Mt Snow folks reject.....

[ski_resort_observer]

I find this interesting. The folks in the Mt Snow area just rejected I think for the second time the local 1% local options tax while their former sister resort folks(kmart) voted it in to take effect in Oct. Perhaps it's just the folks who live in the town of Wilmington vs the town of Killington. Seems like just another way that both resort areas are moving in opposite directions since they were sold.

 

[mamaspice]

Actually, here's the deal: the town of Dover (in which Mount Snow is located) voted in the 1% tax and has had an economic development committee in place for about a year. Wilmington, the next town, voted in the 1% tax at town meeting in March but just repealed it on Wednesday.

 

[drjeff]

The story in this weeks Deerfield Valley News

http://www.dvalnews.com/news.php?news/news1.html

 

[Vinny]

The story in this weeks Deerfield Valley News

http://www.dvalnews.com/news.php?news/news1.html

I can understand locals worrying about increased costs, but IMO there is no argument that the 1% tax will have any impact on tourism. People want a nice place to visit, and a 1% tax isn't going to make a dent in their travel plans or spending patterns.

I think this area is missing out on an opportunity. Gas prices are going to really make people start thinking Southern Vt. vs. heading up north. They are so close to the Metro NY region there should be a significant upside.

 

[Geoff]

Actually, here's the deal: the town of Dover (in which Mount Snow is located) voted in the 1% tax and has had an economic development committee in place for about a year. Wilmington, the next town, voted in the 1% tax at town meeting in March but just repealed it on Wednesday.

That actually makes a lot of political sense. Dover gets the sales tax revenue on all the resort lift ticket, food & beverage, and lodging sales. The perceived penalty to the local small businesses is small compared to the amount of cash it brings in.

I'm no fan of the Vermont tax structure but if you can cut property tax rates in towns that are getting slaughtered by the Act 68 penalties on spending "too much" per pupil in your school system by grabbing ski resort sales tax money, that's pretty rational behavior. Unfortunately, towns like Killington are squandering the sales tax money instead of using it to fund the non-school parts of the town budget. Killington has a boondoggle to somehow try to promote Killington as a 4-season resort using their sales tax money. If you've ever driven the Killington access road in July, you'd understand how pointless that is.