Beacon Hill lawmakers seem poised to bring the lodging tax to fruition, although the details have yet to be decided upon. For years, and particularly this past year, we have been voicing our opinion about the negative consequences of this tax through the media and meetings with legislators at the State House. At our encouragement, many of you have written to legislators to voice your concerns. Until this year, the political will has not been sufficient to pass this tax bill. It now appears inevitable that a Lodging Tax bill of some kind will be passed this summer. Time is of the essence to communicate with our legislators!
In case you missed it, here is our opinion piece that was published the April 5 edition of the Cape Cod Times.
There will be four opportunities to meet with legislators on the Cape and voice your opinion on the tax.
On Sunday, June 11, from 12:30 – 2:30, there will be a Town Hall Meeting with State Senator Julian Cyr and State Representative Sarah Peake at the Wellfleet Senior Center, 715 Old Kings Highway, Wellfleet. Other topics are on the agenda besides the lodging tax. Both Senator Cyr and Rep. Peake are proponents of the tax, and Rep. Peake sponsored this bill.
On Monday, June 12, at 3 PM, a public hearing will be held with the Financial Services Committee at Barnstable Town Hall. If you are unable to testify in person, you can submit written testimony. Here is the proposed bill and here are the Committee members. We will be attending that meeting.
On Tuesday, June 27, at 10:30 AM, a public hearing will be held in Room B-1 at the State House in Boston.
On Friday, June 30, at 2 PM, we are meeting with State Senator Julian Cyr at our Brewster office. Senator Cyr, who represents the Cape and Islands, came into office in 2016, and this is our first opportunity to meet with him. If you would like to attend, please email joan@weneedavacation.com.
We encourage you to write to these state legislators regarding their proposed bills:
Rep. Aaron Michlewitz – Bill H3454 An Act Regulating and Insuring Short-Term Rentals
Rep. Sarah Peake -- Bill H2642 An Act Providing for Local Aid Enhancement
Sen. Michael Rodrigues – Bill S.1616 An Act Updating and Modernizing the Room Occupancy Excise
Sen. Eric Lesser – Bill S.1553 An Act Relative to the Regulation and Taxation of Transient Accommodations in the Commonwealth