Despite a surplus of money paid by tourists who visited the island this year, the Town of Hilton Head Island and the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce won't be getting a slice.
This article was originally posted by The Island Packet. Click Here to go to the original.
In November, the Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee set its recommendations for allocating the tax money, including awarding more than $250,000 in surplus to the town and the chamber.
On Tuesday, the Town Council decided to yank the surplus funding from the town and chamber and put it in a reserve account to be used by organizations that apply later this fiscal year.
That knocks the A-TAX grant award for the town down from $1,126,994 to $1 million, and the grant award for the chamber down from $476,994 to $350,000 to market the island to tourists.
A-TAX is dubbed the “tourist tax” because it’s charged for any hotel room rental on the island, so the majority of the $4.37 million comes from visitors. Nine organizations, mostly events, didn’t apply for 2021 grants due to cancellations.
Under state law, 30% of all A-TAX revenue must go to the town’s Designated Marketing Organization, a contract Hilton Head leaders voted to award to the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce again this year after two years of criticism over the chamber’s lack of accountability to the local governments that give it taxes.
Organizations must prove they serve and attract tourists to apply for an A-TAX grant.
To see the list of organizations who were awarded grants as well as how much funding is being rewarded, click here to visit the article from The Island Packet.