Now is the time to move Columbia forward. I also feel now is the time to write and request the residents of Columbia to support a sales tax on restaurants, hotels and motels for the use of promoting tourism, parks and recreation in our great and once-again emerging city.
What we all have witnessed over the last few years is just the beginning of a still-young transformation of this city into one worthy of its great people. Whether starting a downtown car show, locating your billion dollar industry headquarters here, hosting a plein air art competition, renovating houses and buildings or providing an unforgettable Christmas event, private citizens who believe in Columbia are investing time, energy and money here, creating confidence and optimism for others to do the same.
But the private sector alone cannot carry the day. Public investments in infrastructure, education, police/fire protection, tourism and public spaces are a necessary part of growth and are the areas where governments can ensure the success of the private sector. Without public investment, meaningful private investment will eventually cease.
It is well documented that businesses and people choose locations now based more on the quality of life provided in a community than on costly tax incentive offerings. Thus, public investments in our people and places is the greatest investment we can make towards future growth. Unless we attract people to our community by doing everything we can to provide first-class public spaces, events and services, our future will be limited and our tax burden will be higher. Now is the time to secure our future by taking steps to increase our population, property values and tax base.
This tourism sales tax provides a perfect solution. First, it is not a property tax. It is a tax paid only by those who stay in hotels or eat at restaurants within the city limits. Second, the tax burden is shared by folks who do not live here and require services in return. Most businesses I know would love to have customers pay them without having to provide anything in return. If other people are willing to help us provide for our future, I want to help them do that.
I recently attended a concert in the new amphitheater in Brandon. Brandon and Rankin County are among the most conservative, anti-tax towns and counties in this state, but I paid 5 percent in additional sales tax for them to use on the amphitheater, tourism, parks and recreation. They took my money, used part of it to pay for the amphitheater and will use the rest of it to lure me back to do it all over again. Brilliant.
I would not get lost in the details of how these funds would specifically be used at this point. As the noted community development expert Quint Studer pointed out at our recent Marion County Development Partnership banquet, we do not need to let perfect get in the way of good. I find comfort in knowing that the enabling legislation restricts use of the funds, requires public accountability and the tax automatically terminates on July 1, 2023.
There will be time to work out the details, but none of it will matter unless we vote for the measure. Most towns our size are losing the battle for the future. We have held it together, but now is the time to use the tourism sales tax to invest in our people and our future. The return on investment will be measured in dollars, but the real return will be in the community we build.
As the third-oldest city in this state, Columbia has seen its fair share of the ebbs and flows of national economic trends, population rises and falls. But there must be something in the water here. For a community of our size to produce a cutting-edge governor, multiple captains of industry, Ivy League graduates, Broadway musicians, artists, craftsmen, a renowned sculptor, NFL players, MLB players and to be the second home of a multiple James Beard nominee must mean that something is right here.
The more I reflect on the Experience Columbia Christmas events the more I come to realize that as phenomenal as the lights and music were, the real magic came from being connected to other people walking the downtown streets full of energy, spirit and optimism about our town’s future. People are proud to be from Columbia and they should be.
The tourism tax is not a silver bullet, but it is an important part of the greater overall movement toward success. With private and public investments working hand in hand we can continue the momentum that we have and help secure a thriving future for our community. I encourage our residents to vote in favor of this limited sales tax measure. Now is the time to move Columbia forward.
Drew Foxworth is a Columbia attorney. He may be reached at drew@foxsbpa.com.
