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For the privilege of occupying space in any parking facility in the City of Los Angeles, each occupant is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the parking fee. The tax imposed by this article shall be paid upon any occupancy on and after August 1, 1990, although such occupancy is pursuant to a contract, lease or other arrangement made prior to such date. Where the parking fee is paid, or charged or billed, or falls due on either a weekly, monthly or other term basis, the parking fee so paid, charged, billed or fallen due shall be subject to the tax herein imposed to the extent that it covers any portion of the period occurring on or after August 1, 1990 and such payment, charge, bill or parking fee due shall be apportioned on the basis of the proration of the number of days covered thereby. In computing the tax herein imposed, the fractional part of one cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half of one cent or more, in which case the amount shall be increased to the next highest cent. The tax herein imposed constitutes a debt owed by the occupant to the City, which is extinguished by payment to the operator or the City.
Unless prohibited by the laws of the United States or the State of California or exempted by the provisions of this article, every occupant occupying parking space in a parking facility shall be required to pay the tax imposed herein to the operator along with the parking fee for occupancy. If the parking fee is paid in installments, or if an amount paid is less than the full amount of parking fee and tax accrued at the time of payment, a proportionate share of the tax shall be deemed to have been paid with each such payment or installment. Any unpaid tax shall be due upon the occupant’s ceasing to occupy parking space in the parking facility. If for any reason the tax is not paid to the operator, the Director of Finance shall require that such tax shall be paid directly to the City. Payment of the tax to the operator does not relieve the occupant of liability for the tax to the City until the tax has been remitted to the City by the operator, unless the occupant has a receipt for the parking fee and tax issued by the operator.
Each operator shall collect the tax imposed by this article to the same extent and at the same time as the parking fee is collected from every occupant. In all cases in which the tax is not collected by the operator from the occupant, the operator shall be liable to the City for the amount of tax due on the amount of the taxable parking fee collected from the occupant under the provisions of this article the same as though the tax were paid by the occupant. The amount of tax shall be separately stated from the amount of the parking fee charged, and each occupant, upon demand, shall be given a receipt for payment. No operator shall advertise or hold out or state to the public or any occupant, directly or indirectly, that the tax or any part thereof will be assumed or absorbed by the operator or that it will not be added to the parking fee for the parking space, or that, if added, it or any part thereof will be refunded.
No tax shall be imposed upon:
(a) Any person as to whom or any occupancy as to which it is beyond the power of the City to impose the tax herein provided;
(b) The parking fee for any occupancy of parking space in a parking facility which is paid by the deposit of a coin or coins in a parking meter owned or operated by the City and located adjacent to said parking space.
(c) The parking fee for any occupancy of parking space in a parking facility which is part of residential or hotel premises if the occupant of said parking space is a resident of, or a registered guest for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes at, said premises for a period of at least a full calendar month or 30 or more consecutive calendar days, counting portions of calendar days as full days, or the parking fee for any occupancy of parking space by a registered hotel guest for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes for a period of at least a full calendar month or 30 or more consecutive calendar days, counting portions of calendar days as full days, in a parking facility not located on the hotel premises if the parking fee is added to the room bill of the registered guest and paid by said registered guest to the hotel. For purposes of this subsection, “hotel” shall have the same meaning as is provided in Subsection (b) of Section 21.7.2 of this chapter. Any occupant described in this subsection shall not be deemed exempt until the period of at least a full calendar month or 30 consecutive calendar days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a period of occupancy of at least a full calendar month or 30 or more consecutive calendar days. (Added by Ord. No. 166,309, Eff. 11/16/90, Oper. 8/1/90.)
(d) The parking fee for occupancy by a local resident of parking space in any parking facility, which space, as a condition of a City permit, is dedicated for occupancy exclusively by local residents. (Added by Ord. No. 168,618, Eff. 4/4/93, Oper. 6/1/93.)
(e) The parking fee for the occupancy of parking space in a parking facility by any new unregistered motor vehicle subsequent to its importation into the United States or prior to its exportation from the United States. No person shall be entitled to a refund for any tax year prior to 2002 due to the application of the exemption set forth herein. (Added by Ord. No. 174,373, Eff. 1/26/02.)
(f) The parking fee for occupancy by a mobile food facility stored at or within a commissary as required by California Health and Safety Code Section 114295. (Added by Ord. No. 182,291, Eff. 12/12/12.)
(Amended by Ord. No. 182,283, Eff. 11/19/12.)
(a) Prior to commencing business, or within 15 days after the effective date of this Section, whichever is later, each operator of any parking facility providing parking space to occupants and not exempted by Section 21.15.5 shall register each parking facility with the Director of Finance and obtain a "Parking Occupancy Registration Certificate" (PORC) which shall be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the certificate for any unattended parking facility may be maintained at any other business location of the operator. Said certificate shall among other things state the following:
1. The name of the operator;
2. The address of the parking facility;
3. The date upon which the certificate was issued; and
4. “This Parking Occupancy Registration Certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of Article 1.15 of Chapter II of the Los Angeles Municipal Code by registering with the Director of Finance for the purpose of collecting from parking space occupants the Parking Occupancy Tax and remitting said tax to the Director of Finance. This certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any unlawful business or to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a parking facility without strictly complying with all local applicable laws, including but not limited to those requiring a permit from any board, commission, department or office of this City.”
