by KYW's Mike Dunn
Sources tell KYW Newsradio that the Nutter administration is considering an increase in Philadelphia's hotel tax, as it struggles to revise its budget for the coming year.
Amid the slowing economy, Mayor Nutter's new budget has to be tweaked because revenues will fall short of what was first expected.
Now, he's open to ideas:
"One big thing I learned running up and down these hallways for the last fifteen years is that you have to have maximum flexibility."
Sources say one idea he's considering is a one-percent increase in the hotel tax.
Currently the city imposes a seven percent tax on hotel bills, which generates nearly $38 million a year. All of that money is currently earmarked for the Convention Center, the agency that books conventions and a tourism promotion agency.
An increase could indirectly benefit the city's general fund, though a hotel tax hike would require authorization from Harrisburg.
Nutter's budget for the coming year already includes a plan to boost the tax paid at parking garages.
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