By Michael Somerby EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – Closing out a process that took more than six
months to finalize, the Big Sky Resort Area District tax board and staff
celebrated a significant and hard-wrought achievement at their Oct. 25 open
board meeting: the unanimous approval of Ordinance 98-01.
The ordinance in question, the latest in a string put into effect
by BSRAD since its inception in 1992, tightened protocol as to when and where a
3 percent resort tax is levied. Collections from said resort tax are then doled
out annually in the form of appropriations to various community organizations
and projects.
Specifically, this current board and staff sought to clarify
language that has, in the past, allowed for businesses to skirt compliance
piecemeal or altogether, whether unintentionally or through purposeful
exercising of a vaguely defined lexicon specific to the resort tax.
In particular, looseness in the definitions of “Goods and
Services,” “Luxuries,” “Necessities of Life” and “Enumerated Establishments”
provided wiggle room for inconsistencies in resort tax collections.
According to District Manager Daniel Bierschwale, as quoted
by a BSRAD press release, “The district strives for impactful management of
funds working to create a legacy for future generations in Big Sky. We believe
this ordinance is not only clear but also fair and equitable by helping to aid
businesses with compliance and in turn investing in Big Sky’s future.”
Along with introducing the “3Rs,” “Rules, Regulations and Registrations,”
the ordinance will most significantly impact businesses that sell alcohol and
tobacco and businesses with an enumerated component.
Alcohol and tobacco are now, without deviation, blanketed by
the “Luxuries” denomination, meaning that wherever sold, in whatever form, the
two items will always be taxed; businesses with an enumerated component, such
as the Hungry Moose Market and Deli, will now be able to differentiate taxing
their prepared and served food services, while exempting “Necessities of Life”
from taxation, such as unprepared and unserved food, personal hygiene products
and medicine, among other items laid out by the ordinance.
The latter is intended to lessen the impact of the resort
tax on locals and members of the workforce.
“We do not want to continue to propagate a higher cost of
living for our locals and our workforce, and so by adding some language that
says if a business is actually doing something that is a necessity of life,
even though they’re an enumerated establishment, we want to exempt that,” said
Chairperson Kevin Germain after the close of the meeting.
All businesses operating within the district are required to
register by Dec. 31 of this year, a measure intended to increase proactive
compliance measures, and the ordinance goes into effect on Nov. 25.
The road to approval was not without select community and
business owner pushback. However, as a testament to the measures of outreach
and due diligence carried out by BSRAD in crafting a community-backed
ordinance, no one in attendance of the meeting was in opposition to the draft
before it was approved and signed.
Visit resorttax.org for additional information regarding the ordinance, training sessions, definitions and the registration process.
