Long-term room tax change proposed

Paying a month up front for a month's stay in a hotel or motel in Carson City may not mean getting out of paying room tax.

Carson City Board of Supervisors are expected to decide Thursday whether to remove the exception from city regulations that allows people who pay for a 28-day stay at a motel up front from to avoid paying the 10 percent room tax.

The move would make it easier for hotel and motel operators and the visitors bureau to figure out how much everyone pays, said Janet Jones, group sales manager for the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"It's mainly because the way the exemption was written was confusing," Jones said. "This would make it easier for them to figure and fair to those who can't afford to pay a month in advance. So everyone pays this way."

If approved, the additional room tax collected from extended-stay motels, timeshares, bed-and-breakfast inns and RV parks would add up to possibly $10,000 more a year, the bureau estimates.

Revenues collected from the room tax pays for tourism-related projects and materials.

A small portion goes to pay for the Virginia & Truckee Railroad construction project.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.