Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 2:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I thought Hotel Consultants was going to market Natchez in exchange for having the ordinance changed to allow them to build a hotel over thirty-five feet tall on the bluff, and for getting paid to manage the convention center and auditorium. Maybe I read those stories wrong.

Anyway, the Natchez residents should be ashamed for denying the tourism council 200,000.00 in food taxes! If the tourism officials don't get that money from food eaters, then the restaurants and hotels and casinos will have to market themselves, and it is obvious that more tourists in Natchez is good for everyone. True, some will benefit more equally than others, but that is how it is with taxes.

I don't understand how the food tax has become lost revenue though, since it wasn't being collected yet, but then I am no accountant.

The idea to increase the hotel room tax to 1.80 is wonderful though! I suggest increasing it to 2.00 though, because whole numbers are easier to keep track of than fractions, and the tourism officials are trying to raise revenue, not quibble over pennies. Tourists, after having been marketed into a town, are usually delighted to discover they have elected to visit a town sophisticated enough to have a hotel room tax, all the best towns have them. Many tourists feel undertaxed at home, and find it refreshing to share their vacation money with distant municipalities. I know I do. The better towns even have an electrical surcharge tax.

What about a gambling tax too? Gamblers enjoy giving away their money, and the casinos could make it even more fun for them by increasing the odds against the gamblers on their games. The casinos might see some collateral trade increase with increased tourism.

The possibilities with taxes are endless. Get on the ball Natchezians! Support your local taxes!

Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on February 6, 2008 at 5:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2007...

If this story was correct, then why do we need a tax increase for marketing Natchez???

Posted by ROCKSTEADY (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I would rather see taxes raised for better police pay

Posted by frogprincenessntz (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 8:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Are the constituents, complaining about a nickel on a $10 meal, on any kind of governmental assistance? If so, I do not think it should affect them as they do not need to be out buying meals in the first place. I saw where a hot dog meal was over $5. For the same amount, you could make eight hot dog meals at home, complete with chili and cheese. I know I will get bashed for this, but I think if you get welfare, your life should not be just like the ones out working to pay their way and yours.

Posted by genlee (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm with the earlier poster, what's the marketing budget of the Hotel group that was given the convention center? But really people, who cares about nickel on a $10 meal? Give me a break. These politicians are just scared of anything with tax written on it around election time. THAT is the real story.

Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on February 6, 2008 at 9:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

And the bobble heads should be running scared. After all, there is a hamburger tax that has been misused or abused. You choose the word.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

How come the Natchez Democrat doesn't mention anything about the Presidential Candidates this morning?

Such big news and no word of it on here...hmmm

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I didn't even know about the hamburger tax, thanks for bringing that out

It's sad when a couple of loudmouths can sway the clear thinking of our government

this tax means nothing to me, and I have to agree with you guys, frogprincess too, if a nickel is going to hurt you, you need to stay home anyway

Anyone see the County Supervisors' meeting on cable channel 4 last night? I thought it was very interesting to watch.

Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on February 6, 2008 at 10:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Is there a room tax for hotels/motels for tourism in effect right now?

Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 11:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Talk about a hamburger tax, did you know if you order at McDonalds or one of the other fast food joints and eat the food there they add a tax? Get it to go no tax. Check out you receipt next time.

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

oh, that's why I didn't know about it

Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 11:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

My understanding that the additional tax on food is only charged at places that serve beer/liquor. So not on fast food - but on Ruby Tuesdays to the fine dining places. It does not hurt people at Macdonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell or Wendy's. It is referred to as the Hamburger Tax but only the ones that The Castle or Magnolia Grill sells.

Once again a little misinformation from the Democrat. This tax is needed as I don't see any other way to re-start the tourist industry in Natchez.

Tourism has withered on the vine. Lets not let the vine die too.

Gemccull there is a tourism tax in effect at the moment - but the revenues for it are paying for the Convention center the visitor center and the overheads. This leaves $150,000.00 to promote Natchez. $150,000 for advertising only allows for a few ads in smaller local magazines and maybe a couple of tiny spots in Southern living. The NPT also spends money but as the tourist numbers have fallen less money is available. The casino also markets but their customers and historical tourism are very different and do not overlap.

Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

natchez1, for our whole area, not just Natchez, it appears that these days the only thing we have left to sell to the outside world is our agricultural output and our scenery. Our labor and skillsets are not much wanted by the global marketplace or even the national market.

My dad, who generally knows about these things, tells me that Natchez tourism was originally aimed at the gardens of the old homes and when one cold year delayed the flowering of the gardens, the enterprising ladies behind tourism opened their homes to the public, and it worked to create what we have today in that regard.

Those days were much closer in time to the events that created the homes and those events held a much higher place in the national interest than they do today. It could well be that no amount of marketing is going to be successful in selling something people are gradually losing interest in.

Competing for historical tourism is a tough business, considering we have to compete with cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, Washington D.C, and many others. It might be time to start marketing other aspects of tourism, and time to realize that tourism is not the best of products to base an economy on since it is so highly sensitive to people having the money to travel, which many do not currently have.

With the low value of the dollar against the euro Natchez should be in a good position to welcome a greater number of European visitors, but is most liikely not poised to do so. A friend from Holland made a few visits to the area with the aim of engaging in some tourism related business and she made these observations:

1. Local standards of service are far below European standards of service.
2. Some of the items on display in the shops around town, though symbols of our local heritage, are illegal to display in many places in Europe, and Europeans are likely to find them highly offensive.
3. The landscape surrounding the town could be highly marketable if the area was aware of what Europeans value.
4. Deeply ingrained, unconscious attitudes of local groups of people against one another is very distasteful to international tourists.

To make matters even worse regarding the possibility of attracting visitors from other nations is the current treatment of international travellers entering the country. I recently read international travel is down about 30 percent from eight years ago, and that of the people surveyed who did come, 30 percent said they would not be back due to the security situation.

Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 1:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is painful to see what has happened to Natchez, and I hope the new industry is the beginning of better times. This can't be counted on though.

Improving our awareness of who we are and how we are seen is a cost free marketing plan. Better use of the internet in displaying what the area offers is a low cost marketing plan.

I doubt the ladies who started this business had a 450,000.00 dollar advertising budget. What they did have was a spirit of determination and the flexibility to adapt quickly to change. We owe those ladies a lot for what they added, and for the example they provide.

Posted by RWS111 (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I CAN SEE IT NOW TAXES OUT OF SIGHT IN NATCHEZ ANNEX THE CITY INTO THE COUNTY PLEASE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BEFORE WE GO BROKE NATCHEZ CANNOT EVEN HIRE POLICE TO PROTECT US BUT WE NEED MORE TOURIST RIGHT

Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

RWS111 When I buy my vehicle tag I have to pay county tax but I live in the city. Get the county out of our pocket and we will do okay.

Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Enkikur,
You are right on many points, we do have lots of competition and less foreign tourists. Natchez though has never had too many from abroad - most came to visit New Orleans and stumbled across Natchez.

Natchez tourism (The Pilgrimage, Tour of Homes did start in 1932? after a hard freeze killed the planed garden tour.) but judging from ebay there were postcards of several houses for sale prior to this date.

Tours of homes (history tours) have declined nationwide.

This is due to many factors - the change in the way history is taught in schools and the constant testing of students have prevented many school field trips. Cheap air flights to many more exotic locations and the rise of the cruise ship industry has made a week in Natchez look expensive.

This does not mean that we give up and shutter the tourist industry in Natchez. Natchez is still important to students of design and architecture, many of the buildings here were trend setters and often we have the oldest example of a particular style. We still have several houses containing the same furnishings that they had in 1837 - 1855 etc. Natchez also is one of the few places in the USA where homes have been in the same family for 150 + years.

Some towns with similar architecture and history have thrived. Charleston and Savanna have booming tourist industries, good shopping and hotels and are marketing their history. People will visit places and spend money shopping dinning and on hotel rooms in historic cities and may never actually pay to see a museum (but they come anyway) Others will visit all the museums and not relax in a nice hotel or B&B.

We need to market Natchez, this takes money. Yes the ladies who founded the Garden Clubs did not have huge marketing budgets but they also were living in a time without T.V. the internet, or cheap air travel using hubs centered far from Natchez.

