Chip Rogers
AAHOA President & CEO
If you’re looking for yet another example of how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is supercharging the economy, perhaps look no further than your utility bill. The tax law reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and over 100 water, electric, and gas corporations across the United States are passing these savings on to consumers. Whether it is through lower rates or even credits applied to consumers’ bills, for hoteliers, lower utility bills can mean real savings throughout the year.
Rising utility costs can squeeze hoteliers across all segments. But, according to a recent study by Americans for Tax Reform, utilities will likely pass on about $3 billion in savings to their customers in 2018. This is a huge win for America’s small business owners. The increase in capital from tax reform is now being compounded by savings in other areas, giving hoteliers more opportunities than ever to make their businesses thrive.f you’re looking for yet another example of how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is supercharging the economy, perhaps look no further than your utility bill. The tax law reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and over 100 water, electric, and gas corporations across the United States are passing these savings on to consumers. Whether it is through lower rates or even credits applied to consumers’ bills, for hoteliers, lower utility bills can mean real savings throughout the year.
For small businesses in states that have been at the brunt of the especially active and damaging hurricane seasons of this year and last, these price drops could not have come at a better time. In many cases, when a natural disaster strikes, utility rates, especially electric, skyrocket in order to pay for the loss of necessary infrastructure and equipment. But the tax cuts have given utility companies a revenue cushion that has allowed them to absorb some of the extra cost without having to put the burden on the people who were already harmed by the storms. Two large Florida electric companies, Tampa Electric and Duke Energy Florida, have cited that their tax reform savings will go toward paying for hurricane recovery costs without having to boost rates on customers as they start to rebuild.
This goes to show that when businesses are given tax relief, consumers benefit the most. As consumers, hoteliers should make the most out of these changes because the opportunity for increased business growth cannot be emphasized enough. Small business owners are always looking for ways to save money and the best way to do that is to continue to implement cost-cutting efforts on top of these rate reductions. Pairing your new utility savings with eco-friendly initiatives, such as offering guests the option to reuse their towels and installing automatic lights, would help to reduce your monthly and annual utility bills even more.
Now is the time to check with your local utility companies to see if your service prices have changed. Chances are, when you look at your utility bills, you will see rates that are lower than the same time last year, allowing you to start capitalizing on your savings.
