To raise the county tourist development tax a penny, Manatee would need the approval of voters in a general election.
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council unanimously agreed in a voice vote April 15 to recommend the county commission add a sixth cent to the bed tax and the commission was expected to consider the recommendation at an April 23 meeting.
However, the agenda item was removed based on a notice from the Florida Department of Revenue that a 2023 law changed the process for raising the tax — from commission approval to voter authorization.
The tourist development tax — also known as the resort tax or the bed tax — is collected on overnight accommodations of six months or less, including vacation rentals and hotel rooms.
Manatee County first enacted the tax in 1980 and has raised the collection figure over the years, with the last bump in 2009.
Based on the county’s 2023 tourist tax revenues, Manatee meets the criteria to be a high tourism-impact county eligible for an additional 1% tourist tax.
Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties levy 6%.
Florida counties can collect a sixth cent of tourist tax — the maximum possible — once they pass the threshold of $30 million a year in such taxes.
Manatee collected $30,090,618 in tourist tax revenues in the calendar year of 2023. Also, according to the BACVB, the county generated $625,890,749 in taxable rental revenues.
A penny increase in the tax would generate another $6 million a year.
Tourist tax revenues must be used for tourist-related programs and projects.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, pitched the penny increase to the TDC, highlighting capital improvements and projects that benefit visitors but also residents, including beach renourishment, pier reconstruction, airport expansion, preserve and park enhancements and the ferry service operating between Anna Maria Island and Bradenton.
Expanding the ferry service — adding a third boat as well as increasing operational days and adding stops at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, on Longboat Key and in Palmetto — is a BACVB goal.
Falcione said the county attorney was reviewing the 2023 legislation that changed the process for raising the tourist tax. Then the commission would need to decide whether to ask voters to increase the tax.
In addition to the bed tax, there is a 7% sales tax on short-term accommodations.
March tourist tax collections
March 2019: $2,725,570
March 2020: $1,782,570
March 2021: $3,169,991
March 2022: $4,282,499
March 2023: $4,647,968
March 2024: $5,303,173
Source: Manatee County Tax Collector
March tourist tax tops $5 million
By Lisa Neff
Islander editor
Tourism roared through March, generating more than $5 million in tourist development tax revenue in Manatee County.
The county collected $5,303,173 in bed tax revenue for the month, compared to $4,647,968 in March 2023 and 4,282,499 in March 2022, according to a May 1 report from the county tax collector’s office.
The increase in March 2024 over March 2023 was 14.10%, the first double-digit percentage increase in the 2023-24 fiscal year that began in October.
The tax is a 5% levy collected on overnight accommodations of six months or less. The Manatee County Tourist Development Council in April recommended raising the tax to 6%.
Halfway through the 2023-24 fiscal year, the county has collected $16.7 million in tourist tax revenue.
On the island, Holmes Beach’s March tourist development tax earnings reached $1,503,746 — 28.31% of the total for the county.
In Bradenton Beach, the revenue was $285,478 or 5.38% of the total.
In Anna Maria, the revenue was $725,360 or 13.66% of the total.
Some other stats:
- Unincorporated Manatee County generated $1,915,579 or 36.07%,
- Longboat Key generated $442,627 or 8.33%;
- Bradenton generated $427,183 or 8.04%;
- Palmetto generated $11,056 or 0.21%.
The tax collector retains a 3% administrative fee, leaving the county’s net bed tax revenue for March at $5.16 million.
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council is the advisory board that recommends how to spend resort tax revenue.
The county commission budgets the expenditures.
Revenue must be used to bolster tourism, according to state law.
Tourism-related institutions that receive resort tax funding include the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Bradenton Area Convention Center, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Realize Bradenton, a nonprofit dedicated to developing downtown Bradenton.
Tourism-related projects that have been funded by the tax include island beach renourishment, construction of the new Anna Maria City Pier and the launch of the Gulf Islands Ferry service between Bradenton and the island.
April bed tax revenue data will be released in early June.