KOKOMO – Legislation that would have allowed Howard County officials to raise the county innkeeper’s tax is unlikely to be passed during this year’s General Assembly session.
The bill did not receive a hearing in the House Committee on Ways and Means and is unlikely to be attached to another piece of legislation moving through the Statehouse, according to State Rep. Mike Karickhoff, R-Kokomo, the author of House Bill 1554.
“It didn’t get a hearing, and it’s doubtful, and every day that passes now, it’s less and less likely,” he said.
Karickhoff noted that the bill is unlikely to be attached to any legislation in the Senate, as it would have to come back to the House for a vote and would have to be in the right section of Indiana code.
As for why the bill didn’t get a committee hearing, Karickhoff cited the number of House bills in the Ways and Means committee. More than 100 bills were assigned to the committee, including various other pieces of local enabling legislation.
In a text message, however, Karickhoff said that “if all the local officials remain resolute in the desire to have the option to raise the innkeeper’s tax,” he would file the legislation in next year’s session.
The legislation was filed early this year after weeks of conflict between local officials about how the bill should be written.
Ultimately, the idea of local enabling innkeeper’s tax legislation was supported by the Kokomo Common Council, Mayor Greg Goodnight, Howard County Council, Howard County Board of Commissioners and the Howard County Conventions, Visitors and Tourism Commission, although some proposals differed slightly.
If passed, the legislation would have given the county council the ability to raise the innkeeper’s tax from 5 to no more than 8 percent, likely to help fund a new convention center in Kokomo.
An increase of the innkeeper’s tax from 5 to 8 percent was expected to bring in another $350,000 to $400,000 annually.
Effectively, the innkeeper’s tax is charged to people who book rooms in Howard County hotels, motels, bed and breakfast spots and other lodgings. The tax is collected, similar to sales tax, when a customer pays for their stay at a specific location.
The tax is approved for collection by state legislators and is specific for each county.