(task) Zika fears erode Miami-Dade hotel tax income | News update, news roundup | Tampa Bay Times

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Zika, business, economy

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> http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/zika-fears-erode-miami-dade-hotel-tax-income/2312121 <http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/zika-fears-erode-miami-dade-hotel-tax-income/2312121>
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> Zika fears erode Miami-Dade hotel tax income
> Associated Press
> MIAMI — Hotel tax revenue in Miami-Dade County has dropped at a rate not seen since the Great Recession, a decline some attribute to tourists afraid of the Zika virus.
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> Hotel taxes in December fell from the amount generated the previous year — the fourth month in a row that happened. It is a slump not seen since 2009, the Miami Herald reported.
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> Hotel taxes are used to fund museums, theaters and the $300 million debt incurred by the Miami Marlins baseball park.
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> Miami's Basel art fair is usually an economic boon, but this December hotels generated 7 percent less revenue than a year ago.
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> Stuart Blumburg, a retired head of a county hotel association, says officials should be concerned.
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> "When they start looking at next year's budget, they have to figure out how to cover their debt obligations based on a decline instead of growth," he told the newspaper.
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> In recent boom years the county has used hotel tax reserves to fill holes in the budget, which could complicate things in 2017.
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> Miami-Dade expects 2017 to also be a down year due to Zika fears, but the county's budget director, Jennifer Moon, said there is still enough surplus hotel tax from strong recent years to cover any shortfall.
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> While Zika's role in scaring away tourists in 2016 is one reason for the sag in hotel-tax revenue, there were others, including the closure of the Miami Beach Convention Center for renovations.