Ocean City one step closer to increased room tax

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Ocean City is one step closer to getting the approval they need to increase their room tax from 4.5 percent to an even five.

The town already has approval from their council but on Tuesday, the Worcester County commissioners unanimously voted to move forward with the proposal.

Right now, the town generates a little more than $16 million a year from room taxes, $7 million of it is used to advertise the resort town and the rest goes into the general fund.

But the town officials argue that this increase is crucial since there’s still expenses from special events that aren’t being covered.

“We have found through budgeting that there’s a lot of expenses that we incur that is associated with special events and with promotions and with bringing people to Ocean City that isn’t being covered and it’s falling on the general fund. During special events we have public works costs, public safety costs, personnel costs,” explains Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.

The Worcester County commissioners will hold two public meetings on the issue and then they have to make a unanimous decision on whether to pass it or not.

If it passes, it will take effect January 1, 2020. The room taxes not only apply to hotels and motels, but also Air BnBs.