Tax Revenues Go Up in Santa Barbara

Amid the turmoil created by the city’s continued short-term rental policies, revenue information indicates that TOT (transient occupancy tax) from vacation rentals dropped 21.4 percent in November. But the rental tax “constitutes a relatively small part of overall TOT,” wrote Diego Martin in a city Treasury press release. The city’s total bed tax income actually rose by 9.1 percent, reflecting an increase of 10.9 percent from hotels and motels. In dollars and cents, TOT last month was $1,274,277 compared to $1,167,633 in November 2015 and $1,212,104 the year before that.

The fiscal year began in July, and in the first five months since, the city’s collected more than $9.4 million in TOT. It hopes to bring in $19.7 million this year.

In sales tax collection, city revenue also rose, going up 2 percent in its first fiscal quarter compared to the previous year, or a gain of $5.5 million in sales tax for July–September. The target for 2017 is $22.3 million.