State plan could tax attractions
By Scott Nicholson

Next year, summer camp will cost more than just a few tubes of sunscreen.

Lobbyists for the tourism industry in Raleigh have advised businesses that there is a recreation and entertainment tax increase being proposed to help raise at least $1 billion in revenues to help offset a state budget that is poised to shrink nearly $5 billion.

According to Connie Wilson, a lobbyist with the N.C. Travel Industry Association, the “amusement tax” increase would raise an estimated $31.5 million with a new sales tax on “golf, charter boat, white water rafting, non-state museum and attractions and summer camps—basically any entertainment or recreation activity that requires an admission or a fee to be charged.”

Tourism, recreation and outdoor-adventure businesses are rallying to contact their legislators and oppose the tax.

Robert Danos, a representative of the Western North Carolina Summer Camp Association, said parents couldn’t bear additional cost each summer.

“Summer camps are a vital part of western North Carolina’s economy and a large employer,” Danos said. “However, most summer camps barely make a profit, and during this recession, some are already just hanging on by a thread.

“A sales tax slapped on summer camps would be devastating.”

“What we are asking Raleigh to realize is that adding 6 percent to a camp tuition will add up to hundreds of dollars extra per family. It’s not like adding 6 percent to a movie ticket or a day at Carowinds.”

Danos also said the definition of “amusement” was nebulous.

“We hope legislators realize that summer camps are an educational experience, not just another ‘amusement.’ Many parents save all year long for this vital part of a child’s growth and this tax could price many of them right out of the market.”

Karin Moss, director of High Country Host, said any additional cost is going to affect not just businesses but the entire tourist economy. She said discounts are in vogue right now, and a new tax would hurt spending.

“I would most definitely think it would,” Moss said. “We are having the highest traffic we’ve had in the last three years. Everybody, regardless of socioeconomic scale, they are looking for a deal. Anything that’s going to put a further strain is going to be problematic.”

Moss said the number of visitors who had come to the Visitor Information Center in Boone was up 22 percent this year, and many visitors are coming without a plan and are looking for the best deals in choosing their activities.

Tommy Adams, golf professional at Boone Golf Club, said he’d been notified of the potential new tax.

“We’d be against it,” he said. “They kick around a recreational tax every time times get hard. Fortunately, they have never done it for golf.”

Adams said such a tax would hurt his business and said the club’s owners planned to contact their legislators.