(Grand Rapids, MI) – The hotel excise tax in Kent County will rise from five-percent to eight-percent after voters approved the increase yesterday. The tax will fund projects like the Acrisure Amphitheater that is under construction and the proposed professional soccer stadium in Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss supported the increase.
“Our city is, I think, extremely successful because of venues like the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place. And those are publicly owned assets that were supported with public bonds and paid back with hotel lodging tax,” she said. “So we have a good track record. This is how we’ve paid for these assets in the past. And I think this is how we should continue to invest in community.”
The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Joshua Lunger says nearly 90-percent of that tax revenue is from people visiting the area from somewhere else.
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