you have "Town Names" on your committee. You know, the people whose people built the town. They are not usually willing to let go and change things!
.
we are lucky in a way as our "big names" are progressive and most have their own businesses so are trying to work had to save their own arses which is in all of our interest
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
.
I pick up pennies! I do not raise my room rates by 50 cents. When I raise my rates - which will be soon - I raise them by $5 or more.
My handyman daughter is visiting for 2 days and she is mounting a 26 in flat screen w/DVD in the only room with no TV so I can call the cable company next week to run the cable to it. Last night I ordered another flat screen and a DVD player to replace another space monster (on her next visit, we will mount that one on a swing-arm wall mount). and Next month I plan to order a queen mattress set to replace a full-size (I am in debt so far now, what the hey!). THEN I will raise the rates o all my rooms and I will have 3 different rates. The queen shared will be $115 and the full shared is going to be $99 and I will probably leave the pvt bath the same.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
.
I pick up pennies! I do not raise my room rates by 50 cents. When I raise my rates - which will be soon - I raise them by $5 or more.
My handyman daughter is visiting for 2 days and she is mounting a 26 in flat screen w/DVD in the only room with no TV so I can call the cable company next week to run the cable to it. Last night I ordered another flat screen and a DVD player to replace another space monster (on her next visit, we will mount that one on a swing-arm wall mount). and Next month I plan to order a queen mattress set to replace a full-size (I am in debt so far now, what the hey!). THEN I will raise the rates o all my rooms and I will have 3 different rates. The queen shared will be $115 and the full shared is going to be $99 and I will probably leave the pvt bath the same.
.
we only have to pay 2 types of tax which is a lot easier tax - council tax goes to local gove for services (fire,police,schools etc) and is a flat rate of about $400 a month and is based on property value. the other is VAT (Value added Tax) which we pay at 8% of turnover. we are managing to get out of income tax at the moment as you pay it on profit and we are spending everything we make on renovations so technically make no profit at the moment. I am sorting out all the TV's at the moment as our digital switch over is 21st sept so have to have boxes or new TV's in all the rooms by then. Have installed 7 so far with the help of my trusty handy man with just 5 to go. Its a lot of money though and trouble is exepectations just keep going up. did consider ones with DVD but wondered about blue ray as that is out growing DVD very fast here and figured it would get out of date quick. My trouble is sorting out the wall space to put them and sorting out where there was a stand sticking out of the wall with an old tv the new one isn't necessarily in the same place to hide the mess so that has to be fixed. Ive been rushing to redecorate all the rooms with this problem in time but I still have one more to go so have to make it presentable till ive saved the pennies to redecorate room 7.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
.
I pick up pennies! I do not raise my room rates by 50 cents. When I raise my rates - which will be soon - I raise them by $5 or more.
My handyman daughter is visiting for 2 days and she is mounting a 26 in flat screen w/DVD in the only room with no TV so I can call the cable company next week to run the cable to it. Last night I ordered another flat screen and a DVD player to replace another space monster (on her next visit, we will mount that one on a swing-arm wall mount). and Next month I plan to order a queen mattress set to replace a full-size (I am in debt so far now, what the hey!). THEN I will raise the rates o all my rooms and I will have 3 different rates. The queen shared will be $115 and the full shared is going to be $99 and I will probably leave the pvt bath the same.
.
we only have to pay 2 types of tax which is a lot easier tax - council tax goes to local gove for services (fire,police,schools etc) and is a flat rate of about $400 a month and is based on property value. the other is VAT (Value added Tax) which we pay at 8% of turnover. we are managing to get out of income tax at the moment as you pay it on profit and we are spending everything we make on renovations so technically make no profit at the moment. I am sorting out all the TV's at the moment as our digital switch over is 21st sept so have to have boxes or new TV's in all the rooms by then. Have installed 7 so far with the help of my trusty handy man with just 5 to go. Its a lot of money though and trouble is exepectations just keep going up. did consider ones with DVD but wondered about blue ray as that is out growing DVD very fast here and figured it would get out of date quick. My trouble is sorting out the wall space to put them and sorting out where there was a stand sticking out of the wall with an old tv the new one isn't necessarily in the same place to hide the mess so that has to be fixed. Ive been rushing to redecorate all the rooms with this problem in time but I still have one more to go so have to make it presentable till ive saved the pennies to redecorate room 7.
.
Everything is going to blue ray. Even my new laptop computer reads blue ray. Get a blue ray player that also plays the older DVDs and you should be in great shape, for a few years at least!
America converted to all digital broadcasting last year and I haven't heard of anybody having problems. People who picked up their TV with a rooftop antenna just put in a converter box. The government here helped pay for the boxes, so few complaints!
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
.
I pick up pennies! I do not raise my room rates by 50 cents. When I raise my rates - which will be soon - I raise them by $5 or more.
