ALBANY – Visitors to Orange County will now pay a five percent hotel room tax.  Gov. David Paterson signed the home rule request.

Senator William Larkin of Cornwall-on-Hudson said the additional money will take some of the burden off local taxpayers.

“This is estimated to bring in about $2 million for the remainder of 2009 and about $4 million in 2010 and that fits in with the budget prepared by the county executive and the legislature,” he said. “I am glad to respond to the request from my colleagues from county to assist them in preventing an increase in property taxes.”

Now that the state has approved the room tax, the county legislature must vote on it one more time to finalize it.

The governor also signed a sales tax extender for the county portion of the sales tax.