I agree there are ways we could promote Natchez better with determination and a certain amount of grit which seems to be lacking now. The 1930's were very hard times in the US for those ladies to put Natchez on the tourism map was amazing. It can be done again, sadly it will take money, even with this added tax revenue we will be spending what a small retail chain spends a month for the entire year. To be effective we will have to be creative and resourceful.

It can be done,

Posted by niderbip (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 2:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The government proposed to place a temporary tax on communications to finance a war.

The communications were telegraphs and telephones (a tax on the "rich"), the war was the Spanish-American War (1898) and when did this "communications" "temporary" tax (the "universal service fee") finally end?

2006

Posted by beamreach (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here is a little educational information for those of you who have questions regarding food/hotel taxes. You are all aware that State sales tax is 7%, well there is 3% added to that for hotel rooms and 1.5% on food. And yes, it does include McDonald's, Buger King, KFC, etc. So, most of you have been paying that food tax since 1993 and didn't even know it. Was there some abuse of this tax? I don't know that it should be qualified as "abuse" they just used some of it to help amortize the debt on the first convention center located in Liberty park from what I understand. But, we move on. Did you realize that when you eat at the McDonald's, BK, KFC, etc. in Jackson, you pay 2% there, and the hotel tax in Jackson is 4%? And Jackson has a one million dollar marketing budget. Guess what the marketing budget for Natchez is? $125,000 a year, and that's for everything. I got all of this information from the State of Mississippi Economic Development Authority in case you're wondering. Would anyone like to know some other tax percentages from other areas of the state? Would anyone care to guess what the hotel and food taxes are in New Orleans? I'll be happy to tell you what I have learned. I do a lot of research when I hear about this kind of stuff going on; especially if it's going to affect me personally. Natchez is growing, and in order to keep these casinos and new hotels afloat, it has got to be marketed better than ever before. Advertising is expensive and all Natchez has been able to afford in the past is magazine and newspaper ads. We need to be on the travel channel, the weather channel and HGTV. If the hotels and casinos go away, then so will all of the jobs they will have created. Think about that when you quabble over your next nickel at Taco Bell.

Posted by sentas (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 5:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

There are plenty of reasons Natchez will remain interesting, and I actually think that rather than get less interesting as time passes, what Natchez has to offer will get more interesting.

The first step is rigorous zoning, which is always controversial and understandably frustrating, but the best historic towns maintain tight zoning regulations. Natchez is so close to having a cohesive downtown, but at the same time it allows a lot of crap. Those ugly new hotels aren't helping.

A harder problem is location. It's just not easy to get to. Not sure how you fix that, but it probably has something to do with banding together with similarly interesting places like Vicksburg and New Orleans, maybe even Memphis, to create and market package tourism deals. People who are interested in those places can be interested in Natchez.

Tax money spent to market Natchez could be money very well spent. It's do-or-die time.

Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 6:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks for the information, I was not sure about the fast food places - I had been told that it was only on the higher end places. That actually would be a little unfair!

I know many (most) other tourist towns have higher tourism related taxes. I can't see any other way of increasing the marketing budget, and this tax will mainly affect the tourists. Sure we will have to pay a little more to eat out. However without tourists many many more people would be worse off. Property prices would fall, property taxes would have to increase and downtown would once again be boarded up and fall back into disrepair.

I am amazed how many people don't realize that tourism is important, and vital to the future of Natchez. Tourism dollars support not just the Hotels, the casino, restaurants, gift & antique shops, tour homes, Bed and breakfasts, and the people who work there, but it also supports, landscapers, accountants, gas stations, the Natchez water works, builders, hardware and lumber suppliers, general supply companies and many others. If all these businesses were to leave Natchez really would be ready for "the last one to leave to turn off the lights."

Posted by maple (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 7:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That is only 50 cents added to a $100 bill.. whats wrong with people in Natchez.. dig it out of your car seats for the better advertising of Natchez.. maybe if Natchez could grow with more tourists other things will follow... I am sure the people that complain about this tax are the same people who wouldnt bend over to pick a nickel up if it were on the ground in front of them..they have pennies at convenience stores for people to use to not have to break a bill.. maybe they can have a nickel jar for those who dont want pay an extra nickel to help the community.. so keep on complaining like you do about everything and continue to do nothing like you do for the community..

Posted by niderbip (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 8:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

there'd be no hotels without tourists, so you gig the very people who keep your hotel open in the first place by hammering them with an EXTRA 3% tax.