My handyman daughter is visiting for 2 days and she is mounting a 26 in flat screen w/DVD in the only room with no TV so I can call the cable company next week to run the cable to it. Last night I ordered another flat screen and a DVD player to replace another space monster (on her next visit, we will mount that one on a swing-arm wall mount). and Next month I plan to order a queen mattress set to replace a full-size (I am in debt so far now, what the hey!). THEN I will raise the rates o all my rooms and I will have 3 different rates. The queen shared will be $115 and the full shared is going to be $99 and I will probably leave the pvt bath the same.
.
we only have to pay 2 types of tax which is a lot easier tax - council tax goes to local gove for services (fire,police,schools etc) and is a flat rate of about $400 a month and is based on property value. the other is VAT (Value added Tax) which we pay at 8% of turnover. we are managing to get out of income tax at the moment as you pay it on profit and we are spending everything we make on renovations so technically make no profit at the moment. I am sorting out all the TV's at the moment as our digital switch over is 21st sept so have to have boxes or new TV's in all the rooms by then. Have installed 7 so far with the help of my trusty handy man with just 5 to go. Its a lot of money though and trouble is exepectations just keep going up. did consider ones with DVD but wondered about blue ray as that is out growing DVD very fast here and figured it would get out of date quick. My trouble is sorting out the wall space to put them and sorting out where there was a stand sticking out of the wall with an old tv the new one isn't necessarily in the same place to hide the mess so that has to be fixed. Ive been rushing to redecorate all the rooms with this problem in time but I still have one more to go so have to make it presentable till ive saved the pennies to redecorate room 7.
.
My daughter told me to NOT but another with the DVD in it. I bought a DVD player w/Dolby Sound on Ov er st ock last night for $40 to go with the TV (22 in flat screen) - they had $1 shipping. Total bill was $215 & change. I have a stand next to the dresser I can put the DVD thingy on - it is VERY small. Queen mattress next. Then flat screen for Gillum Room.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
.
I pick up pennies! I do not raise my room rates by 50 cents. When I raise my rates - which will be soon - I raise them by $5 or more.
My handyman daughter is visiting for 2 days and she is mounting a 26 in flat screen w/DVD in the only room with no TV so I can call the cable company next week to run the cable to it. Last night I ordered another flat screen and a DVD player to replace another space monster (on her next visit, we will mount that one on a swing-arm wall mount). and Next month I plan to order a queen mattress set to replace a full-size (I am in debt so far now, what the hey!). THEN I will raise the rates o all my rooms and I will have 3 different rates. The queen shared will be $115 and the full shared is going to be $99 and I will probably leave the pvt bath the same.
.
we only have to pay 2 types of tax which is a lot easier tax - council tax goes to local gove for services (fire,police,schools etc) and is a flat rate of about $400 a month and is based on property value. the other is VAT (Value added Tax) which we pay at 8% of turnover. we are managing to get out of income tax at the moment as you pay it on profit and we are spending everything we make on renovations so technically make no profit at the moment. I am sorting out all the TV's at the moment as our digital switch over is 21st sept so have to have boxes or new TV's in all the rooms by then. Have installed 7 so far with the help of my trusty handy man with just 5 to go. Its a lot of money though and trouble is exepectations just keep going up. did consider ones with DVD but wondered about blue ray as that is out growing DVD very fast here and figured it would get out of date quick. My trouble is sorting out the wall space to put them and sorting out where there was a stand sticking out of the wall with an old tv the new one isn't necessarily in the same place to hide the mess so that has to be fixed. Ive been rushing to redecorate all the rooms with this problem in time but I still have one more to go so have to make it presentable till ive saved the pennies to redecorate room 7.
.
Everything is going to blue ray. Even my new laptop computer reads blue ray. Get a blue ray player that also plays the older DVDs and you should be in great shape, for a few years at least!
America converted to all digital broadcasting last year and I haven't heard of anybody having problems. People who picked up their TV with a rooftop antenna just put in a converter box. The government here helped pay for the boxes, so few complaints!
.
here it has been a nightmare! if you are over 65 the gov will send a man out to help you but it is a $80 fee but this does include all equipment etc. however the main problem is they don't follow any logic about telling you when what is happening ie I did a post code check ie put in my address and it tells you when you are changing in the official web site this told me 2012 however signs all over town and in local paper says 21st september rang the help line as it is quite important which it is oh yes the post code checker is wrong. Well what is the purpose of it then? in the UK boxes are $40 each and I have 12 rooms. Ive bought 7 new TV's and bought 3 boxes and am trying to decide if I can stretch to 2 more tv's rather than waste $80 on boxes now and then end up buying new TVs later which is the plan. plus when you have to buy 12 of everything it soon adds up. Also have put a box in room 7 but am not getting the digital channels so am worried there is something wrong with the socket which will be another costly expense.
