THATCHER — At its most recent meeting, the Thatcher Town Council voted unanimously to increase the town’s bed tax.
The tax on hotel and motel use will increase from 3 percent to 5 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
“Five percent seems to be pretty average for the state on what other municipalities are collecting,” said Town Manager Heath Brown. “So that gets us up into the average range.”
Brown said he believes that the tax should also apply to Airbnb rentals as, per the Arizona Department of Revenue, the tax applies to lodging rentals of 30 days or less.
Most of the funds raised through the tax will go into the town’s general fund; however, state statute requires that if a bed tax exceeds the town’s sales tax rate by more than 2 percent, the overage must be used for tourism purposes.
Because the town’s sales tax is 2.5 percent, and the bed tax is now 5 percent, 0.5 percent of the bed tax collected will be used by Thatcher for tourism.
“The Council has not yet discussed what specific tourism related programs we will be funding with that 0.5 percent,” Brown said in an e-mail to Gila Valley Central.
