• Publications
    • Essay
    • Case Study
    • Policy Study
    • Report
    • Testimony
    • Other
    • Newsletter
  • Blog
    • Daily Blog
    • Podcasts and Radio
    • Video
    • Infographics
    • Commentary / Op-Eds
    • Events
  • Events
  • Donate
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Show-Me Institute Board of Directors
    • Fellows and Scholars
    • Our Authors
    • Jobs
  • Contact
  • Explore Topics
    • Education
      • Accountability
      • Education Finance
      • Performance
      • School Choice
    • Health Care
      • Free-Market Reform
      • Medicaid
    • Corporate Welfare
      • Special Taxing Districts
      • Subsidies
      • Tax Credits
    • Labor
      • Government Unions
      • Public Pensions
    • State and Local Government
      • Budget and Spending
      • Courts
      • Criminal Justice
      • Municipal Policy
      • Property Rights
      • Transparency
      • Transportation
    • Economy
      • Business Climate
      • Energy
      • Minimum Wage
      • Privatization
      • Regulation
      • Taxes
      • Welfare
      • Workforce
Show Me InstituteShow Me Institute
Show Me InstituteShow Me Institute
Support the Show-Me Institute
  • Publications
    • Essay
    • Case Study
    • Policy Study
    • Report
    • Testimony
    • Other
    • Newsletter
  • Blog
    • Daily Blog
    • Podcasts and Radio
    • Video
    • Infographics
    • Commentary / Op-Eds
    • Events
  • Events
  • Donate
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Show-Me Institute Board of Directors
    • Fellows and Scholars
    • Our Authors
    • Jobs
  • Contact
  • Explore Topics
    • Education
      • Accountability
      • Education Finance
      • Performance
      • School Choice
    • Health Care
      • Free-Market Reform
      • Medicaid
    • Corporate Welfare
      • Special Taxing Districts
      • Subsidies
      • Tax Credits
    • Labor
      • Government Unions
      • Public Pensions
    • State and Local Government
      • Budget and Spending
      • Courts
      • Criminal Justice
      • Municipal Policy
      • Property Rights
      • Transparency
      • Transportation
    • Economy
      • Business Climate
      • Energy
      • Minimum Wage
      • Privatization
      • Regulation
      • Taxes
      • Welfare
      • Workforce
Corporate Welfare / Subsidies

The Luxurious Intercontinental Hotel is Blighted?

By Patrick Tuohey on Sep 13, 2016

For those trying to take Kansas City’s tax policy seriously, the discussion of blighting the luxurious InterContinental Hotel on Country Club Plaza isn’t making things any easier.

Blight, which is a legitimate and pervasive problem on the east side of Kansas City, is tragic. It scars communities, reduces property value and chases away private investment. The documentary “Our Divided City” demonstrates clearly the link between urban neglect, poverty, blight, and crime in Kansas City alone.

But Kansas City’s use of blight, particularly in the case of the InterContinental Hotel, doesn’t address those things. The Kansas City Star wrote that the hotel in question is seeking the blight designation so that it can create a community improvement district (CID) and collect a 1% tax. The hotel would keep the tax and use it to address “deteriorated bathroom finishes and ceilings, torn and badly stained carpets in heavily trafficked areas and guest rooms, and torn wall paper.” In short, the CID allows them to create and collect a tax that they don’t have to report as part of their basic rate. But it will still be charged to every customer—tacked on at the end of every bill like any other tax, even though the money will stay with the hotel. One Marriott general manager has said that if the InterContinental’s request is granted, other hotels will seek to follow suit. And why not? It’s an opportunity to charge customers an extra 1% more than the rates they advertise.

It's difficult enough to look at a hotel as opulent as the InterContinental and think blight. Now the hotel wants to charge customers an extra 1% that the city will never see, and call that a tax. Kansas Citians, along with those who visit the city and stay at the InterContinental, deserve better. The hand-wringing and nose-holding of the past is not sufficient. Kansas City needs a more open and fair tax policy.

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Email
  • Print
About the author

Patrick Tuohey

Senior Fellow of Municipal Policy

More about this author >
    Footer Logo
    Support the Show-Me-Institute
    Showmeinstitute.org is brought to you by Show-Me Institute and Show-Me Opportunity.
    • Publications
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Donate
    • About
    • Contact

    Reprint permission for Show-Me Institute publications and commentaries is hereby granted, provided that proper credit is given to the author. We request, but do not require, that those who reprint our material notify us of publication for our records: [email protected]

    Mission Statement
    Advancing liberty with responsibility by promoting market solutions for Missouri public policy.

    © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved