Town of Lexington Passes Hospitality Tax

[gtxvideo vid=”hVDPJIdS” playlist=”” pid=”rkijshg2″ thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/hVDPJIdS.jpg” vtitle=”Lexington Tax”]

Lexington, S.C. (WOLO) — A night on the town in Lexington will cost you a little bit more starting next month. On Tuesday night the county council voted to raise the hospitality tax by 2-percent. The raise will be implemented at restaurants and does not include grocery stores. The revenue from the tax will go towards funding for 3 separate roads projects aimed at improving the flow of traffic in the community. “What one of our biggest complaints here in the town of Lexington is, is congestion,” said Mayor Steve MacDougall. Mayor MacDougall said the proposal did face some opposition from the public in large part due to misinformation, but at the end of the day he said this is the solution to a long-term traffic issue in a growing community. “We have beautiful scenery around Lexington that people can not get to because of the congestion so this will allow us to ease some of that congestion,” explained MacDougall. As for the customer and what it means for your wallet, officials said if you spend $20 on a meal in the town of Lexington, you will pay an additional $0.40 on the bill. For Jane Elmgrem that‘s a small price to pay for a greater reward. “If I can get the traffic fixed, I’ll pay the tax on the short term,” said Elmgrem. The hospitality tax goes into effect October 1st. As for the first sign of traffic improvements, officials said plans are already underway to fix the flow of traffic downtown by creating two one way streets that run perpendicular to Main Street. The first project on Main Street is expected to be complete within 15 months.