JEFFERSON CITY — An association of hotel and motel operators has filed a lawsuit against Jefferson City, alleging that the city's lodging tax violates city and state statutes, as well as the Missouri Constitution.
Jefferson City's lodging tax, which is paid by visitors to the city who stay in hotels or rentals, expires in 2035 but is up for renewal in an election next week. Proposition A on the Nov. 4 ballot would renew the lodging tax through 2060.
The lawsuit, filed by the Jefferson City Lodging Association in the Cole County Circuit Court at the end of last week, challenges the tax's distribution of revenue to a fund to build a new conference center in downtown Jefferson City.
About 57% of the funds generated by the tax go toward the conference center fund. The rest of the funds are allocated to the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau for staffing and marketing, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
The lawsuit alleges that the lodging tax violates a constitutional provision that taxes may be levied and collected for public purposes only, arguing that using tax revenue for the conference center is a non-public purpose.
The lawsuit also challenges the tax rate, citing a state law that restricts lodging taxes to 5% per room per night.
The lawsuit asks that Cole County Judge Cotton Walker prevent the city from dispersing lodging tax revenue into the conference center fund and ultimately declare that the part of the tax that allocates funds to the conference center violates the state constitution, along with violations to state and city statutes.
