There are four-letter words in this world that do not have four letters. There are some, indeed, that have that qualifying number — “snow” being among my least favorite real four-letter words. But I digress.
When it comes to really bad words, I’ve always considering such things as “upgrade” (as in computers) and “budget” (as in a business’ budget, but I don’t have to worry about that anymore) to be four-letter words. Here’s another one: “tax.”
Nobody likes taxes. We all do our best to avoid them, we all complain about them, we would rather do about anything than get our annual income taxes assembled and completed. Yuck. No fun. So it is understandable, perhaps, for local government officials to balk at adding a new four-letter word to our ordinances.
There is a big difference, however, with an “innkeeper’s tax” as discussed in today’s Page 1 update on local efforts to develop tourism in Wells County. It is a tax you and I pay every time we stay in a motel or hotel, a bed-and-breakfast or a vrbo.com rental — it is used by a tourism board in that locale to help attract visitors to their community, increasing their employment opportunities, and adding to their local taxes collected and increased property values.
A Wells County innkeeper’s tax would not cost local residents a single penny. (Well, OK. If you should for some reason need to rent a room locally, then it would cost you.) The money paid by non-residents would not only be used to attract visitors, but also would encourage and develop local attractions that enhances the quality of life for those who are fortunate enough to live here.
Let’s put that into more concrete terms. What might a continuing tourism effort mean in dollars?
Nailing down specific numbers for a county comparable to Wells is not the easiest thing to do, because the numbers are compiled by a private firm and hence are not available without paying a fee. However, we have managed to obtain some statistics for nearby Noble County, even if they are a bit dated.
Among their findings for 2018:
• Tourism supported 182 jobs paying $4 million in wages.
• Of every tourism dollar spent, 44 cents remained in the county in the form of local products purchased, wages paid and local taxes collected.
• The firm estimated that without tourism dollars, each household in the county would have to pay an additional $81 per year to support local schools and government services.
• It all added up to an economic impact of $7.2 million. The 5 percent innkeeper’s tax they have is not totally responsible, but a) it was paid by non-residents, b) it certainly helped generate those dollars, and c) local residents benefited.
Noble County has a few lakes and a windmill museum. Wells County has something its does not — a state park — and the potential to package other local attractions to draw more visitors and to enhance our own enjoyment of our own community.
The tourism study produced by Ball State University in 2019 and referenced in today’s story promoted the institution of the innkeeper’s tax, noting that 1) almost everyone else does it (Wells and Adams are the only two counties in northeast Indiana that do not), 2) outsiders pay for it, and 3) most people will probably not notice it or care. As a traveler, when was the last time you took any notice of the additional tax on your room?
That study’s author, professor Craig Webster, noted that “this is a contentious and political issue,” which frankly, I found puzzling. What could be contentious about a tax that others pay and we benefit? Wells County Economic Development Director Chad Kline says it is contentious only because of that four-letter word: “tax.”
“It has become contentious in some communities,” he shares, “but it is always because of some questions about how it’s going to be utilized and who will benefit. There’s no question that if everyone works together, everyone benefits.”
It is clear to me that we are, indeed, “working together” here … the Economic Development Council convinced the commissioners and Bluffton NOW! to chip in to hire Audrey Dudley in 2020 to coordinate tourism efforts. She and Kline have assembled a committee that will produce some visible marketing and tourism efforts in 2022. In order to convert those efforts into a permanent tourism bureau, the sustainable funding of an Innkeeper’s Tax is essential and — am I repeating myself? — it won’t cost us a penny.*
Can “tax” be a good four-letter word? Hard to believe, but yes, it can.
miller@news-banner.com
*The fine print: Unless you would for some reason need to rent a local room, it won’t cost you a penny.
