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Tourism director urges innkeepers tax increase to build capital fund for future assets
Summary
Boone County tourism officials briefed the council on strong hotel occupancy and a recent state law change that allows higher innkeepers taxes; they recommended increasing the county innkeepers tax to build a capital fund for future tourism assets and the council approved the tourism budget.
Boone County tourism officials told the council they are proposing a county innkeepers tax increase to create a capital fund for future tourism investments.
The tourism director said county hotel occupancy is exceptionally high (nearly 80% in the most recent month), with 869 active rooms and several new properties proposed or under construction. The county recently approved a state bill authorizing an increase of the innkeepers tax from 5% to 8% (House Bill 1427 in 2025, per the director’s presentation), and local receipts from short‑term rental platforms have also grown substantially.
Tourism officials asked the council to support creation of a capital fund that would allow the county to invest in tourism assets as the community grows. The presenter emphasized that Boone County residents pay the innkeepers tax only when they stay in a county hotel; most revenue is paid by nonresidents who visit the county.
A council member asked how much revenue an expanded tax would generate; staff said the precise increase depends on occupancy rates and the number of new rooms that come online, and that the county currently brings in roughly $1.489 million at status quo assumptions. The tourism director said the timing of new properties and occupancy will determine the net increase.
The council voted to approve the tourism office’s proposed budget (the presenter’s requested operating lines) at the workshop. Discussion of a policy change to raise the tax is separate from the annual budget; staff and council members said they expect the higher statutory cap and room growth to increase future revenue if the county chooses to adjust its local rate and create a capital fund.
