If resort tax collections are any barometer for tourism to Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and the Bradenton area, expect the number of visitors this winter season to be well ahead of last year’s count.
Resort tax collection amounts — the 5 percent charged by Manatee County on all accommodation rentals of six months or less — jumped 10.7 percent in January compared with January 2011.
Resort taxes — officially known as the Manatee County Tourist Development Tax and often called the bed tax — are collected the month following payment to hoteliers and vacation property owners, said Sue Sinquefield of the Manatee County Tax Collector’s resort tax division. The January amounts were collected at her office in February and, as always, are due by the end of the month.
Resort tax collections in January were $799,926, compared with $704,377 collected in January 2011, up 10.7 percent, Sinquefield said.
“And January is traditionally a slow month for accommodation rentals,” she said.
With the many positive reports of tourism and spending increases for the Island and Longboat Key for February, Sinquefield said she anticipates collections to surpass February 2011.
Holmes Beach led all areas in resort tax collections in January 2012 with $212,747 or 27.6 percent of the monthly collection, while Longboat Key collections that month were $100,944.
Anna Maria resort tax collections were $60,301, and Bradenton Beach had $56,594 in collections in January.
Combined, Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key contributed $431,587 in January resort tax collections, with unincorporated Manatee County providing $304,690.
Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key resort tax collections for the month were 55.3 percent of the total collected. On an annual average, the Island and Longboat Key contribute about 60 percent to the countywide resort tax.
Sinquefield said since the resort tax division expanded its efforts to track down deadbeat vacation property owners — those who do not pay the 5 percent bed tax — collections have increased by more than 10 percent.
Collections for 2011 were $7.1 million, a record amount since the resort tax was introduced in the 1990s.
“While we don’t set a goal to break our collection amount every year, we do plan to remain pro-active in our search for those who are avoiding the resort tax,” Sinquefield said.
One method employed by the tax collector to locate unlicensed vacation rentals is a neighborhood sweep, where agents go house-to-house to check on occupancy and ownership. Those agents know which properties already are registered as vacation rentals.
The owner of a vacation rental must be licensed by the Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation, Manatee County and, usually, in the city where the vacation property is located. Holmes Beach requires all vacation properties to register and pay a business fee.
Sinquefield said when a violator is discovered, that owner must pay all back resort taxes and sales taxes as calculated by the department. Additionally, the owner could face disciplinary action from the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office if the property is homesteaded, but used as a vacation rental.
“My advice to vacation property owners is follow all the rules and requirements,” Sinquefield said.