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InFORMATION
The Bella Vista Arkansas Advertising & Promotion Commission was formed through an ordinance approved by the City of Bella Vista City Council. The ordinance levies a tax of two percent (2%) on the gross receipts for leasing hotel, motel, house, cabin, bed & breakfast, campgrounds, condominiums or other similar accommodations for sleeping, meeting, or party room facilities for a period of less than 30 days. The ordinance also levies a tax of one percent (1%) on the receipts of restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, delicatessens, drive-in and carryout restaurants, concession stands, convenience stores, food trucks, or other similar establishments described in the ordinance.
The Mission of the Advertising & Promotion Commission is to “work to increase the city’s visibility as a destination to stay and play by promoting its recreation and business opportunities while maintaining a revenue source via tourism to help sustain and grow the city into the future.” (Approved 12-17) The commission consists of seven members, serving a four-year term. The commission typically meets quarterly on the third Thursday of each month at 2:30 p.m. and meetings are open to the public.
Commission Documents:
Most recent meeting minutes click here.
YTD P&L 2024 click here.
YTD tax collections 2023 v 2024 click here.
Comparison of annual tax collections 2021-2023 click here.
While the A & P Commission prepares and implements a robust marketing plan for the city, it is important and vital to its mission to provide some funding and/or partnerships for community events that qualify within the mission guidelines of the strategic plan and that conform to local and state laws, therefore, the Commission will consider funding or supporting with qualified organizations whose event and/or project meets the guidelines for funding and is approved by the A & P Commission at one of their meetings. View Grant Funding Guidelines for Local Events.
The Bella Vista A & P Commission meetings are held quarterly on the third Thursday of the month at 2:30 PM in the conference room of the Bella Vista Country Club. The next meetings in 2024 are scheduled for August 15, 2024 and November 21, 2024. The Bella Vista Country Club is located at 98 Clubhouse Dr, Bella Vista, AR 72715. All A&P Commission Meetings are open to the public and provide an opportunity for public comment.
There is no printed guide to Bella Vista.
There are a number of informative websites to help you plan and navigate your visit. Discoverbellavistaar.com is the official website designed for visitors. You can find links to all restaurants, where to sleep, where to play on the site. Upcoming events are listed on the Event Calendar with links to the host site with the latest information.
There is extensive information on Property Owners Administration amenities. Bella Vista is not a gated community, but much of it is privately owned and maintained. Staying in a Bella Vista vacation rental may include privileges to use different amenities. Ask your host. Golf courses operated like golf courses everywhere. You can book tee-times on any of the seven courses and get information directly from the pro-shop.
All of Bella Vista trails are free and open to the public. Tanyard Creek Trail is for pedestrians only. Everything else is multi-use and available for hikers and riders alike. A good site to find detail and plan your walk is Where to Walk in Bella Vista.
A number of websites and Facebook groups have been created and managed for the Mountain Bike Community. New trails are continually being built and weather and trail conditions change frequently. Most of the folks maintaining trails and updating information are volunteers. They are dedicated and very responsive to questions on the Facebook pages.
https://www.alltrails.com/us/arkansas/bella-vista
The Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission operates discoverbellavistaar.com and the Discover Bella Vista Facebook and Instagram pages.
The A&P Commission does not maintain a brick and mortar office. It does have a small staff who can be reached at info@discoverbellavistaar.com.. Leave the topic of your question, contact information, and the best way and time to reach you and we'll be happy to help.
The Bella Vista A&P Commission is a separate entity and operates independently from the City of Bella Vista.
Discover Bella Vista and the Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission does not issue any building or safety permits required to operate a food service venue. We are responsible for collecting a 1% A&P tax, which is paid monthly on gross receipts .
In April of 2017 the City Council of Bella Vista authorized City Ordinance 2017-15, which implemented an Advertising & Promotion Tax (the "A&P Tax") to be collected on hotels/motels, condo rentals, meeting spaces, and establishments engaged in the selling of prepared foods and non-alcoholic beverages. The Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission, hence known as “Discover Bella Vista,” collects the A&P Tax and uses the funds to promote the City of Bella Vista.
The A&P Tax is to be collected at the same time as the tax levied by the Arkansas Gross Receipts Act, and your business is required by Arkansas State Statutes and the City of Bella Vista Ordinances to collect and remit the A&P Tax.
