Voters OK Resort Tax to Expand Miami Beach Convention Center

Voters in Miami Beach on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an increase to the city’s resort tax that will pay for an expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center. The ballot measure, which passed by a two-to-one margin, gives the City Commission authority to raise the tax that hotel guests pay by 1%. The increase could generate about $9 million in revenue annually, yielding $90 million in bonds. That money would be used to renovate, modernize and expand the 55-year-old convention center. The last major expansion in 1989 doubled the center’s size to more than 1 million sq. ft. of event space. miamiherald.com