And "other cities are higher" is a way to justify it? why not just add 3% plus 1.5% to your water bill? it's just nickels.

drop the hotel tax to zero. go get that refund from the taxes that were already collected (and misspent) to advertise that "Natchez appreciates our tourists".

more taxes. that'll solve all of our problems.

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 9:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If Maple would like to pay the extra tax, well then let her! Another idea is to eliminate the sales tax on the food in Natchez and Adams County and raise the 3% sales tax to 5%! We will get an extra one half sales tax and benefit the tax and spend "people"! Eliminating the food tax would the people who make less salaries, and lower incomes?

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Please add the word benefit after the word would in the fourth sentence of my past posting-sorry!

Posted by maple (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 10:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you really need help coming up with such a small tax on food rushinghjr then look under your sofa because that is about as much as this tax requires..the people that are so hung up on this tax are the same people that are against everything.. if this tax could generate $400,000 extra in promoting our city then much more money would come into our tax base as well from tourist (that ugly word).. .. the people that are against this dont understand it and I guess they never will.. so they will go on and on and on about how I dont want to pay a Whole nickel extra on $10 at a restaurant..They should just put the tax in place and the idiots will never even realize it.

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 11:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You sound like a tax and spend liberal! Read my full posting! I'm tired of paying taxes and letting people like you mismanage taxes! Did you realize that you called yourself an idiot!

Posted by canttoteitdragit (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 6:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Amen rushinghjr, give them an inch and they take a mile!

Posted by maple (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

rushinghjr have you ever traveled to other towns and ate in restaurants and asked what there tax was and compared it to Natchez restaurant tax.. I doubt it.. so a nickel on $10 really bothers you and you are against it.. so you are worried about your money being mismanaged when the plan is to direct it toward promoting Natchez.. its not a new concept.. its being done in other cities around the state and thats why they have a much bigger budget for advertising ..as far as being a tax and spend liberal I am not ..take a look at what the conservatives have done in the last eight years.. there is nothing left to spend..wonder how they are going to make up for the last eight years of the mess they created..

Posted by niderbip (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

when the next person says "let's just replace all the taxes with a VAT", please remind them that we are ALREADY more than half-way there (yet STILL left with all of the other taxes).

Posted by Whisper (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe our leaders and ex leaders of this town. Shouldn't have left our lively hoods all in the hands of tourists. A little fore thought should have been in place. Armstrong, Johns Manville, International Paper and many others that employed alot of people. All left here and were never replaced. At least when we had those. Tourism was a bonus. And now all I hear is that Tourism IS Natchez. Well with the economy like it is. Alot of those folks are no longer able to vacation like they use to. Sure wish there would have been a back up plan in place. Another gambling boat? Ok, thats fine. They mostly bring in their own people. And some locals here gamble away what little money they have. Trying to get that big win. I think we are kinda spinning our wheels in gumbo, with kudzu growing over us all.

Posted by BRL (anonymous) on February 7, 2008 at 6:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I say pay what other tourist towns comparable to Natchez, in population, historical-antebellum character , and in the South pay. Whatever that is pay it.
History knowledge which Natchez has in spades, can really move tourists. I saw this talking to two tourists in the Greenleaves courtyard during the last fall tour. It was like they just discovered something they had been missing their whole lives.
Rigorous zoning worked in Baton Rouge. The Corporate Blvd. and Jefferson Hwy. area was fought over for 20 years before Whole Foods chose that location. It's not historical but it's value has held up and the whole area is impressive. I know I used to live right there.

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on February 8, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(Maple) As I stated in my last post, the tax can be dedicated and still mismanaged! You need to READ the full statement and understand what you are reading! Several persons have talked to me regarding this "FOOD TAX" THAT DO NOT HAVE HIGH SCHOOL DEGREES AND ARE BELOW THE S0-CALLED LEVEL! This additional tax would affect this group. Also, these parties are both black and white! By the way, i have traveled all over the United States around the WORLD! Also, if "oBAMA" or YOUR FRIEND "hillary" gets in , we are SHOT! They are already borrowing monies to advertise!

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on February 8, 2008 at 10:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(Maple)When I speak of the Level, I am speaking od the poverty level.