Death and taxes

To the Editor:

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “… nothing can be said to be certain in life, except death and taxes.” On the November ballot, Measure U will raise taxes on tourist lodging. Why would anyone vote for more taxes?

Tuolumne County has a population of 55,000. Each year, 4.5 million people visit Yosemite. They use our roads and other county services, but pay little in taxes to support those services. We are subsidizing their visit. Yes, they eat in restaurants and pay 7.25 percent sales tax, but only 1 percent goes to support Tuolumne County.

The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) on tourist lodging enables our county to offset the cost of the roads and services that tourists expect. Measure U increases TOT from 10 to 12 percent, with the additional money flowing directly to our county and providing almost $2 million yearly.

Some hotel and campground owners are opposed. They're concerned that increasing their cost by 2 percent might discourage tourists and make their businesses less profitable. However, the lodging tax is 13 percent in Mariposa and 12 percent in Calaveras. Measure U would still leave us very competitive. Mammoth Lakes is much higher: 14 percent.

Our county has run deficits for years and our reserve funds are now gone. With COVID, revenues are down even more, making yearly deficits even bigger.

Each year, our police and fire, libraries, youth services, and parks have seen additional cuts. We are long past cutting out fat; we are cutting essential services. We are now hurting our kids and their families. County staff has been reduced and is scrambling to provide good service with fewer people. Without Measure U, future staff and service cuts will be sorely felt.

Asking our visitors to pay a competitive TOT for lodging is reasonable. We need the money. Vote yes on Measure U. Dee Keshner Sonora