As Pennsylvania lawmakers struggle to draft and pass a balanced budget for the fiscal year that began in July, House members last week floated a proposal to double the state hotel tax.
Tourism and hotel advocacy groups told the Associated Press they were blindsided by the proposal, which would raise Pennsylvania’s hotel tax from 6 percent to 11 percent and give its two largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the highest hotel tax in the nation when combined with local taxes.
The proposal is the latest addition to a package of taxes and borrowing to close a $2.2 billion budget deficit that also includes gaming expansion measures in the form of legalized online gaming, authorization of satellite casinos run by the current licensees, and slot-style video gaming terminals at truck stops.
