Max Tax in Montclair: Hotels Will Pay 3 Percent Occupancy Fee

The Montclair Township Council approved a three percent hotel occupancy tax during its public meeting on Tuesday evening, the maximum allowable rate under state law.

Among the conditions set in the new law:

· All taxes must be paid by the renter (no portion can be absorbed by the hotel)

· Any hotel shall not in any manner advertise, directly or indirectly, that the tax will be refunded to the customer

· The penalty for each offense can be up to $1,500

The new law will apply to the MC, a $35 million project of developer Pinnacle Companies of Montclair, which is slated to break ground this spring.

The eight-story, 148-room hotel will be Montclair’s first in almost 80 years, and will feature a rooftop bar and an outdoor plaza connected to a two-story round atrium with 30-foot-high glass walls that will be open to the public year-round. [See related article]

Mayor Robert Jackson previously estimated that a three percent tax on the future hotel could net the town anywhere from $250,000 to $400,000 per year, according to a report.

Read the text of the ordinance here.

Photo: An artistic rendering depicts the finished MC hotel in Montclair, which will be subject to a three percent occupancy tax under a new town ordinance.

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