City OKs 11% Hike in Hotel Bed Tax
The Oxnard City Council has approved an 11% increase in the city’s hotel bed tax as part of a plan to subsidize the newly formed visitors bureau.
By increasing the Transient Occupancy Tax from 9% to 10%, Oxnard will match the average bed tax charged by 35 Southern California cities, according to a survey by city staff. In Ventura County, bed taxes range from 7% in Santa Paula to 11.84% in Port Hueneme.
City staff this week predicted that the tax increase would boost the city’s visitor revenues by $148,322, based on last year’s revenues of $1.3 million.
The council waived the bed tax for hotel customers on official government business and for residents seeking temporary shelter after their homes are damaged or destroyed.
The bed tax will revert to 9% in July, 1995, unless the City Council approves an extension.
New revenues are intended to help subsidize the new Greater Oxnard and Harbors Tourism Bureau, which the council agreed to assist last month. Since its old tourism bureau folded in 1991, the city has lost nearly $300,000 in bed tax revenue as the number of visitors to Oxnard has declined.
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