Maybe it’s more like “Money-tee County.”
Manatee County ended its 2021-22 fiscal year with a bang in September, gleaning $1,543,920 from the jurisdiction’s “bed tax.”
The bed tax — tourist tax or resort tax — is a 5% levy on accommodation rentals of six months or less.
Earnings from the tax have exceeded those from the same month in the preceding year for 19 consecutive months.
The county earned $143,902 more than it did in September 2021.
The jurisdiction’s fiscal year runs October through September. The county netted $28,605,230 in FY 2021-22, $5,540,006 more than the previous fiscal year.
Unincorporated Manatee County, which has been out-earned by Holmes Beach several times this year, accounted for $622,531 of bed tax revenue, or 40.32% of the overall revenue pie, in September, more than any of the municipalities.
Holmes Beach netted $394,246 or 25.53%.
Anna Maria gleaned $147,612 or 9.56%, while Bradenton Beach collected $106,317 or 6.89%.
Bradenton earned $161,571 or 10.46%, Longboat Key brought in $103,795 or 6.72% and Palmetto saw $7,934.76 or 0.51%.
The county commission makes resort tax spending decisions under the guidance of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council.
Resort tax revenue must fund tourism-related initiatives, per state law.
Projects fueled by bed tax dollars include island beach renourishment and construction of the new Anna Maria City Pier in 2019-20.
The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bradenton Area Convention Center; the nonprofit Realize Bradenton and the Pittsburgh Pirates also receive resort tax dollars.
October resort tax data will be released in early December.
The TDC will meet with county commissioners during a Tuesday, Dec. 13, work session in lieu of the council’s December meeting.
The work session’s time has yet to be determined, according to the TDC page on the manatee government website.
For more information, visit mymanatee.org.
Tourist tax collections
September 2018: $622,059
September 2019: $746,145
September 2020: $1,116,592
September 2021: $1,400,018
September 2022: $1,543,920
Source: Manatee County Tax Collector
Know your TDCs
In addition to making budget recommendations, the TDC — a nine-member group comprising elected officials, hospitality property owners and citizens involved in the tourism industry — advises the county board on tourist development projects.
Members of the TDC include County Commissioner Misty Servia, chairman, along with Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant, Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown, Ed Chiles, Eric Cairns, Jiten Patel, Rahul Patel, Dave Wick and Norma Kennedy.tdc tax 110922 kk