My greed-o-meter was pinned to max after finding the link below. The state of California and the city of Los Angeles have 2 identical taxes on hotel occupants. The only difference is whose pocket the money ends up in.

In the sample hotel receipt in the link, there are 6 separate fees and taxes which add 25% to the cost of the room. That’s higher than my income tax rate! California is unashamed and unapologetic. At least one of the taxes is brand new for 2026, as a “welcome to America” tax to fleece international visitors hoping to enjoy a World Cup soccer match.

The most hilarious of these taxes it the “LA Ordinance Fee” (not to be confused with the “LA Ordinance Tourism Tax”). The LA Ordinance Fee is a flat $10 tax on hotel room occupants. It pays for an alarm system for union hotel workers to press if a guest becomes unruly. There is mention of the police response time, but presumably it will be faster than if you call 911 to report shoplifting, carjacking, or street sales of narcotics.

The “LA Ordinance Tourism Tax” is even more ironically and insulting. This tax gets vacuumed up a new Los Angeles agency whose mission is to PROMOTE tourism to the city. (Please come and visit, in spite of all our ridiculous fees and taxes!) There is also a nearly identical “California Tourism Assessment”, but THAT money flows north to the state capital of Sacramento, which has a separate but equal agency to do exactly the same thing as their counterparts in LA. I am NOT making this up. Please read the link.

If an actual business tried to pull a scam like this, there would be congressional hearings. (‘What do you mean you have separate fees for both checked and carryon luggage? A fee for escaping from the center seat? A fee to pay by credit card, even though you no longer accept cash?”)

If any reader is currently visiting Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics, please post a copy of your hotel receipt in this thread. I’m pretty sure there aren’t 6 separate taxes amounting to 25%. Prove me wrong!

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Receipts show the awful reality of California’s tax squeeze

public finance

Want to know the difference between the “LA Ordinance Fee” and “LA Ordinance Tourism Tax”?