 
Since my city did not have any lodging facilities at the time the "bed tax" was created in the Legislature, my City Council did not enact the ordinance to collect it. The original amount was up to 3%. A couple years ago that was upped to 6% max. I get to tell my guests they SAVE 6% by booking with me instead of the hotels! My tax is the 6% sales tax. However, I get to "eat" the .005% B & O tax of my city - I am given the privilege of paying 50 cents on every $100 gross revenue. Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for..
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
.
Arkansawyer said:
gillumhouse said:
Although I would like to keep every dollar possible, if I want services, they have to be paid for.
Yes, in many cases the money collected is spent for things that benefit our businesses. Also, it's never our money in the first place. Like a sales tax, we just collect it from the guests and pass it along to the city. But until the day we pass it along, it sure feels like our money!
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
.
gillumhouse said:
The 6% is just a pass through but the 50 cents per $100 gross really IS my money. It is not something I can pass on to guests.
Yes, that sounds like a tax on you, amounting to 0.5% of sales. I haven't seen a locality do that, but I guess it's kind of like an occupation tax based on the size of your business.
You could up your rates to $129.50 and $95.50 to help cover it. Since most sales are probably credit card it wouldn't be like you're having to deal with a bunch of quarters all of a sudden, but those half dollars would add up over a year.
.
B & O tax is a business and occupation tax. The amount depends on the business and it is, as far as I can tell, apparently a WV way for cities to find revenue. Before I opened my B & B, as a Councilman, I voted FOR raising the B & O in this city to be in line with other cities around us - ours was way low. To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay. I cannot make my tax rate 6.05% - the only way it would work as a pass-through. And it comes out of my tax liability at the end of the year as another "cost of doing business". I do not resent the B & O tax as much as I do the personal property tax I am forced to pay year after year on everything - and to keep you honest, you MUST file a schedule C with your required form of what you have on July 1 (inventory) to be taxed. And they take the claimed food deduction from the Schedule C and divide it by 12 to determine what you had in inventory on July 1. I no longer claim purcahases for the B & B on my taxes for linens, furniture, etc. It costs me more in the long run in personal property taxes.
.
gillumhouse said:
To raise my rates will not take it off me, it will just raise the amount I have to pay.
You'd still come out way ahead on raising your rates 50 cents/room. The tax you pay on each additional 50 cents is a tiny share. You keep 49.975 cents on each 50 cents you collect.
If you saw 2 quarters lying on the ground, would you pick them up? I sure would. I wouldn't bend over for a penny, but I love quarters!
.
I pick up pennies! I do not raise my room rates by 50 cents. When I raise my rates - which will be soon - I raise them by $5 or more.
My handyman daughter is visiting for 2 days and she is mounting a 26 in flat screen w/DVD in the only room with no TV so I can call the cable company next week to run the cable to it. Last night I ordered another flat screen and a DVD player to replace another space monster (on her next visit, we will mount that one on a swing-arm wall mount). and Next month I plan to order a queen mattress set to replace a full-size (I am in debt so far now, what the hey!). THEN I will raise the rates o all my rooms and I will have 3 different rates. The queen shared will be $115 and the full shared is going to be $99 and I will probably leave the pvt bath the same.
.
we only have to pay 2 types of tax which is a lot easier tax - council tax goes to local gove for services (fire,police,schools etc) and is a flat rate of about $400 a month and is based on property value. the other is VAT (Value added Tax) which we pay at 8% of turnover. we are managing to get out of income tax at the moment as you pay it on profit and we are spending everything we make on renovations so technically make no profit at the moment. I am sorting out all the TV's at the moment as our digital switch over is 21st sept so have to have boxes or new TV's in all the rooms by then. Have installed 7 so far with the help of my trusty handy man with just 5 to go. Its a lot of money though and trouble is exepectations just keep going up. did consider ones with DVD but wondered about blue ray as that is out growing DVD very fast here and figured it would get out of date quick. My trouble is sorting out the wall space to put them and sorting out where there was a stand sticking out of the wall with an old tv the new one isn't necessarily in the same place to hide the mess so that has to be fixed. Ive been rushing to redecorate all the rooms with this problem in time but I still have one more to go so have to make it presentable till ive saved the pennies to redecorate room 7.
.
Everything is going to blue ray. Even my new laptop computer reads blue ray. Get a blue ray player that also plays the older DVDs and you should be in great shape, for a few years at least!
America converted to all digital broadcasting last year and I haven't heard of anybody having problems. People who picked up their TV with a rooftop antenna just put in a converter box. The government here helped pay for the boxes, so few complaints!
.
figured in the long term might buy 2 couple of blue rays and then hire them out see how I feel.
 
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