Augusta City Council to Consider Raising Transient Guest Tax Rate to 6% at February 7, 2022 Meeting
See below an information letter from City Manager Josh Shaw:
January 11, 2022
To Whom It May Concern,
This letter is directed to owners of hotels and motels as well as accommodation brokers (including Airbnbs) in Augusta, KS who currently pay transient guest tax. This February, the Augusta City Council will consider a recommendation from City staff to increase Augusta’s local transient guest tax rate from 5% to 6%, with the additional funds being used to support local economic development efforts.
On October 7, 2013, the Augusta City Council approved Charter Ordinance 16 granting the City authority to increase the transient guest tax up to a rate of 6% and authorizing the use of transient guest tax funds for economic development purposes. However, since that meeting the City has not taken formal action to actually increase the tax rate. In 2021, City staff revisited the possibility of acting on the Charter Ordinance, discussing the issue with City Council, the Convention & Tourism Bureau, and local economic development organizations before forming their recommendation.
The transient guest tax is a local tax that is administered by the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR). It is collected by hotels, motels, and accommodation brokers from their customers and remitted to KDOR. 98% of the transient guest tax is returned to cities and counties. The remaining 2% is kept by KDOR to cover their expenses in administering the tax.
The following table shows Augusta’s transient guest tax rate as well as the rates for 15 comparable cities. The average rate for those comparable communities is approximately 6.5%.
If you have any questions or concerns about a potential increase to the Augusta transient guest tax rate, please contact the City Manager’s Office at (316)775-4510 or jshaw@augustagov.org.
Sincerely,
Josh Shaw
City Manager
City of Augusta, KS
316-775-4510
jshaw@augustagov.org
Twitter