For the purpose of this article, the following words, phrases and terms are defined:
(a) “Consideration paid” or “consideration” means the amount received in money, credits, property or other consideration for or in exchange for the right to occupy a hotel room as herein defined.
(b) “Consumer” means a person who pays the consideration for the use or occupancy of a hotel room. The term “consumer” shall not be construed to mean the government of the United States of America, its agencies or instrumentalities, or the government of the State of West Virginia or political subdivisions thereof.
(c) “Convention” and/or “visitors’ bureau” are interchangeable items, and shall mean the Marion County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc., a nonprofit corporation.
(d) “Convention center” means a convention facility owned by the State, County, City or other public entity or instrumentality and shall include all facilities, including armories, commercial, office, community service and parking facilities, and publicly owned facilities constructed or used for the accommodation and entertainment of tourists and visitors, constructed in conjunction with the convention center and forming reasonable appurtenances thereto.
(e) “City” means the City of Fairmont.
(f) “Evade” means to willfully and fraudulently commit any with the intent of depriving the City of payment of any tax which there is a known legal duty to pay.
(g) “Fraud” means any false representation or concealment as to any material fact made by any person with the knowledge that it is not true and correct, with the intention that such representation or concealment be relied upon by the County.
(h) “Fiscal year” means the year beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of the next calendar year.
(i) “Hotel” means any facility, building or buildings, publicly or privately owned including a facility located in a State or County park, in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term shall include, but not be limited to, boarding houses, hotels, motels, inns, courts, lodges, cabins and tourist homes. The term “hotel” shall include State, County and City parks offering accommodations as herein set forth. The term “hotel” shall not be construed to mean any hospital, sanitarium, extended care facility, nursing home or university or college housing unit or any facility providing fewer than three hotel rooms, nor any tent, trailer or camper campsites; provided, where a university or college housing unit provides sleeping accommodations for the general nonstudent public for a consideration, the term “hotel” shall, if otherwise applicable, apply to such accommodations for the purposes of this tax.
(j) “Hotel operator” means the person who is proprietor of a hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, trustee in possession, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, executor or in any other capacity. Where the hotel operator performs his functions through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent shall also be deemed a hotel operator for the purposes of this article and shall have the same duties and liabilities as his principal. Compliance with the provisions of this article by either the principal or the managing agent shall, however, be considered to be compliance by both.
(k) “Hotel room” means any room or suite of rooms or other facility affording sleeping accommodations to the general public and situated within a hotel. The term “hotel room” shall not be construed to mean a banquet room, meeting room, or any other room not primarily used for, or in conjunction with, sleeping accommodations.
(l) “Net proceeds” means the gross amount of tax collections less the amount of tax lawfully refunded.
(m) “Person” means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, syndicate, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company, receiver, corporation, guardian, trust, business trust, trustee, committee, estate executor, administrator or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
(n) “Recreational facilities” means and includes any public park, parkway, playground, public recreation center, athletic field, sports arena, stadium, skating rink, or arena, golf course, tennis courts, and other park and recreation facilities, whether of a like or different nature, that are owned by the City.
(o) “Tax”, “taxes” or “this tax” means the hotel occupancy tax authorized by this article.
(p) “Tax authority” means the City of Fairmont.
(q) “Taxpayer” means any person liable for the tax authorized by this article.
(r) “Willfully” means the intentional violation of a known legal duty to perform any act, required to be performed by any provision of this article, in respect of which the violation occurs; provided, that the mere failure to perform any act shall not be a willful violation under this article. A willful violation of this article requires that the defendant have had knowledge of or notice of a duty to perform such act, and that the defendant, with knowledge of or notice of such duty, intentionally failed to perform such act.
(Ord. 700. Passed 1-7-86.)