The PORC will expire on a date certain set by the Director of Finance. The operator must apply for renewal of the PORC before it expires if the operator intends to continue to engage in business in the City. Except as provided below, the Director of Finance may renew a PORC annually without issuing a new PORC.
The PORC may not be assigned or transferred. The operator shall immediately surrender to the Director of Finance the PORC for that location upon the operator’s cessation of business at that location or upon the sale or transfer of the business.
The PORC shall not be issued until the operator has obtained and filed a bond in accordance with subsection (d) below.
(b) The holder of the PORC shall remain presumptively liable for the collection of the Parking Occupancy Tax at the location named in the certificate, and for the reporting and remittance of such taxes to the Director of Finance as set forth in Section 21.15.4 unless and until the holder of the PORC both: (i) notifies the Director of Finance in writing that the holder has ceased to conduct a parking business at such location and pays all Parking Occupancy Taxes then due to the City; and (ii) surrenders the PORC for that location to the Director of Finance.
(c) The Director of Finance may refuse to issue, or may revoke, the PORC at any time if the Director of Finance determines that the operator, or any signatory to the application, or any person holding a legal or beneficial interest, whether direct or indirect, actual or constructive, in said operator (“Beneficial Owner”) is not in compliance with any provision of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, including without limitation any provision relating to the payment of Business Taxes or Parking Occupancy Taxes (including the bond requirement as set forth below) for any other location or business.
Solely for purposes of determining under this Section whether any such operator, signatory, or Beneficial Owner is not in compliance with any provision of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, the Director of Finance may disregard any corporation or association or other entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any such operator, signatory, or Beneficial Owner and consider such corporation, association, or other entity’s operations and liabilities as conducted by or as owned by any one or more of such corporation, association, or other entity’s officers, directors, partners, members, or owners. For purposes of this Section, (i) the term “owned” means ownership of 50 percent (50%) or more of the outstanding ownership interests in such corporation, association, or other entity; and (ii) the term “controlled” includes any kind of control, whether direct or indirect, actual or constructive, whether legally enforceable and however exercisable or exercised over such corporation, association, or other entity. A presumption of control arises if the operator, signatory, or Beneficial Owner is (or was at any relevant time) an officer, director, partner, or member of such corporation, association, or entity.
(d) Bond Requirement.
1. Effective January 1, 2013, auto park operators will be required to file a bond with the Office of Finance, naming the City of Los Angeles as exclusive beneficiary, at all times the operator engages in such business. The bond shall be in the following amounts:
If the annual gross receipts for the parking facility, or the estimated annual gross receipts for a new parking facility, are: | Then the bond amount shall be: |
Less than $50,000 | $5,000 |
$50,000 - $100,000 | $10,000 |
$100,000.01 - $150,000 | $15,000 |
$150,000.01 - $200,000 | $20,000 |
$200,000.01 - $250,000 | $25,000 |
$250,000.01 - $300,000 | $30,000 |
$300,000.01 - $350,000 | $35,000 |
$350,000.01 - $400,000 | $40,000 |
$400,000.01 - $450,000 | $45,000 |
$450,000.01 - $500,000 | $50,000 |
$500,000.01 - $600,000 | $60,000 |
$600,000.01 - $700,000 | $70,000 |
$700,000.01 - $800,000 | $80,000 |
$800,000.01 - $900,000 | $90,000 |
$900,000.01 - $1,000,000 | $100,000 |
$1,000,000.01 - $1,250,000 | $125,000 |
$1,250,000.01 - $1,500,000 | $150,000 |
$1,500,000.01 - $1,750,000 | $175,000 |
$1,750,001.01 - $2,000,000 | $200,000 |
$2,000,000.01 - $2,250,000 | $225,000 |
$2,250,000.01 - $2,500,000 | $250,000 |
$2,500,000.01 - $3,000,000 | $300,000 |
$3,000,000.01 - $3,500,000 | $350,000 |
$3,500,000.01 - $4,000,000 | $400,000 |
$4,000,000.01 - $4,500,000 | $450,000 |
$4,500,000.01 - $5,000,000 | $500,000 |
$5,000,000.01 - $6,000,000 | $600,000 |
Greater than $6,000,000.01 | $700,000 |
2. A bond, in the applicable amount as prescribed above, must be filed no later than February 28, 2013, for each parking facility conducted by an operator prior to January 1, 2013. For every parking facility commencing business on or after January 1, 2013, each operator must file the applicable bond no later than the close of business on the last day of the month following the month in which the operator commences operation of the parking facility.
3. The Director of Finance, or the Director’s designee, may independently establish the annual gross receipts for a parking facility and set the bond amount pursuant to the above schedule, based on that determination. If, at the end of the calendar year, the gross receipts for a parking facility have increased to at least five percent above the amount that would be required for the next larger bond under the above schedule, the operator, as defined herein, shall obtain a new bond in the increased amount by the following February month-end. If at the end of any calendar year the gross receipts for the parking facility have decreased by at least five percent below the amount that would be required for the next smaller bond under the above schedule, the operator may apply to the Office of Finance for a reduction of the bond amount.
