Paré challenges Wake County's $20M meals tax claim amid split fight

Wake County’s meals-tax fight has turned into a battle over more than $20 million a year, with Cary, Garner, Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs eyeing a bigger share and Raleigh warning that major tourism projects would lose support. State Rep. Erin Paré is now challenging the county’s claim that her proposal would blow a hole in existing commitments.

Paré filed House Bill 1215 on April 30, 2026. In draft form, the measure is titled Garner Mgr/Wake Munic. Meals Tax Reallocation and would let Wake County municipalities that generate prepared food and beverage tax revenue receive their proportional share and use it for travel and tourism promotion. The draft also includes a separate Garner-related section authorizing the town manager to settle certain claims of $10,000 or less.

At the center of the dispute is how Wake County and Raleigh have handled hospitality taxes for decades. Wake County began levying a 3% hotel occupancy tax in 1986, and the county and Raleigh entered an interlocal agreement in 1991 covering hotel-tax and prepared food-and-drink tax spending. Raleigh’s hospitality-tax page says the money has gone to arts, culture, sports and conventions, with past projects including the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Cary Tennis Park, Five County Stadium, Marbles Kids Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Art and WakeMed Soccer Park.

Wake County’s tourism numbers are large enough to explain why both sides are digging in. Visit Raleigh says visitors spent $3.2 billion in Wake County in 2023, generating $157 million in local tax revenue and saving Raleigh taxpayers $712 each. Its 2024 tourism report says hotel lodging and prepared food-and-beverage tax collections reached a record $87.45 million, including $44.6 million from the meals tax alone. The county also hosted 425 events, tournaments, conferences and festivals with nearly 665,000 attendees.

Wake County says the bill would redirect more than $20 million in annual revenue already committed to obligations such as the Lenovo Center renovations and the Raleigh Convention Center complex. The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association has opposed the bill, arguing that it would weaken support for the countywide tourism engine.

Paré has pointed to Mecklenburg County as a precedent for a similar split, and state legislative records show that county’s separate prepared food and beverage tax was extended in 2023 from 2031 to 2060. That comparison is now part of the fight over whether Wake’s tourist-tax dollars should keep flowing to Raleigh-centered projects or stay closer to where diners are paying them.