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Commissioners ask legislators to propose local occupancy tax after consultant study
Summary
After reviewing a consultant estimate that an occupancy tax could generate roughly $290,000 for the county, commissioners voted to ask state legislators to sponsor enabling legislation; some commissioners urged a fiscal study of net revenues after administrative costs.
Commissioner Tandy Dunn asked the Board to request that Beaufort County’s state delegation introduce enabling legislation for a local occupancy tax, noting a consultant study by Magellan Group estimated roughly $290,000 annual revenue for the county (exclusive of municipal shares). Dunn said the authority would be paid by out-of-county visitors, not residents, and that two-thirds of the revenue is statutorily allowable to support tourism promotion and operations while one-third can be directed to tourism- related projects.
Commissioner Hood Richardson opposed moving forward without a more detailed fiscal analysis, arguing that implementing an occupancy tax imposes administrative costs (an executive director, accounting and auditing) and often produces little net revenue for counties after those costs. Commissioner Stan Deatherage and others raised philosophical objections to adding local taxes. After discussion the Board approved a motion to contact Senator Brinson and Representative Kidwell and request enabling legislation to allow Beaufort County to adopt a local occupancy tax, with board members asking staff to return with a financial breakdown of projected fees and administrative costs before implementation.
The request to the legislature is a preliminary step: the Board did not set any rate or adopt implementing language; adoption would depend on enabling legislation by the General Assembly and future local action, including decisions about revenue allocation and administrative structure.
