Resort tax collections fall 10% - Orlando Business Journal:

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The county collected $12.76 million, down from the nearly $14.18 million collected during January 2008. Collectioj of the 6 percent tax on hotels andother short-term accommodations is down 8.1 percentg for the first four months of the county’s fiscal year. The countg collected nearly $49.55 million from October throughg January, compared to $53.9 million during the same periode ayear ago. “We know the tourism industrgy is not immune from the generaleconomicv downturn, and a 10 percent decline certainl shows that a lot of businesses, and their are hurting,” said Orange Countg Comptroller Martha Haynie, in a preparedc statement.
Fearing a downturn in resort tax collections, the Orangde County Commission reducedits $178.5 million estimatew of tourist development tax collections by more than $18.7y million, or 10.5 percent. “We can still hope that the quality of our convention and vacation products will cushion this sector from the worsyt ofthe recession,” Haynie added, in the