By Parker Leavitt | The Arizona Republic
After several discussions during the past nine months, the Gilbert Town Council appears to have put the hotel-tax issue to bed.
The council on Thursday voted, 4-2, to keep its bed-tax rate at 3 percent despite repeated efforts of a few council members to reduce or eliminate the tax.
Bed taxes are tacked on to hotel guests’ bills in addition to a standard sales tax.
Municipalities are required to reinvest at least one-third of the revenue into tourism-related activities, which often includes a marketing campaign or a contract with a convention and visitors bureau.
The tax has broad support from the hospitality industry, and some cities have elevated their bed-tax rates in recent years at the urging of local hotels, which see it as a way to promote the community as a whole.
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