The Town of Mount Pleasant is accepting applications for its Accommodations Tax Funding.
Donor Name: Town of Mount Pleasant
State: South Carolina
Town: Mount Pleasant
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/01/2022
Details:
The application is for tourism-related projects or cultural events to be held from July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
Accommodations Tax is available under section 6-1-530 of State Law for the following tourism-related expenditures:
- Advertising and promotion related to tourism development.
- Construction, maintenance, or operation of a tourist-related building or facility.
Fundable
- Website (tourism)
- Fireworks (for free-standing events designed to attract tourists like 4th of July)
- Sporting Events: When the primary purpose of the event is to attract tourists, not to fund scholarships. Funds can only be used strictly for the advertisement & promotion of the events to tourists (not locals), not for operational costs (more information provided).
- Sporting events must affirmatively document the percentage of tourists vs. total attendance by credible means & must be notarized. However, sporting events such as tournaments and other competitions which award scholarships or donate proceeds from an event to charitable organizations are not eligible for A-Tax funding to any extent or for any purpose as this results in the use of public funds to support private philanthropic or charitable interests. While laudable, the TERC’s interpretation of this subsection is that such a use of public funds to benefit third parties beyond the immediately authorized recipient is also inappropriate as it amounts to a “re-granting” of A-Tax funds not contemplated by the statute.
- Sporting Facilities: if such facilities are expressly constructed for the purpose of hosting competitive events that will attract tourists to regional or national competitions or tournaments.
- Conventions/Meetings: If it is designed to attract tourists to the community and the expenditure is found to serve a public purpose.
- Health Facilities for Tourists
- Out-of-Market Billboards
- Construction & Maintenance of Access Roads & Utilities for civic & cultural activities
- Municipal & County Services (Garbage, Police, etc) if these local governments have a high concentration of tourism and these services can be attributed to tourism activity.
- Promotion & Advertising of Cultural Arts For purposes of complying with the “promotion of the arts and cultural events requirement found in 6-4-10(4)(b)(2), TERC interprets this subsection to authorize:
- Expenditures for advertising to increase attendance at museums or other facilities dedicated to the display of arts or at individual cultural events from either within or without of the local market, or
- Dedication of a percentage of the total budgeted expenditures for a specific cultural event, not including the expenditures to rent or operate a facility, which percentage may not exceed the percent of out-of-market tourists in relation to the total attendance of the event. It is understood that the applicant must affirmatively document the percentage of tourist vs total attendance by credible means which shall include details on how the numbers were obtained and verified. Such documentation shall be attested to by an authorized officer, member or employee of the applicant before an SC Notary Public. An expenditure for construction and maintenance of individual cultural activities may not be made under this section.
For more information, visit Town of Mount Pleasant.
