ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hotel Receipts Tax

So you know how when we go to a hotel and stay there, we usually get a little piece of paper called a receipt? Well, there is a special tax that is added to that receipt called a hotel receipts tax. This tax is a way for the government to make some extra money from the people who stay in hotels.

Now, let's say you and I decide to go on a little vacation and we stay at a hotel for a few nights. The hotel charges us a certain amount of money for our stay, right? Well, the hotel receipts tax is a small percentage of that amount that we have to pay in addition to what the hotel already charges us.

So, why does the government want to add this tax to our hotel receipts? The answer is because the government needs money to provide important services for all the people living in the country. This includes things like building and maintaining roads, schools, and hospitals, and even helping people who may need some extra help.

By adding this tax to hotel receipts, the government collects more money that it can use for these services. It's kind of like when you save up your allowance to buy something special, the government saves up the money from the hotel receipts tax to help make our country a better place to live.

Now, you might be wondering who actually has to pay this tax. Well, it's usually the person or people who are staying at the hotel. So, if you and I were staying at the hotel together, we would be responsible for paying this tax. The hotel just collects it from us and then gives it to the government.

Sometimes, hotels also charge other fees and taxes on top of the hotel receipts tax. These could include things like a sales tax or a tourism tax. But don't worry, the hotel will usually let you know about these additional charges before you stay there.

So, next time we go to a hotel and get our receipt, we can remember that the hotel receipts tax is a little extra money that we have to pay. It's not all bad though, because it helps the government provide important services for everyone in the country.