Calif. county ballot referendum could raise hotel tax

Voters in Santa Cruz County on California’s Pacific Coast will be asked in June to approve increases in hotel and vacation rental room taxes. A hike in the Transient Occupancy Tax from 9.5% to 11% passed by a wide margin in 2012, and officials now seek a bump to 12% for hotels and 14% for vacation rentals to help close a $301 million budget deficit.