CHAPTER 175
Excise Tax on Lodgings
Excise Tax on Lodgings
175.01 Definitions.
175.02 Levy and rate.
175.03 Collection of tax.
175.04 Certificate of registration.
175.05 Rules and regulations for enforcing tax.
175.06 Appeals.
175.07 Returns to be confidential.
175.08 Fund allocation.
175.09 Separability.
175.10 Interest on unpaid tax.
175.11 Penalties on unpaid tax.
175.12 Penalty and interest exceptions.
175.99 Penalty.
CROSS REFERENCES
Sales tax on accommodations - see Ohio R. C. 505.56, 5739.02
Department of Taxation - see ADM. Ch. 131
Motels and motor hotels - see P. & Z. Ch. 1187
175.01 DEFINITIONS.
As used in this chapter
(a) "Excise tax" means the tax made by the City on transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests.
(b) "Person" includes individuals, receivers, assignees, trustees in bankruptcy, estates, firms, partnerships, associations, joint ventures, clubs, societies, corporations, the State and its political subdivisions, and combinations of individuals of any form.
(c) "Hotel" means every establishment kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public to be a place where sleeping accommodations are offered to guests, in which five or more rooms are used for the accommodation of such guests, whether such rooms are in one or several structures, including establishments designated as motels or apartment hotels.
(d) "Transient guests" means persons occupying a room or rooms for sleeping accommodations for less than thirty consecutive days.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.02 LEVY AND RAT E .
There is hereby levied and imposed upon every person who is a transient guest in a hotel and pays a charge for such lodging a tax of three percent on the amount paid for the lodging in such hotel, irrespective of whether such lodging is paid by cash or credit card. The tax shall apply to every hotel within the City for which a charge is made, notwithstanding that the reservation of the lodging is made outside the City.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.03 COLLECTION OF TAX.
Every person receiving any payment upon which a tax is levied under this chapter shall collect the amount of the tax imposed from the person making the lodging payment. The tax required to be collected under this chapter shall be deemed to be held in trust by the person required to collect the same until paid to the Director of Finance as herein provided. Any person required to collect the tax imposed under this chapter who fails to collect the same, or having collected same, fails to remit the same to the Director in the manner prescribed by this chapter, whether such failure is the result of his own act or the result of acts or conditions beyond his control, shall nevertheless be personally liable to the City for the amount of such tax, and shall, unless the remittance is made as herein required, be guilty of a violation of this chapter. The tax imposed hereunder shall be collected at the time the lodging charge is paid by the transient guest seeking lodging in a hotel and shall be reported and remitted by the person receiving the tax to the Director in monthly installments and remittances therefor on or before the thirtieth day of the month next succeeding the end of the monthly period in which the tax is collected or received. Payment or remittance of the tax collected may be made by check, unless payment or remittance is otherwise required by the Director, but payment by check shall not relieve the person collecting the tax from liability for payment and remittance of the tax to the Director unless the check is honored and is in the full and correct amount. The person receiving any payment for lodgings from a transient guest shall make out a return upon such forms and setting forth such information as the Director may require, showing the amount of the tax upon lodgings for which he is liable for the preceding monthly period, and shall sign and transmit the same to the Director with a remittance for such amount; provided, that the Director may in his discretion require verified annual returns from any person receiving lodging payments setting forth such additional information as he may deem necessary to determine correctly the amount of tax collected and payable. Failure to comply with any requirement of the Director as to report and remittance of the tax as required shall be a violation of this chapter.
The books, records and accounts of any person collecting a tax herein levied shall, as to lodging and tax collections, be at all reasonable times subject to examination and audit by the Director. If the tax imposed by this chapter is not paid when due there shall be added, as part of the tax, interest at the rate of one percent per month from the time when the tax became due until paid.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.04 CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION.
