Friday, March 20, 2009

Hotel taxes in Keys will rise this summer

Taxes hotel guests pay in the Florida Keys will increase this summer in an attempt to beef up the marketing budget for the island chain.

The Monroe County Commission this week voted to raise the Keys' hotel tax from 4 percent to 5 percent. The extra revenue -- estimated at about $4 million this year -- will go to promotional efforts for the various destinations in the Keys, such as Marathon and Key West.

Hotel trade groups endorsed the extra tax, part of a statewide debate over how best to spend taxes paid by tourists.

Industry leaders gathered in Miami Shores Thursday to denounce efforts to spend hotel (or ''bed'') taxes on other government services, including a proposed Miami-Dade tourist police force endorsed by county commissioners this week.

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