House Bill 1180 Summary

• Creates the Hotel Renovation Projects Sales Tax Incentive Fund to provide incentive payments to hotel owners who repair and renovate properties with minimum $500,000 in approved project costs ($10,000 per guest room).

• Authorizes the Mississippi Development Authority to issue certificates to approved participants and make semiannual incentive payments equal to 20% of sales tax revenue collected from guest room and conference room rentals.

• Limits incentive payments to the lesser of 20% of approved project costs or 10 years from the date payments commence, with no increases for expansions or additional investments.

• Requires independent third-party verification of all project costs at the applicant's expense and charges a $1,000 application fee for participation.

• Amends Section 27-65-75 to deposit 25% of relevant sales tax revenue into the Hotel Renovation Projects Sales Tax Incentive Fund and prohibits issuing new certificates after July 1, 2017.