(A) There is hereby levied an excise tax of 5% upon the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from the rent from every occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel in this city, except that the tax shall not be imposed where the rent is less than $5 per day. The excise tax for spaces in a recreational vehicle park shall be calculated at the rate of $2 per space per day. This excise tax shall be in addition to any existing sales tax imposed by the city or the state.
(B) Tax exemptions shall follow sales tax exemptions set by the Oklahoma Tax Commission:
(1) Meeting rooms. Exempt from sales tax.
(2) Federal government employees. Must be centrally billed or paid with a GSA SmartPay Travel Card.
(3) Oklahoma state employees (employees of other states are not exempt). Oklahoma employees must use a state issued purchase card with the tax ID #736017987 on the card with the state agency listed underneath.
(4) Oklahoma public schools and colleges. Must be paid for by school credit card, school check, or direct billed. Out of state schools are not exempt.
(5) One hundred percent (100%) disabled American veterans. Will present a card issued by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
(6) Native American tribes. Are not exempt. On their exempt letter issued by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, it states the sales must be sourced to tribal land. If your establishment is not on tribal trust land, they are not exempt.
(7) Churches. Will have an exemption certificate issued by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Must be paid for with a church credit card, church check, or direct billed (paid by church funds directly).
(8) Oklahoma municipalities and counties. Must be paid for with a credit card identified as being from that city or county, a city or county check, or direct billed. No personal credit cards or cash. Employees of out of state municipalities, counties, or parishes are not exempt.
(9) Anyone else claiming to be sales tax exempt will have an exemption issued by the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
(C) The tax to be collected shall be stated and charged separately from the rent.
(1) The tax shall be shown separately on any record thereof at the time when the occupancy is arranged or contracted and charged for, and upon every evidence of occupancy or any bill, statement or charge made for such occupancy issued or delivered by the operator.
(2) The tax shall be paid by the occupant to the operator as trustee for and on account of the city, and the operator shall be liable for the collection thereof and for the payment of the tax.
(3) The operator and any officer of any corporate operator shall be personally liable for the tax collected or required to be collected under this title.
(4) The operator shall have the same right in respect to collecting the tax from the occupant or in respect to nonpayment of the tax by the occupant as if the tax were a part of the rent for the occupancy payable at the same time such tax shall become due and owing, including all rights of eviction, dispossession, repossession and enforcement of any innkeeper’s lien that he or she may have in the event of nonpayment of rent by the occupant; provided however, that the city shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought by the operator to collect or enforce collection of the tax.
(D) Such taxes, penalty and interest due hereunder shall at all times constitute a prior, superior and paramount claim as against the claim of unsecured creditors and may be collected by suit as any other debt.
(E) Where the occupant has failed to pay and the operator has failed to collect a tax as imposed by this chapter, then, in addition to all other rights, obligations and remedies provided, such tax shall be payable by the occupant directly to the city, and it shall be the duty of the occupant to file a return thereof with the Tax Collector and to pay the tax imposed thereon to the Tax Collector, within 15 days after such tax was due.
(F) Whenever he or she deems it necessary for the proper enforcement of this subchapter, the Tax Collector may provide, by regulation, that the occupant shall file returns and pay directly to the Tax Collector the tax herein imposed at such times as returns are required to be filed and payment over made by the operator.
(G) The tax imposed by this section shall be paid upon any occupancy on or after May 1, 2001, although such occupancy is had pursuant to a contract, lease or other arrangement made prior to May 1, 2001.
(1) Where rent is paid, charged, billed or falls due on either weekly or other term basis, the rent so paid, charged, billed or falling due shall be subject to the tax herein imposed to the extent that it covers any portion of the period after May 1, 2001, and such payment, bill, charge or rent due shall be apportioned on the basis of the ratio of the number of days falling within such portion to the total number of days covered thereby.
(2) Where any tax has been paid hereunder upon any rent which has been ascertained to be worthless, the Tax Collector may, by regulation, provide for credit or refund of the amount of such tax upon application as provided herein.
(H) To properly administer this subchapter and to prevent evasion of the tax it imposes, it shall be presumed that all rentals are subject to the tax until facts to the contrary are established; and the burden of providing that a rent for occupancy is not taxable hereunder shall be upon the operator or the occupant.
(I) No operator shall advertise or hold out to the public in any manner, directly or indirectly, that the tax imposed by this subchapter is not considered as an element in the rent charged to the occupant.
(Ord. 2001-02, passed 1-16-01; Am. Ord. 2011-1, passed 1-3-11; Am. Ord. 2015-21, passed 10-5-15; Am. Ord. 2021-14, passed 12-20-21) Penalty, see § 10.99