Please complete the enclosed remittance form every month and include it with your A&P Tax payment. Payments are due on the 20th day of each month for the preceding month, and any payments received after the deadline are subject to a 5% penalty on the amount owed. The Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission is legally authorized to collect your taxes in arrears and the late penalty on such amounts. If you had no gross receipts, return the form indicating that you had no sales. Otherwise, we will assume that you missed a payment. If you are no longer doing business in the City of Bella Vista, please promptly let us know.
For your convenience, the aggregate Bella Vista Sales Tax Rates as of June 1, 2020 are as follows:
Tax Exempt?
Organizations qualified under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) are exempt from the A&P Tax. If you are claiming an exemption, please provide the Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission with your organization's IRS letter of exemption
Temporary Venue?
The A&P tax is due if your sale is within the city limits of the City of Bella Vista. This includes food trucks or temporary booths set up at events.
Questions?
Please contact the Bella Vista A&P at info@discoverbellavistaar.com. The Bella Vista A&P does not maintain an office. Provide your contact information and the best way to reach you and someone will call you back to assist you.
Do I need a permit for my Short-Term Rental?
Yes. City Ordinance 2022-18, passed in 2022, requires short-term rental permits issued by the City of Bella Vista. For more info check out the City’s website at: bellavistaar.gov/shorttermrentals.
Does the permit come from the A&P?
No. The permit is issued by the City of Bella Vista, however, to apply you will need proof-of-compliance from the A&P.
Luckily, that's easy.
Send us your completed tax remittal form to info@discoverbellavistaar.com and we'll send you the proof-of-compliance you can take to the City.
Note: We'll be switching to an online pay portal soon and will notify you by mail when you can sign up. Or you can jump on a notification list by emailing us at info@discoverbellavistaar.com.
Advertising and Promotion Tax (A&P tax)
In April of 2017 the City Council of Bella Vista authorized City Ordinance 2017-15, which implemented an Advertising & Promotion Tax (the "A&P Tax") to be collected on hotels/motels, condo rentals, meeting spaces, and establishments engaged in the selling of prepared foods and non-alcoholic beverages. The Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission, hence known as “Discover Bella Vista,” collects the A&P Tax and uses the funds to promote the City of Bella Vista. The tax on vacation rental income is 2%.
The A&P Tax is to be collected at the same time as the tax levied by the Arkansas Gross Receipts Act, and your business is required by Arkansas State Statutes and the City of Bella Vista Ordinances to collect and remit the A&P Tax.
Please complete the standard remittance form every month and include it with your A&P Tax payment. Payments are due on the 20th day of each month for the preceding month, and any payments received after the deadline are subject to a 5% penalty on the amount owed. The Bella Vista Advertising & Promotion Commission is legally authorized to collect your taxes in arrears and the late penalty on such amounts. If you had no gross receipts, return the form indicating that you had no sales. Otherwise, we will assume that you missed a payment. If you are no longer doing business in the City of Bella Vista, please promptly let us know.
For your convenience, the aggregate Bella Vista Sales Tax Rates as of June 1, 2020 are as follows:
The Bella Vista Property Owners Association sells two types of lots. Membership lots and Buildable Lots. Membership lots are not buildable because of the location, terrain, or size, but they do afford membership privileges. Buildable lots are lots that would likely be buildable if they were found to be suitable to your concept in size, topography, soil, and other factors.
https://bellavistapoa.com/lots/
Discover Bella Vista is charged with promoting Bella Vista as a tourism destination and has no knowledge of property availability or building requirements.
Discover Bella Vista's charge is to promote Bella Vista as a tourism destination. If you are interested in Bella Vista as a prospective resident, we recommend you contact one of the Bella Vista sources with in-depth information about "living in Bella Vista."
Bella Visitors Ambassadors
Contact: Ralph Peterson, President
479- 855-6308
These are volunteer ambassador families who will make an appointment to meet with your and answer your questions about living in Bella Vista. Ralph coordinates scheduling.
Property Owners Association
The Property Owner's Association, known in Bella Vista as the POA, manages all of the amenities on behalf of the members in Bella Vista. Most of the residents of BV are members of the POA and pay fees to maintain the amenities. The only POA managed amenities that are completely open to the general public without POA fees and policies are extensive trail systems.
