Attorney General Ken Paxton has released an opinion in response to complaints over usage of Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funding. The Attorney General summarized the opinion:
“A court would likely conclude that subsection 351.101(a)(1) of the Tax Code does not limit the use of hotel occupancy tax revenue in the context of visitor information centers to only those owned or leased by a municipality. An expenditure of municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue pursuant to subsection 351.101(a) to repair a visitor information center must directly benefit the building or portion of the building used to distribute or disseminate information to tourists in order to satisfy subsection 351.101(b)’s requirement that the expenditure directly enhance and promote tourism and the convention and hotel Industry.”
For more information, please see the opinion here.