The Impact of Extending Marriage to Same-Sex Couples on the ...

pho<strong>to</strong>graphs, and other expenses. According <strong>to</strong><strong>The</strong> Wedding Report, a wedding industryresearch group, the average cost <strong>of</strong> a weddingin the United States during the next three yearsWeddings and<strong>to</strong>urism spendingby same-sexcouples willgenerate$55 million inCalifornia taxrevenueswill be $29,624. 45 Weconservatively assumethat out-<strong>of</strong>-state coupleswould spend less, onaverage, than in-statecouples on weddings,given the challenges <strong>of</strong>planning a wedding fromanother state and thetravel costs alreadyconsidered. Nonetheless,out-<strong>of</strong>-state same-sexcouples would typicallyspend more than thetypical <strong>to</strong>urist, as they will likely purchaseaccommodations, meals, clothing, flowers, gifts,and other wedding-related items. We alsoexpect additional spending by friends or familymembers who might accompany the couple,which is spending not included in the averagewedding cost. <strong>The</strong>refore, we conservativelyassume that the additional wedding spending byout-<strong>of</strong>-state couples will be one-tenth <strong>of</strong> thetypical wedding expense, or $2,962.This conservative estimate also takes in<strong>to</strong>account that some couples may have alreadyhad a commitment ceremony and that same-sexcouples may be less able <strong>to</strong> rely on theresources <strong>of</strong> their parents and family forwedding expenditures. We also use thisconservative estimate <strong>to</strong> account for the factthat couples will split their expenditures betweenCalifornia and their home state.Thus, we estimate wedding and <strong>to</strong>urismspending at $4,314 per couple for out-<strong>of</strong>-statecouples. Multiplying our estimate <strong>of</strong> out-<strong>of</strong>-statecouples by this figure, we estimate thatextending marriage <strong>to</strong> same-sex couples willboost the state economy by approximately$291.2 million over the next three years.Next, we estimate state and local tax revenuesfrom spending by out-<strong>of</strong>-state same-sexcouples. Since state and local sales taxes andtransient occupancy taxes 46 vary by county inCalifornia, we use a state-wide average forthese taxes weighted by the proportion <strong>of</strong> samesexcouples that live in each <strong>of</strong> California’scounties. 47 Using these weighted averages, 8%for sales tax and 11.1% for the transien<strong>to</strong>ccupancy tax, we estimate that spending byout-<strong>of</strong> state couples will generate more than$23.7 million in tax revenues for the state. 48<strong>The</strong>se taxes only capture the most direct taximpact <strong>of</strong> increased <strong>to</strong>urism; they do not includeCalifornia’s mo<strong>to</strong>r vehicle fuel tax, excise tax onalcoholic beverages, any property tax revenuesthat may be generated, nor do they includeincreased taxes from earnings. Businesses andindividuals will also pay taxes on the newearnings generated by wedding spending,providing a further boost <strong>to</strong> the state budget.California <strong>Couples</strong>We estimate that 51,319, or half, <strong>of</strong> California’ssame-sex couples would choose <strong>to</strong> marry ifpermitted (See Section I above). <strong>The</strong> weddings<strong>of</strong> these in-state couples would most likely belarger than those <strong>of</strong> out-<strong>of</strong>-state couples, giventhat they will be better able <strong>to</strong> plan a largewedding, and their friends and families are morelikely <strong>to</strong> be local. However, same-sex couplesmay receive less financial support from theirparents and other family members <strong>to</strong> coverwedding costs. Additionally, only spending thatcomes from couples’ savings would truly be“new spending” for the State’s businesses,rather than money diverted from some otherexpenditure. Accordingly, we assume thatsame-sex couples will spend only 25% <strong>of</strong> theaverage amount that different-sex couples inCalifornia are projected <strong>to</strong> spend on theirweddings during the next three years($30,580), 49 or just over $7,645. <strong>The</strong> <strong>to</strong>tal for51,319 couples would come <strong>to</strong> over $392.3million in additional wedding spending in threeyears.We do not estimate any additional <strong>to</strong>urismspending for California couples. But couplesmight invite friends and family members wholive in other states <strong>to</strong> attend weddings inCalifornia, adding <strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>urism expenditures.Using the weighted averages for California stateand local sales taxes and transient occupancytaxes, this direct wedding spending by resident7