Tag Archives: Hospitality Tax

Columbia's 'big 4' arts groups are struggling

Every time you eat in a Columbia restaurant, you pay a 2 cents on the dollar tax to support tourism and hospitality organizations. Columbia’s restaurants collected more than $7 million in hospitality taxes last year. But the organizations that receive this money are hurting because of the economy. While close to 80 local arts groups [...]
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The other groups asking for tax money

A story in today’s paper talks about how six community groups will ask City Council today to spare their funding. These groups get a portion of the city’s community promotions funding, which comes out of the general fund, a.k.a property taxes. But four other groups are also making presentations today, but they don’t get community promotions [...]
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What the judge says, goes

Columbia is facing a budget deficit of as much as $10 million, mostly because of spending problems. Maybe city officials wouldn’t have this problem if they put former Richland County magistrate judge Mildred McDuffie in charge. McDuffie, known simply as “judge,” enjoys a rare power over council members. She leads the city’s Community Promotions funding committee. [...]
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Columbia's hospitality taxes won't quit

Columbia’s hospitality tax collections are slightly up over last year, despite fears that the economy would pull the numbers down. As of Nov 30, 2008, Columbia has collected $3,379,005.43 in hospitality taxes — the 2 cents on every dollar you pay every time you eat in a Columbia restaurant (with some exceptions). That’s about $128,000 more [...]
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$50,000 for the Black Expo

It was a little strange when Columbia’s Black Expo did not get any hospitality tax money this year. The event, which features exhibits, entertainment and motivational speakers, uses the money to advertise. But during the application process, their finances had not been audited, which made the hospitality tax committee nervous. In a rare move, the [...]
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