A large Fresno sign stands at the entrance to the new outdoor international arrivals plaza, part of the recent expansion at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Fresno County proposes a 12% transient occupancy tax to have visitors help pay for roads, emergency services and parks while preserving local budgets.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS
ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
As a professional accountant and the Fresno County assessor-recorder, I spend a great deal of time thinking about taxes, a topic most people would rather avoid.
No one likes paying taxes, and government must be careful with every dollar it receives. But our tax system should also be fair, which is why I support Fresno County’s proposed transient occupancy tax (TOT).
When visitors stay in Fresno County, they should help pay for the public services and infrastructure they use while they are here.
A TOT, sometimes also commonly called a hotel tax, is paid by guests who stay in hotels, motels, short-term rentals and similar lodging. Fresno County’s proposal would establish a 12% TOT on short-term lodging in unincorporated areas.
This is hardly a new or unusual concept.
Fresno County is one of only a few California counties that does not currently collect a TOT. The cities of Fresno and Clovis already have a 12% TOT, as do other cities within our county. When Fresno County residents travel elsewhere, we routinely pay these taxes ourselves.
So why should Fresno County continue to be the exception?
Fresno County welcomes visitors from across California, the nation and the world. We are the gateway to Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, and people come for our mountains, lakes, agriculture, events and communities.
We want them here.
Those visitors use our roads and infrastructure. During emergencies, they may rely on sheriff’s deputies, 911 dispatchers, emergency responders and other public services. Mountain and rural communities especially feel the impacts of serving large numbers of visitors.
Today, Fresno County taxpayers largely bear those costs while the county leaves a common source of visitor-generated revenue uncollected.
The proposed TOT is estimated to generate approximately $4.5 million every year in locally controlled general revenue.
That is significant.
The revenue is general purpose, meaning it can address changing priorities through the public budget process. The ballot language identifies needs such as law enforcement, wildfire and disaster response, 911 services, roads, behavioral and public health, water infrastructure and parks.
This measure does not raise Fresno County residents’ property, sales or income taxes. It applies when someone purchases qualifying short-term lodging in the unincorporated county.
A local resident who chooses to stay in one of those lodging establishments could pay it, but the purpose of a hotel tax is to capture revenue connected to visitors and the tourism economy.
There is another important issue here: fairness.
Fresno County property owners already contribute substantially toward local services. Residents pay sales taxes, and businesses support our economy every day.
It makes little sense to ask local taxpayers to shoulder full responsibility for services that also support visitors when virtually every other major destination has found a reasonable way for visitors to contribute.
If you travel to another community and stay in a hotel, you probably pay a hotel tax without giving it much thought. That revenue helps support the community you are visiting.
Fresno County deserves the same consideration.
I don’t believe the question before voters should simply be, “Do we want another tax?” The better question is: Who should pay for the public services and infrastructure that support Fresno County? Only the people who live here, or should the people who visit here contribute as well?
For me, the answer is straightforward.
We should keep welcoming visitors, promoting tourism, supporting our lodging industry and showcasing everything this remarkable county offers. But we should also expect visitors to contribute their fair share toward the community they are enjoying.
That is reasonable, responsible and, most importantly, fair.
Paul Dictos, a certified public accountant, is Fresno County’s assessor-recorder.
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