Support for Ohio House Bill 161 — Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau

Summary

Letter dated April 28, 2025, from the Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau to Representative Hoops and members of the Ohio House of Representatives Development Committee, expressing strong support for Ohio House Bill 161. The letter states that the bill would extend sales, use, and lodging taxes to short-term rentals without creating new taxes or imposing different rates, and that the structure of how collected funds are distributed remains unchanged. It states that lodging tax was established in 1967 and sales tax in 1935. It closes with the name of Melody Young, Executive Director.

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“Support for Ohio House Bill 161 — Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-04-30-development-testimony-testimony-5752-2a9f784a7d/, SHA-256 7947bc59a1f19505cb02a108fbf151e02fc08d83d29e3836293b721ed06f63d6.

Full text

April 28, 2025

Ohio House of Representatives
Development Committee
1 Capitol Square
Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Representative Hoops and Members of the Development Committee,

On behalf of the Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau, I am writing to express our strong
support for Ohio House Bill 161, to extend sales, use, and lodging taxes to short-term rentals. This
important legislation represents a necessary modernization of Ohio’s lodging and sales tax laws,
ensuring they accurately reﬂect today’s dynamic tourism and hospitality landscape.

Short-term rental properties engage in the same commercial activity as hotels and motels –
providing accommodations to visitors – and therefore should be held to the same tax
responsibilities. Ohio House Bill 161 addresses this parity, with fairness and consistency, without
creating new taxes or imposing different rates between traditional lodging establishments and
short-term rentals. The structure of how the collected funds are distributed remains unchanged,
maintaining the strong, effective system already in place.

Importantly, this bill is not about creating new taxes as lodging tax was established in 1967 and
sales tax established in 1935. This is about capturing existing commercial activity that has evolved
with changes in consumer behavior. Modernizing Ohio’s tax laws in this way will level the playing
ﬁeld for all lodging providers and ensure that vital revenue is not lost due to outdated statutes.

Locally, the beneﬁts of the passage of Ohio House Bill 161 would be signiﬁcant. In Ross County, the
collection of these taxes would strengthen our tourism industry by ensuring short-term property
owners are following the law, and that lodging taxes are being collected and remitted to support
tourism. Additionally, inclusion of short-term properties collecting and remitting sales tax, as hotels
do, this would support the county and the broader community.

We respectfully urge the committee to support Ohio House Bill 161 to ensure Ohio’s tax laws keep
pace with today’s hospitality marketplace and to continue supporting the economic success of
communities like ours across the state.

Thank you for your consideration of this important legislation.

Sincerely,

Melody Young
Executive Director

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