New Syracuse tax on hotel stays signed into law by NY Gov. Kathy Hochul

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed into law a bill that allows Syracuse to charge a new lodging tax to visitors who stay in hotels or motels in the city.
The 2% room occupancy tax in Syracuse will be in addition to the 7% hotel and motel tax charged by Onondaga County.
State lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the tax earlier this year at the request of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and the Syracuse Common Council, which voted 8-0 in support of the law.
Walsh has said the tax would generate an estimated $1.5 million to $1.75 million a year in new revenue for Syracuse.
The extra tax money is part of a larger plan to help address a lingering budget gap, Walsh said. The city has dipped into reserve funds and used money from the federal American Rescue Plant Act to help balance its budget.
Syracuse won’t be able to start charging the hotel tax until it enacts local legislation authorizing the tax, likely early next year.
The new tax means visitors would pay an extra $3 per night for a hotel room priced at $150. The county tax on that room would be $10.50 per night.
Syracuse is among about a dozen municipalities that requested state authorization this year to begin charging a hotel tax.
Hochul on Friday also signed into law a bill authorizing the city of Cortland to begin charging a hotel and motel tax of up to 3% per night.
Last year, New York lawmakers authorized a 2% hotel tax for the town of DeWitt and a 5% hotel tax in the town of Skaneateles.
Local tourism officials had been critical of the new Syracuse tax. Danny Liedka, president of Visit Syracuse, told Syracuse lawmakers in May that the tax will make it tougher to attract conventions, especially as the number of hotels rooms in the city shrinks.
The Crowne Plaza Syracuse hotel and Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel closed within the past year.
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