To The Editor:
Consider this quote from an April 16, 2025 article in VTDigger by Kevin O’Connor:
“Amid federal and state funding questions, more Vermont municipalities are turning to local option taxes. Three-dozen communities and counting – from Westmore, population 357, to Burlington, population 44,743 – are reaping a collective $50 million-plus annually through a 1% charge on some combination of rooms, meals, alcohol and sales.”
For those that worry that we, as locals, will also pay some of the 1% on our local purchases please consider the following:
A dinner at a local restaurant:
A $50 dinner would result in your restaurant bill increasing by $0.50 cents.
A $100 dinner would result in your restaurant bill increasing by $1.00.
A purchase at a local liquor store:
A $10 six-pack of beer would cost you and extra $0.10 cents.
A $30 bottle of wine would cost you an extra $0.30 cents.
Remember our visitors and guests pay 80-87% of the LOT. Local folks pay the balance.
Remember all purchases normally exempt from the Vermont sales tax will also be exempt from the LOT. Things like prescriptions, food, and other necessities are exempt.
Remember we are primarily a tourist destination. Our collective prosperity depends on keeping our infrastructure current and expanding to meet future needs. The proposed wastewater system, for example, will allow for more housing to be created for our residents. Our corporate partners like Sugarbush and Mad River Glen will continue to do their part, but we, as a community, need to evolve and do our part to support the tourism revenue stream for the future.
Supporting the LOT will help us achieve a better future for all of us while helping to keep our already unacceptably high property taxes from going ever so much higher.
Don Simonini
Fayston
