Where Is Occupancy Tax Going?

WILDWOOD – Diane F. Wieland’s Feb. 12 presentation to the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce on New Jersey Occupancy Tax concerned the taxes collected and returns on investment. The presentation took place at the monthly meeting at La Piazza Restaurant.
Wieland, director, Cape May County Tourism Department, told how the county is being short changed on the funds that are being applied to the county. The county is the fourth largest sending funds to the state, and it is the third lowest getting it back. The county gets 10.6 percent of what it sends while Salem County gets 162 percent of what it sends.
Cape May County generates over $8 million in occupancy tax plus over $487 million in tourism generated sales tax. That is 10 percent of the total share of the state in both categories. Of the $83 million occupancy tax that is generated in the state, only one third, $28.8 million, of it is awarded to three entities: $16 million for the arts, $3.8 million for history and only $9 million for tourism.
Most of the money goes to Trenton, $54 million is used for other programs, which no one seems to know where it goes, she said. A problem is that those in charge of the formulas for disbursement are not familiar with the funding formulas nor can they explain it, she added.
In 2013 the occupancy tax collected for the first half was down, especially in June. The second half of the year made up for most of the losses as compared with the previous year.
The 2013 figures are not fully calculated but should be close to 2012, she noted. Cape May County generated $5.2 billion in tourism expenditures and remains second in the state just behind Atlantic City.
If the casino portion was excluded, Cape May County would be number one.
In 2012, Cape May County had over 12.4 million visitors of which 6.1 million were overnight stays from one to several nights. In 2013, it seemed that overnight stays went from 50 percent to about 65 percent. In 2012, the tourism industry in the county accounted for over 24,000 jobs.
In attendance was Vicki Clark, president, Cape May County Chamber of Commerce. Clark said that she is working on legislation to bring the state’s advertising budget back to what it was 10 years ago.
Some cities that are south of New Jersey are spending more than the entire state is spending on advertising its tourism industry. Those cities are also targeting the market that historically visits the New Jersey shore.
By GEORGE CAPUA