Regional Transit Funding

One Cent Sales Tax

In 1999, the RTA and the New Orleans Tourism & Marketing Corp. signed an agreement under which the revenue of one percent of the tax collected by hotels and motels will be shared. Under this deal, the marketing corporation gets 40 percent of the first $7.2 million generated by that one percent tax in hotels and motels, while the RTA keeps the remaining 60 percent. The RTA relies on the taxes collected through this agreement and utilizes these resources for operational expenses, capital projects, rail and bus maintenance, and community outreach programs.