Authorizes the town of Gardiner, in the county of Ulster, to impose a hotel and motel tax.
Summary
This bill authorizes the town of Gardiner in Ulster County to adopt local laws imposing a hotel and motel occupancy tax. The tax may be applied to transient guests staying in hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and tourist facilities, at a rate of up to 5 percent of the per diem room rental charge. Permanent residents, defined as people occupying a room for at least 90 consecutive days, would be exempt.
The bill also sets out administrative rules for collection, payment, refunds, review of determinations, and assessment periods. It allows the town’s chief fiscal officer to collect and administer the tax, permits the town to require monthly or other periodic filings, and directs that revenues be deposited into the town’s general fund for municipal services, infrastructure, and other essential expenditures. The authorization is temporary: the act takes effect immediately and expires, with repeal, two years later.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would amend the New York Tax Law by adding a new section specifically empowering the town of Gardiner to levy a local hotel and motel occupancy tax. It would expand local taxing authority in Ulster County while preserving existing exemptions for certain governmental and nonprofit entities and limiting the tax to transient lodging transactions. The bill would also create a short-term revenue source for the town’s general fund, potentially supporting local services and infrastructure, but only for the two-year authorization period unless renewed by future legislation.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented debate or formal vote-based sentiment to assess. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears to be a targeted local authorization measure rather than a controversial statewide policy change. The inclusion of a sunset provision suggests a limited, experimental approach that may have been intended to make the proposal more acceptable by restricting its duration.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential issues inherent in the bill include the burden of a new lodging tax on hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and visitors, as well as administrative responsibilities for the town and lodging operators. Any disagreement would likely center on whether the town should have this taxing authority, the 5 percent cap, and how the resulting revenue should be used, but the record does not identify any opposing stakeholders or objections.