# Jackson’s Nov. 3 Tourism Tax Vote, Explained: What the Ballot Asks and Who Spends the Money

> Jackson voters decide Nov. 3 whether to raise the prepared-food tax to 1.5% and the lodging tax to 2%, with the money dedicated to Visit Jackson. The resolution and the certified ballot language are now on the record.

*Economy · By Jackson Wire Staff · October 13, 2026*

Jackson voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to raise two tourism taxes that have not moved since 1983, and the paperwork the Wire could not find last month is now public. The question is item 22 on the City Council’s Aug. 25 agenda, and the certified wording appears on Hinds County’s sample ballot for the general election.

The council resolution is titled “Resolution declaring intention to increase the levy of the tourist and convention tax currently levied on hotels and motels by one percent (1%) and on restaurants by one-half of one percent (.5%) for the purpose of providing funds to the Jackson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, as authorized by Senate Bill 3328.” It was sponsored by council members D. Martin and Horhn, according to the agenda posted at jacksonms.gov. The council passed it unanimously with no discussion, WLBT reported.

The ballot language, as published by Ballotpedia from the county’s certified text, reads: “Shall the City of Jackson increase the tourism tax to support efforts to attract more visitors, conventions, sporting events, cultural events, and tourism-related economic activity to Jackson by: Increasing the restaurant and prepared food tax by 0.5%; and Increasing the hotel, lodging, and vacation rental tax by 1%; with the additional revenue dedicated solely to Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau d/b/a Visit Jackson for destination marketing, convention sales, tourism promotion, visitor services, and economic development initiatives that generate visitor spending, jobs, and tax revenue for the City of Jackson.”

In plain terms: a yes vote raises the prepared-food rate from 1% to 1.5% and the lodging rate from 1% to 2%. A no vote leaves both at 1%. The increase needs 60% of voters to pass, a higher bar than a simple majority.

Who pays is not the same as who votes. The tax falls on restaurant bills and hotel, motel, and vacation-rental stays inside the city limits. On a $20 prepared meal the tourism portion goes from 20 cents to 30 cents, per WLBT’s table. On a $200 room it goes from $2 to $4. Both are on top of the 7% state sales tax and the other local levies stacked on Jackson bills.

Those other levies are where the real arithmetic lives. Visit Jackson’s own business guide lists the current stack: 7% general sales tax, 1% bureau tax, 3% convention center tax on hotel rooms, 1% convention center tax on restaurants, a 75-cent-per-room-per-day telecom center charge, and a 1% special infrastructure tax on restaurants. That puts a Jackson hotel bill at 11% plus 75 cents a night and a restaurant bill at 9% before the Nov. 3 question. A yes vote takes those to 12% and 9.5%.

The money does not go to the city’s general fund. Under the ballot language it is dedicated solely to Visit Jackson, the bureau created in 1983 to market the city. The Mississippi Department of Revenue collects the tax and the bureau spends it, which is why the levy has been politically easier to propose than a property tax increase during a budget year the Wire has reported produced a flat budget 16.8% smaller than the prior one.

Two details in the state law are worth knowing before voting. The Department of Revenue’s page for the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau tax defines a “restaurant” as a place selling prepared food with annual gross proceeds of $100,000 or more, and says establishments under common ownership are aggregated to reach that threshold. Nonprofits exempt under 501(c)(3) are excluded. Lodging places with ten or fewer rental units are also excluded from the hotel definition. The same DOR page states the levy “shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2030,” so the increase, if passed, would run against a 2030 sunset unless the Legislature extends it.

Senate Bill 3328 is the authority for the vote. It was sponsored by Sen. Hillman Terome Frazier and cosponsored by Sens. David Blount, J. Walter Michel, Mumford, and Sollie B. Norwood, according to the legislative record. The Senate passed it 51-0 on March 24, 2026, the House passed it March 30, and Gov. Tate Reeves signed it April 8, 2026. The bill’s own title describes it as extending the repealer on the bureau and authorizing the additional 1% hotel and motel tax and half-percent restaurant tax.

What the documents do not show is a dollar projection. Neither the Aug. 25 resolution nor the ballot language estimates how much the increase would raise, and no revenue figure appears in the council agenda item. The Wire could not find a published estimate of annual collections from the higher rates, so the size of the new revenue stream is not on the record.

What’s next: the question is decided Nov. 3, 2026, on the Hinds County general election ballot, and it needs 60% to take effect. Absentee voting is already open at the Hinds County Circuit Clerk’s office. Voters who want the certified text can read the county’s sample ballot at co.hinds.ms.us, and the council resolution is item 22 in the Aug. 25 agenda packet at jacksonms.gov. The next regular City Council meeting is posted on the city’s meeting portal, and the Hinds County Board of Supervisors meets on its own posted schedule at hindscountyms.com.

---
[The Jackson Wire](https://www.thejacksonwire.com/) · [Read on the web](https://www.thejacksonwire.com/article/jackson-tourism-tax-november-2026-ballot-explained)