Room Tax for Boaters?

Images from the Grand Opening Celebration of Egg Harbor’s new marina/safe harbor.

Members of the Door County Tourism Zone Commission discussed the possibility of a tax on transient boat slips at their meeting on Jan. 15. The tax would be similar to the room tax invoked on lodging and hotels throughout the county, requiring those who traveled to the county by boat to pay a tax.

Transient boat slips are vacant slips rented to those traveling by boat. There are transient slips throughout the county, with some owned by the villages and others by private marinas such as Alibi in Fish Creek. The primary concern facing the commission is the legality of a tax on transient slips.

“When a transient vessel comes in and they take advantage of water, electricity, running toilets, washing machines and wireless internet, should we be charging them room tax on the slip? “ said commission Chair Josh Van Lieshout. “When the village does this, do they furnish an accommodation? There’s no other law or legal opinion on it.”

In seeking legal council, the commission learned that there is no precedent on the matter. “We can decide what we want to decide,” said Van Lieshout.

The argument for a transient boat slip tax involves the owners of hotels and other lodging on land that may be put at a disadvantage given their requirement to pay a room tax.

“If I were a hotel operator, how would I feel about this?” said Van Lieshout. “Would I feel the transient marinas should collect tax or shouldn’t they?”

However, in discussing the matter with their individual municipalities, zone commission members found mostly indifference with their lodging owners.

Some zone commission members raised concerns about the complications brought by including a tax. If a boat owner rents a slip and pays the transient slip tax before going on land and staying in a hotel, they will by taxed twice for the same commodity.

The decision might also move the tourism zone down a path of taxing every kind of furnished accommodation that can be rented by visitors.

“If we go this direction on an empty slip in a marina, we have no option than to go after every empty campground. The situation is absolutely no different,” said Bill Weddig representing the Town of Gibraltar. “I can’t imagine trying to talk to the DNR and seeing if we couldn’t collect room tax at the state park.”

The tax money would go toward the promotion of visitors traveling by boat to the county. The commission spoke about the infrastructure and marketing materials that Michigan has in place to encourage boating tourists.

“What ends up happening is our boaters leave here and go to Michigan instead of the other way around,” said Zeke Jackson of Sister Bay. Similar to the Door County Visitor Bureau’s guide, another document can include the amenities at each port, nautical charts and maps of safe ports of call.

The commission tabled the decision while they continue to explore legality of the tax and speak to the marinas.

“Collecting this tax is really a matter of law. Are we obligated to do it, are we required to do it, or are we not?” said Van Lieshout. “If we are obligated to, then by golly we better.”