The best way to get your bearings in navigating POA amenities is through it's website. https://bellavistapoa.com/
Vacation Rentals
There are no hotels or motels in Bella Vista. There are over 200 vacation rentals in Bella Vista. The best way to get a sense of what it would be like to live in Bella Vista would be to select a vacation rental that has some of the features you would like in a home of your own. There are rentals close to the golf courses. There are rentals within feet of the mountain bike trail system. There are rentals on the lakes. There are rentals with docks. Staying in a motel in an adjacent town will give you a 20-30 minute commute and you'll miss the sunrise and sunsets, which is one of the best amenities in Bella Vista.
Amenities
Ask your host for guest cards for everyone in your party. This will give you access to private amenities that are not available to the general public. In some cases there are fees involved. The advantage is that you will experience first hand what being a resident of Bella Vista and a member of this recreation community would be like.
Bella Vista A&P Commission
PO Box 5003
Bella Vista, AR 72714
Include the tax report form for lodging or food with your check.
Please send a report form for each month you are reporting. It is okay to send a check that combines more than one month.
There is a 5% penalty for remitting your payment after the 20th of the following month.
Please contact info@discoverbellavistaar.com if you have further questions.
Yes. The A&P tax is not an arbitrary fee or payment for marketing your business. There is no transactional arrangement between the A&P Commission or it's promotional DBA, Discover Bella Vista and tax payers for advertising individual businesses.
The tax was levied by the City of Bella Vista in 2017 to fund general promotion of Bella Vista as a visitor destination. If you've operated a business selling either in prepared food or short term rental accommodations, you owe 1% or 2% tax on your gross receipts respectively and a 5% penalty for late payment.
If you need further help in understanding this tax or how to report and pay it, please contact info@discoverbellavistaar.com. Someone will contact you with assistance.
Currently, the A&P Commission is not set up to receive payments electronically. Most banks have a bill paying service. It is acceptable to file your tax report and send a check from your bank separately.
The A&P mailing address is
PO Box 5003
Bella Vista, AR 72714
If you are a short term rental, your monthly tax is 2% of your monthly gross regardless of how you itemize your services for guests. It is common to charged the tax to the guest just as you do your sales taxes?
If you sell prepared food, everything you sell with the exception of alcoholic beverages is taxed at 1%.
Taxes are collected by the A&P Commission. Send checks with the official tax reporting form to:
A&P Commission
PO Box 5003
Bella Vista, AR 72714
Forms can be found under governance on the Discover Bella Vista website. There is one form for food and another for lodging. Please submit a separate form for each month even if you are combining months in one check. There s a 5% late fee for those payments received after the 20th of the subsequent month.
A&P taxes are levied on hotel, motel, house, cabin, bed & breakfast, campgrounds, condominiums or other similar accommodations for sleeping, meeting, or party room facilities for a period of less than 30 days.
The ordinance also levies a tax of one percent (1%) on the receipts of restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, delicatessens, drive-in and carryout restaurants, concession stands, convenience stores, food trucks, or other similar establishments.
The Bella Vista Arkansas Advertising & Promotion Commission was formed through an ordinance approved by the City of Bella Vista City Council. The ordinance levies a tax of two percent (2%) on the gross receipts for leasing hotel, motel, house, cabin, bed & breakfast, campgrounds, condominiums or other similar accommodations for sleeping, meeting, or party room facilities for a period of less than 30 days. The ordinance also levies a tax of one percent (1%) on the receipts of restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, delicatessens, drive-in and carryout restaurants, concession stands, convenience stores, food trucks, or other similar establishments described in the ordinance.
The Mission of the Advertising & Promotion Commission is to “work to increase the city’s visibility as a destination to stay and play by promoting its recreation and business opportunities while maintaining a revenue source via tourism to help sustain and grow the city into the future.” (Approved 12-17) The commission consists of seven members, serving a four-year term.
Commission meetings are open to the public. They typically occur quarterly on the third Thursday of the month at 2:30 PM at a publicly announced location. Questions about meetings and locations can be directed to info@discoverbellavistaAR.com.
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