New Mexico Camping Taxes

You should have considered staying in NM state parks for the 7 weeks you were there. By buying the NM annual parks pass, you can camp for free without hookups at state parks or pay $4 a night for hookups. The pass pays for itself in about three weeks.

Ted H.

About the extra fees going to help fund the infrastructure you use while camped idea, it sounds plausible until you remember that the owner of the property already pays taxes on the assessed value of that property.

Those taxes are used for the costs of the infrastructure. Fire and police being part of that. That's why a developed campground or a hotel pays more property tax than a guy who owns an empty undeveloped field.

Assessments are based on property value. Any increase of value i.e. structures, water supply, sewer and utilities gets assessed higher and therefore pay more taxes because of the increased impact on the infrastructure.

The thought that campground campers or guests in a hotel need to pay for infrastructure again on top of the space/room charge is totally about extra income for the state. Period.

That is what we call double dipping where I come from.

And sadly it happens just about everywhere.

For a state to ask tourists to pay extra due to an increased burden is laughable. Tourists open their wallets to every community they go into (sales tax, food bills, tips, fuel, etc.) The tourists are the ones who are stimulating local economies. These are the citizens who made responsible decisions in their life and have saved so they'll have a discretionary spending budget. Regrettably voters have put into office representatives who feel they should burden responsible citizens with additional fees; and the sad thing is that it only hurts the local economy that could use the cash flow...

SDcampowneroperator wrote:

one_strange_texan wrote:
It is always tempting to raise taxes for people from somewhere else. You are never in a position to have to ask for their vote.

Tax of this nature is about you, the visitor paying for your share of the infrastructure, and not burdening the local resident tax payer with paying for that service to you.
It is counterproductive for state & local governments to excessively tax visitors,' to look the horse in the mouth.'
RVing has another price in that most states levy no personal or property tax, license fees are for road use, so what about all of the rest of how you use the local services?

Since this is a user pay tax, is it not the most correct way?

Why do you think this is the correct way?

The travelers spend a lot of money traveling, camping, eating, fuel in each town ... so, to add a tax in case a traveler just happens to start a fire or need an ambulance on a one or two day or a week camping trip is very unlikely. SO, to burden the traveler with a higher tax than locals - who are much more likely to use those services - is unfair. But, the traveler has no vote to go with it, so the folks that tap that keg just don't worry about how the travelers feel.

Is it fair? Of course not. Does it matter? Nope, traveler gets taxed extra just because it's a cash cow that can't stop the squirt, and the people that squeeze that milk out know it.

Do we pay it? Yes, the option is stay away, so travelers pay it. Does that fact make it fair? NOPE.

one_strange_texan wrote:
It is always tempting to raise taxes for people from somewhere else. You are never in a position to have to ask for their vote.

Tax of this nature is about you, the visitor paying for your share of the infrastructure, and not burdening the local resident tax payer with paying for that service to you.
It is counterproductive for state & local governments to excessively tax visitors,' to look the horse in the mouth.'
RVing has another price in that most states levy no personal or property tax, license fees are for road use, so what about all of the rest of how you use the local services?

Since this is a user pay tax, is it not the most correct way?

one_strange_texan wrote:
It is always tempting to raise taxes for people from somewhere else. You are never in a position to have to ask for their vote.

Tempting??---They bank on it in the Keys.

It is always tempting to raise taxes for people from somewhere else. You are never in a position to have to ask for their vote.

Taxes like this are generally earmarked to fund the state tourism departments and to local government to pay for the increased need of public services. This way, Fire, Police and other emergency services of service to you are paid by you and not the local resident.
SD has a 1 1/2% tourism tax charged by businesses that recieve more than 50% of their income from tourism, on top of the statewide 4% sales tax. Then cities and counties may have an additional sales tax to fund their particular issues, the state parks have their own extra point or two to fund their own advertising budget. Thus in our state parks you may see rates vary a lot, from 4- 7.5%
Consequently, here you could see a minimum in a local park that primarily serves locals a 4% rate, to a mostly tourist park in a rural area required to charge an extra 1.5% so 5.5%,then another in a county or cities limits may have even more.
SD does not charge tax on stays of 30 days or more.
It could be that in other states they are establishing a flat rate so as to be an easier method to manage, then distribute to the agencies of need , like some states do with school districts?

Camping was always fun and inexpensive, and a great way to enjoy a vacation.

Suddenly, the 'money farm' took over and various agencies and enterprises figured out people enjoyed it, and now the 'cash cow' starts ringing its bell.

Would be nice if just ONCE we could leave something for families to enjoy together that didn't ring that bell quite so loud.

That's sales tax (state) and lodger's tax (local) combined. Not all towns have a lodger's tax, and those that do vary in the rate charged. This tax applies to daily and weekly rates, but not to monthly rates.
:)
Lynn