The DeKalb City Council recently voted unanimously to suspend local restaurant and hospitality taxes in response to the economic crisis created by the COVID-19.
The DeKalb City Council recently voted unanimously to suspend local restaurant and hospitality taxes in response to the economic crisis created by the COVID-19.
The DeKalb City Council recently voted unanimously to suspend local restaurant and hospitality taxes in response to the economic crisis created by COVID-19.
During a special meeting, the council approved tax suspensions that went into effect April 1. The suspension applies to the 7.5% hospitality tax charged through hotels and motels, as well as to the 2% tax charged through restaurants, the Daily Chronicle reported.
The suspension of the hospitality tax will last through June 30, or when a hotel or motel that is affected by the suspension reaches the equivalent of $6,000 in taxes.
While the 126 restaurants and bars will have the potential to have their taxes suspended until Dec. 31, 2020, the threshold at which they begin paying taxes again of $3,000 is much lower.
While Ward 4 Ald. Greg Perkins joined in the unanimous vote, he expressed early concerns over how the suspension would affect the city’s budget.
"We put a lot into the budget and this effectively unbalances the budget in some ways,” Perkins told the Daily Chronicle. “We haven't given consideration into where we're recovering those things and that makes me a little uneasy."
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