Estes Park poised to impose first-ever lodging tax

ESTES PARK – Estes Park is about to take the first steps toward forming a local marketing district to collect a lodging tax for the first time. But tourists shouldn’t worry about the tax raising room rates anytime soon.

Senate Bill 07-111, sponsored by Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, and Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, was signed by Gov. Bill Ritter on April 19. It allows the lodging tax imposed by a local marketing district to be exempt from the 6.9 percent total sales tax limit for statutory municipalities and counties, just like for home-rule cities such as Denver and Fort…