(A) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
HOTEL. Any building or buildings in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain living quarters, sleeping or housekeeping accommodations. The term includes motels, tourist homes or courts, lodging houses, rooming houses and apartment houses.
OCCUPANCY. The use or possession or the right to the use or possession of any room or rooms in a hotel for furnishings or to the services and accommodations accompanying the use and possession of the room or rooms.
OPERATOR. Any person operating a hotel.
PERMANENT RESIDENT. Any person who occupied or has the right to occupy any room or rooms in a hotel for at least 30 consecutive days.
PERSON. Any natural individual, firm, partnership association, joint stock company, joint adventure, public or private corporation, or a receiver, executor, trustee, conservator or other representative appointed by order of any court.
RENT or RENTAL. The consideration received for occupancy, valued in money, whether received in money or property or services of any kind or nature, but does not include tax charges that are added to prices by hotel operators on account of the hotel operators’ tax liability under The Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Act, ILCS Chapter 35, Act 145, §§ 1 et seq., which tax charges are separately stated or stated in combination in a single amount.
ROOM or ROOMS. Any living quarters, sleeping or housekeeping accommodations.
TREASURER. The Office of the Village of East Dundee Treasurer.
(B) (1) A tax is imposed upon persons engaged in the village in the business of renting, leasing or letting rooms in a hotel at the rate of 5% of the gross rental receipts from the renting, leasing or letting; excluding, however, from gross rental receipts, the proceeds of the renting, leasing or letting to permanent residents of that hotel and excluding any tax levied pursuant to ILCS Chapter 35, Act 145, § 1.
(2) The amounts collected by the village pursuant to this section shall be expended by the village solely to promote tourism and conventions within the village or otherwise to attract non-resident overnight visitors to the village.
(3) No funds received pursuant to this section shall be used to advertise for or otherwise promote new competition in the hotel business.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a tax to be imposed upon the privilege of engaging in any business which under the Constitution of the United States, may not be made the subject of taxation by the State of Illinois.
(5) Persons subject to the tax imposed by this section may reimburse themselves for their tax liability under this section by separately stating the tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with the state tax imposed under The Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Act, ILCS Chapter 35, Act 145, §§ 1 et seq.
(6) If any hotel operator collects an amount (however designated) which purports to reimburse The operator for a hotel operators’ occupation tax liability measured by receipts which are not subject to hotel operators’ occupation tax, or if any hotel operator, in collecting an amount (however designated) which purports to tax liability measured by receipt which are subject to tax under this section, collects more from the customer than the operators’ hotel operators’ occupation tax liability in the transaction is the customer shall have a legal right to claim a refund of the amount from the operator. However, if the amount is not refunded to the customer for any reason, the hotel operator is liable to pay the amount to the Treasurer.
(C) Every operator shall keep separate books or records of his or her business as an operator so as to show the rents and occupancies taxable under this section separately from his or her transactions not taxable hereunder. If any operator fails to keep the separate books or records, he or she shall be liable to tax at the rate designated in division (B) above upon the entire proceeds from his or her hotel.
(D) (1) Except as provided hereinafter in this section, on or before the last day of each calendar month, every person engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting rooms in a hotel in the village during the preceding calendar month shall file a return with the Treasurer, stating:
(a) The name of the operator;
(b) His or her residence and the address of his or her principal place of business and the address of the principal place of business (if that is a different address) from which he or she engages in the business of renting, leasing or letting rooms during the preceding calendar month;
(c) The total amount of rental receipts received by him or her during the preceding calendar month from renting, leasing or letting rooms to permanent residents during the preceding calendar month;
(d) Total amount of rental receipts received by him or her during the preceding calendar month from renting, leasing or letting rooms to permanent residents during the preceding calendar month;
(e) Total amount of other exclusions from gross rental receipts allowed by this section;
(f) Gross rental receipts which were received by him or her during the preceding calendar month and upon the basis of which the tax is imposed;
(g) The amount of tax due;
(h) The amount of penalty due, if any; and/or
(i) Other reasonable information as the Treasurer may require.
(2) If the operator’s average monthly tax liability to the Treasurer does not exceed $100, the Treasurer may authorize his or her returns to be filed on a quarter annual basis, with the return for January, February and March of a given year being due by April 30 of the year; with the return for April, May and June of a given year being due by July 31 of the year; with the return for July, August and September of a given year being due by October 31 of the year, and with the return for October, November, mid December of a given year being due by January 31 of the following year.
(3) If the operator’s average monthly tax liability to the Treasurer does not exceed $20, the Treasurer may authorize his or her returns to be filed on an annual basis, with the return for a given year being due by January 3l of the following year.
(4) The quarterly and annual returns, as to form and substance, shall be subject to the same requirements as monthly returns.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section concerning the time within which an operator may file his or her return, in the case of any operator who ceases to engage in a kind of business which makes him or her responsible for filing returns under this section, the operator shall file a final return under this section with the Treasurer not more than one month after discontinuing the business.
(6) Where the same person has more than one business registered with the Treasurer under separate registrations under this section, the person shall not file each return that is due as a single return covering all registered businesses, but shall file separate returns for each registered business.
(7) In his or her return, the operator shall determine the value of any consideration other than money received by him or her in connection with the renting, leasing or letting of rooms in. the course of his or her business and he or she shall include the value in his or her return. The determination shall be subject to review and revision by the Treasurer.
(8) Where the operator is a corporation, the return filed on behalf of the corporation shall be signed by the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, or by the properly accredited agent of the corporation.
(9) The person filing the return herein provided for shall, at the time of filing the return, pay to the Treasurer the amount of tax imposed. All monies received by the Treasurer, under the provisions of this section, shall be paid into the Village General Corporate Account.
(10) The Treasurer may, upon separate written notice to a taxpayer, require the taxpayer to prepare and file with the Treasurer within not less than 60 days after receipt of the notice an annual information return for the tax year specified in the notice. The annual return to the Treasurer shall include a statement of gross receipts as shown by the operator’s last state income tax return. If the total receipts of the business as reported in the state income tax return do not agree with the gross receipts reported to the Treasurer for the same period, the operator shall attach to his or her annual information return a schedule showing a reconciliation of the two amounts and the reasons for the difference. The operator’s annual information return to the Treasurer shall also disclose any additional reasonable information which the Treasurer deems would be helpful in determining the accuracy of the monthly, quarterly or annual tax returns by such operator as hereinbefore provided for in this section.
(11) The chief executive officer, proprietor, owner or highest ranking manager shall sign the annual return to certify the accuracy of the information contained therein. Any person who willfully signs the annual return containing false or inaccurate information shall be guilty of perjury and punished accordingly. The annual return form prescribed by the Treasurer shall include a warning that the person signing the return may be liable for perjury.
(12) The foregoing portion of this section concerning the filing of an annual information return shall not apply to an operator who is not required to file an income tax return with the United States Government.
(E) (1) Any person engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting hotel rooms in the village who fails to make a return, to keep books and records as required herein, who makes a fraudulent return, who willfully violates any provision of this section or any officer or agent of a corporation engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting hotel rooms in the village who signs a fraudulent return made on behalf of the corporation shall, if found guilty, be fined. Each and every day the person is engaged in business in violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense.
(2) Any person who accepts money that is due to the Treasurer under this section from a taxpayer for the purpose of acting as the taxpayer’s agent to make the payment to the Treasurer, but fails to remit the payment to the Treasurer when due, or who purports to make the payment, but fails to do so because his or her check or other remittance fails to clear the bank or other depository against which it is drawn, shall, if found guilty, be fined.
(3) Any hotel operator who collects or attempts to collect an amount, however designated, which purports to reimburse the operator for hotel operator’s occupation tax liability measured by receipts which the operator knows are not subject to hotel operator’s occupation tax, or any hotel operator who knowingly over-collects or attempts to over-collect an amount purporting to reimburse such operator for hotel operator’s occupation tax liability in a transaction which is subject to the tax that is imposed by this chapter, shall, if found guilty, be fined.
(F) (1) Where an operator pays hotel operators’ tax to the Treasurer in error, either as a result of a mistake of fact or an error of law, the operator may file a claim with the Treasurer upon a form which the Treasurer prescribes and will issue on request.
(2) In addition to proving that he or she did not owe the tax for which recovery is sought, the claimant must also prove that he or she bore the burden of the amount of the tax either by not shifting the burden of the tax to anyone else in the first instance, or by unconditionally refunding any amounts passed on because of the tax to this customers, who bore the burden thereof.
(3) As to any claim filed with the Treasurer on and after each January 1 and July 1, no amount of tax or penalty erroneously paid (either in total or partial liquidation of a tax or penalty) under this section more than three years prior to the January 1 and July 1, respectively, shall be credited or refunded.
(4) When any claim is allowed, the Board of Trustees may issue a credit memorandum to the claimant for the amount so allowed or refund the amount in the manner as the Board of Trustees shall determine or as set forth in division (F)(5) below.
(5) In case the Board of Trustees determines that the claimant is entitled to a refund, the refund shall be made only from the budgeted amount as may be available for that purpose. If it appears unlikely that the amount budgeted would permit everyone having a claim allowed during the period covered by the budgeted amount to elect to receive a cash refund, the Board of Trustees will make refunds only in hardship cases (such as in cases in which the claimant cannot use a credit memorandum).
(1981 Code, § 37.06) (Am. Ord. 94-21, passed 9-19-1994) Penalty, see § 10.99