Using Sales Tax Money to Promote Michigan
It's almost that time of year! Many local businesses are gearing up for summer tourists. They rely on the money visitors bring in, but business say they haven't been able to count on the money the state spends on promoting tourism. But there's an effort to change that. The details are tonight's Fact Finder Report.
The Pure Michigan Advertising campaign has been very popular, and supporters say very profitable.
President of the Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau Brad Van Dommelen says, "for every dollar spent on tourism promotion funding three dollars or more comes back to the state treasury in the form of new tax dollars for the state."
But funding the campaign has been a fight for years.
State Senator Howard Walker from Traverse City says, "It's been up and down and takes an act of the legislature every year."
Those who rely on the money say that's just bad for business.
Van Dommelen says, "What's been really challenging for us, is not knowing what the funding is from year to year it makes it very difficult to plan and have a strategic process in place to do media buys that can be more efficient on a long range planning basis."
But State Senator Walker has a plan to change that. Senate Bill 143 would create a permanent funding source. It would capture a portion of the state sales tax and put it into a restricted fund only to be used for the Pure Michigan campaign. It would be for $25 million, the current rate, and would be managed by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, like it is now.
Opponents question why tourism should get dedicated money in the general fund, while many other industries don't.
State Senator Walker says, "I think you are always going to run into opposition when you are trying to grab or dedicate general fund money because that's the tightest portion of our budget this year."
But supporters say promoting tourism would support many different kinds of industries, giving them a solid footing for future growth.
Van Dommelen says, "It's very important to have a permanent source of funding because tourism is such an important part Michigan's economy. It's a catalyst for economic activity in the state."
Right now, the Pure Michigan Campaign is funded through the 21st Century Jobs fund at 25 million dollars a year.
But that's just a temporary solution. What do you think? Should there be a permanent funding source for Pure Michigan? Opponents say it's not fair to allow tourism restricted general fund money. What do you think?
Share your comments below.
