Ocean City Hotel Tax Increase

State Senator Mary Beth Carozza is sponsoring a new hotel tax bill that would increase the tax by 1%, from 5% to 6%. She said,”65% of this hotel tax will be paid by out of state visitors. So, you look at it from the standpoint of a reasonable request, 5% to 6%, in line with other Maryland counties.” That proposed one percent hotel tax increase, comes as Worcester County is among the lowest in terms of hotel tax rates. Carozza says other counties like Allegheny County and Baltimore County see 8% and 9.5% rates respectively. Adding, neighboring Wicomico county is already at 6%. She says, “my understanding is that it will be a dedicated fund that will be used for tourism, and of course every one dollar invested in tourism generates $31 in visitor spending.”  Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association executive director Susan Jones says the potential increase shouldn’t be an expense that makes or breaks summer vacations for visitors. Jones said, “What will make or break the experience is did you have fun or whether the streets are safe, are the beaches clean so we have to make sure that we do everything we can to provide a great vacation experience and not focus on that tax number.” Jones emphasized that Ocean city is not an industrial town – and it relies on tourist dollars. “That is our economy and that is what we need to do to make sure the tourism survives.” Even if the bill is not passed in this year’s session, lawmakers say it’s a priority they are working on.