4. This bond requirement does not apply to an operator that is a governmental entity or an Official Police Garage as defined by Section 80.77.4 of Chapter VIII of this Code. However, this bond requirement is applicable to a non-governmental applicant operating a parking facility on behalf of a governmental entity. (Amended by Ord. No. 182,961, Eff. 5/16/14.)
5. This bond requirement is applicable for each parking facility conducted by the operator, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, valet or other service supplier or any other capacity.
6. The bond shall be executed by the operator as principal, and by a corporation or association which is licensed by the Insurance Commissioner of the State of California to transact the business of fidelity and surety insurance, as surety. The operator shall keep the bond in full force and effect for the duration of the PORC and all renewals thereof issued to such operator. If the bond provides that the term thereof shall be continuous until canceled, the operator shall provide the Director of Finance, or the Director’s designee, with certification from the surety of the renewal or continuation of the bond at the same time that the applicant files its annual renewal of its PORC.
7. The bond shall contain conditions that require the operator to comply fully with all the provisions of Articles 1 and 1.15 of Chapter 2 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. The bond shall be payable to the City of Los Angeles in the amount of all unpaid Parking Occupancy Taxes on amounts of taxable parking fees collected by the applicant or operator, together with all administrative collection costs, interest, penalties, and other costs and charges applicable thereto; provided however, the aggregate liability of the surety for any and all claims which may arise under such bond shall in no event exceed the face amount of such bond regardless of the amount due and owing to the City of Los Angeles. The City may bring an action upon the bond for recovery of any unpaid Parking Occupancy Taxes, administrative collection costs, interest, penalties and other costs and charges at any time prior to the expiration of the period of limitations applicable to the collection of such unpaid taxes by the Director of Finance or the Director’s designee.
8. The surety may cancel the bond(s) at any time by filing with the Principal, thirty (30) days written notice of its desire to be relieved of liability with mandatory copy sent to the Office of Finance. The surety shall not be discharged from any liability already accrued under the bond(s), or which shall accrue before the expiration of the thirty (30) day period.
9. The operator and the surety have the express duty to notify the Office of Finance no later than thirty (30) days prior to the termination of a bond agreement.
10. When there is an assessment of Parking Occupancy Taxes against an operator, the Director of Finance, or the Director’s designee, shall issue the assessment against the operator, and the operator’s surety. The liability of the surety shall not exceed the face value of the bond(s). The Director of Finance, or the Director’s designee, shall provide notice of such assessment to the operator and the surety. An operator’s request for an administrative hearing shall be construed by the Director of Finance, or the Director’s designee, as a request on behalf of both the operator and the surety. The surety may request an administrative hearing pursuant to LAMC Section 21.15.10. The taxpayer and surety hearing may be consolidated at the discretion of the Director of Finance. Upon the exhaustion of the administrative appeals process, the operator and the surety shall be liable to the City of Los Angeles in the amount of the determination or decision reached by the Assessment Review Officer or by the Board of Review. In the event that the amount of the determination exceeds the amount of the bond(s), the surety shall be liability for the amount of the bond(s) and the operator shall remain liable for the full determination. If neither the operator nor the surety request an administrative hearing, the operator and the surety shall be liable to the City of Los Angeles in the amount of the assessment, provided that the surety’s liability shall not exceed the face amount of the bond.
The surety shall be subject to the same requirements as the operator with regard to payment of the tax liability and exhaustion of administrative remedies prior to seeking judicial relief. The Director of Finance may exercise all remedies against the surety that are available to the Director of Finance as to an operator or any other person determined to be liable for a tax.
11. Interest and penalty shall continue to accrue on all unpaid Parking Occupancy Taxes that are determined to be owed and due at the exhaustion of the administrative appeals process.
12. An operator that fails to qualify for the issuance of a bond by a surety will be required to establish a deposit account in favor of the City of Los Angeles in the amount of fifty percent of the prescribed bond amount for each parking facility conducted by the operator. The same time periods prescribed for the filing of a bond with the Office of Finance will be applicable for the establishment of such deposit account.
13. Funds placed into an applicant’s or operator’s deposit account in favor of the City of Los Angeles are subject to collection by the Office of Finance as partial or full satisfaction for delinquent Parking Occupancy Taxes as determined at the exhaustion of the administrative appeals process.
14. An operator that either fails to renew a bond or has received thirty (30) day notice from the surety that the bond will be canceled must file a new bond or evidence of a deposit account with the Office of Finance no later than thirty (30) days after the bond’s termination.
15. An operator that fails to submit the bond filing(s) to the Office of Finance or fails to establish a deposit account within the prescribed time periods will also be subject to the revocation or denial of a Police Auto Park Permit.
16. Effective tax year 2017, this bond requirement does not apply to an operator that offers its daily customers the option to pay by credit cards widely used by or generally available to the public, provided the operator continues to report timely and accurately and provides access to electronic records of credit card transactions to the Office of Finance. (Added by Ord. No. 184,483, Eff. 10/24/16.)
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