Any person conducting or operating any place for lodging for transient guests shall, on a form prescribed by the Director of Finance, make application to and procure from the Director a certificate of registration, the fee for which shall be one dollar ($1.00) which certificate shall continue valid until December 31 of the year in which the same is issued. Such certificate of registration, or duplicate original copies thereof to be issued by the Director without additional charge, shall be posted in a conspicuous place in each ticket or box office where tickets of admission are sold.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.05 RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ENFORCING TAX.
(a) The Director of Finance shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the terms of this chapter for carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance of the tax herein levied. A copy of such rules and regulations shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least once before they become effective and copies shall be printed and made available in the office of the Director. Failure or refusal to comply with any such rules or regulations shall be deemed a violation of this chapter.
(b) Until such time as rules and regulations are promulgated under this section, the rules and regulations of the Department of Taxation, State of Ohio, relating to excise taxes in effect on March 11, 1968, except as the same may conflict with the provisions of this chapter, shall be deemed to be the rules and regulations hereunder.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.06 APPEALS.
Appeals from any ruling to the Director of Finance hereunder shall be made to Council by filing a notice of appeal with the Director and the Clerk of Council within twenty days from the date of such ruling. Council shall hear such appeal at the next regularly scheduled Council meeting occurring at least eight days after the filing of such notice of appeal. Council shall have the authority to annul, modify or affirm any such ruling appealed from, in conformity with the intent and purpose of this chapter.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.07 RETURNS TO BE CONFIDENTIAL.
All returns and information relating to the business of any person required to collect the tax imposed by this chapter and coming into the possession of the Director of Finance, his agents and employees shall be held confidential. No disclosures thereof shall be made unless ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction except, however, that the Director may furnish the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Treasury Department of the United States, with copies of returns filed.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.08 FUND ALLOCATION.
All funds and moneys collected by the Director of Finance pursuant to this chapter shall be allocated to and used in the General Fund of the City for any authorized use of such Fund.
(Ord. 2003-186. Passed 12-16-03.)
175.09 SEPARABILITY.
Sections 175.01 to 175.07, inclusive, and each part of such sections, are hereby declared to be independent sections or parts of sections, and notwithstanding any other evidence of legislative intent it is hereby declared to be the controlling legislative intent that if any provision of such sections, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remaining sections or parts of sections, and the application of such provision to any persons or circumstances, other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and it is hereby declared that this chapter would have been passed independently of such section, sections or parts of a section so held to be invalid.
(Ord. 72-29. Passed 6-20-72.)
175.10 INTEREST ON UNPAID TAX.
All taxes imposed under the provisions of this chapter and remaining unpaid after they become due shall bear interest at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month or fraction thereof.
(Ord. 88-8. Passed 1-5-88.)
175.11 PENALTIES ON UNPAID TAX.
In addition to interest as provided in Section 175.10, penalties on the unpaid tax are hereby imposed as follows:
(a) For failure to timely pay taxes: one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month or fraction thereof or eighteen percent (18%), whichever is greater.
(b) Any penalty assessed hereunder shall be in the minimum amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
(Ord. 88-8. Passed 1-5-88.)
175.12 PENALTY AND INTEREST EXCEPTIONS.
(Ord. 88-8. Passed 1-5-88.)
175.99 PENALTY.
(a) Whoever being a person charged by this chapter with the duty of collecting or paying the taxes imposed by this chapter willfully fails or refuses to charge and collect or to pay such taxes, or to make return to the Director of Finance as required by this chapter, or to permit the Director or his duly authorized agent to examine his books and other records, in or upon any premises where the same are kept, to the extent necessary to verify any return made or to ascertain and assess the tax imposed by this chapter if no return was made, or to maintain and keep for three years or such lesser or greater time as may be permitted or required by the Director, shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor for a first offense and for a second or other subsequent offense shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(b) Whoever violates any of the provisions of Section 175.07 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree for each violation, and the violator shall thereafter be disqualified from acting in any official capacity whatsoever in connection with the assessment or collection of taxes under this chapter.
(Ord. 89-23. Passed 2-21-89.)