The city set a record-high for LOT collections in the 2020-21 fiscal year—at approximately $2.17 million—followed by another record year in 2021-22, with approximately $2.75 million in collections.

Through the first five months of the current fiscal year, the city has collected approximately $1.1 million in LOT receipts.

The city collects a 4% LOT on lodging (including both hotel rooms and short-term rentals); a 4% LOT on food, beverage and by-the-drink liquor sales; a 4% LOT on recreation fees, product rentals and event tickets; a 2% LOT on building and construction materials; a 2% LOT on lift tickets and ski passes; and a 3% LOT on general retail sales.

The percentages include a supplemental 1% LOT assessed through a voter-approved initiative to support commercial air service and tourism marketing in the Wood River Valley. Those tax funds are set aside and transferred to the Sun Valley Air Service Board—which allocates the money to subsidize and market commercial air service into Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey—and the Visit Sun Valley marketing organization.

The LOT numbers in the city’s latest report do not include the so-called “1 Percent for Air” tax.

Sun Valley citizens cast votes Tuesday on whether to extend implementing a supplemental LOT for air service and affordable-housing initiatives, or to let it expire. Results were not available by press time.

The city is authorized by the state to collect local-option taxes through a law that allows certain small resort cities to tax specific sales categories to offset in their budgets the financial impacts of hosting large numbers of visitors. The funds are used to support a variety of city services and projects.

In the retail sales category, businesses in the city collected approximately $130,000 in February, up 36% from February 2022. Year-to-date retail receipts are up 22%.

LOT receipts in the city from hotel-room bills and short-term lodging were approximately $116,000, down 7% from February 2022. Year-to-date lodging receipts are up 8%.

By-the-drink liquor sales yielded about $17,000 in LOT receipts in February, down 1%. Year-to-date liquor receipts are up 14%.

Collections from sales of building materials brought the city just under $6,000 in February. That figure was down 40% but the category is up 4% for the fiscal year so far.