To the Editorial Team: A recent statement by Ulster Strong regarding the City of Kingston’s proposed 3 percent lodging occupancy tax claims that the addition would burden visitors with "one of the highest combined lodging tax burdens in New York State (15 percent)." This assertion is wholly inaccurate and relies on outdated or incomplete figures for other municipalities across the state.

When visitors enjoy our historic districts, walk our waterfront, and rely on our first responders to keep them safe, they consume municipal resources. A modest 3 percent bed tax is a standard mechanism that ensures the tourism economy pays for its own footprint, shifting the financial maintenance of our public infrastructure away from local property owners and into the overall cost of a traveler's overnight stay.

To put this in real-world context rather than relying on scare tactics, a 3 percent tax on a $150 hotel room adds just $4.50 a night. When we evaluate the actual, current tax loads that travelers face in comparable New York cities, Kingston’s proposed 15 percent combined rate is well within normal parameters, and in many cases, significantly lower than what is charged elsewhere.

In fact, Ulster Strong completely omitted critical, localized data from neighboring Hudson Valley communities that demonstrate this reality:

Newburgh: Overnight visitors face an overall tax load of 18.00 percent because the city collects its own 5 percent municipal lodging tax on top of Orange County’s 5 percent tax and standard sales tax.
Poughkeepsie: Depending on the lodging type, the total combined tax burden climbs between 16.125 percent and 18.125 percent due to stacked city and Dutchess County occupancy taxes.
Rhinebeck: With Dutchess County’s recent occupancy tax increase and Rhinebeck moving forward with its own approved 3 percent local lodging tax layer to fund infrastructure, their total visitor tax burden is climbing to 16.125 percent.

These regional examples are in addition to other major state municipalities that already significantly exceed or match what Kingston is proposing, which Ulster Strong also misrepresented:

Binghamton & Ithaca: The article cites these rates at 13 percent, but due to layered municipal and county taxes, both cities actually carry a combined burden of 18.00 percent.
Yonkers: Cited at 14.38 percent, the true combined tax burden for a visitor staying in Yonkers is actually 17.75 percent.
Saratoga Springs: Cited at 13 percent, recent legislative and county adjustments bring the actual current total rate to 15.00 percent.
New York City: Cited at 14.75 percent, this percentage completely omits the mandatory flat fees of $3.50 per night ($2.00 city occupancy fee + $1.50 NYS hotel unit fee) that push the real cost even higher.
Albany: Cited at 14.00 percent, recent increases to Albany County's lodging tax bring the true total burden to 14.50 percent.

Public policy discussions must be grounded in real-time, accurate data. Misrepresenting how Kingston compares to the rest of the state distorts the conversation around how the city can reasonably generate revenue. Based on the actual data from across New York, the narrative that this proposal creates an unprecedented tax burden is simply false.

Michele Hirsch

Majority Leader

City of Kingston Common Council