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HOTEL OPERATOR’S TAX
This subchapter shall be known as the city hotel or motel room rental use or privilege tax and the tax herein imposed shall be in addition to all other occupation, use, privilege, or other taxes imposed by the city, by any other political subdivision of the state or by the state.
(1980 Code, § 17.201) (Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019)
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
FACILITATOR. Any person or entity who provides a means through which a person may book a hotel room and/or transient occupancy rental unit to lessees, regardless of whether payment is transferred through or processed by such facilitator. Facilitators are considered lessors, as used herein. Online travel companies are considered facilitators, as used herein.
GROSS RENT. The total amount of consideration for occupancy, valued in money, whether received in money or likewise, including all receipts, cash, credits, and property or services of any kind or nature, including but not limited to, amounts charged for the making, booking, facilitating, or servicing of reservations. GROSS RENT means both (a) the "net rate" paid to the hotel or motel by a facilitator for room occupancy by the consumer; and (b) the amount retained by the facilitator for travel-related services provided to the consumer (sometimes referred to as a "facilitation fee"), and any additional amounts retained by the facilitator as compensation for its services to the consumer for the individual transaction, or, in the instance of a consumer's direct rental of a room with the hotel or motel, gross rent shall mean the amount charged by the hotel or motel directly to the consumer for the occupancy of the room.
HOTEL or MOTEL. A structure kept, used or maintained as or advertised or held out to the public to be an inn, motel, hotel, apartment-hotel, apartment, home, lodging house, dormitory or place where sleeping, rooming, office, conference or exhibition accommodations are furnished for lease or rent, whether with or without meals. For avoidance of doubt, “transient occupancy rental units” are HOTELS under this definition.
HOTEL ROOM or MOTEL ROOM. A room within a structure kept, used or maintained as or advertised or held out to the public to be an inn, motel, hotel, apartment-hotel, lodging house, dormitory or place where sleeping, rooming, office, conference or exhibition accommodations are furnished for lease or rent, with or without meals. One room offered for rental, with or without an adjoining bath, shall be considered as a SINGLE HOTEL OR MOTEL ROOM. The number of hotel or motel rooms within a suite shall be computed on the basis of those rooms utilized for the purpose of sleeping.
LESSEE. Any person who pays for the privilege of occupying all or part of a hotel.
LESSOR. A person having a sufficient proprietary interest in conducting the operation of a hotel, or receiving the consideration for the rental of all or part of such hotel, so as to entitle such person to all or a portion of the net receipts thereof, including facilitators, as defined herein.
ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANY. An organization that books, reserves, or rents hotel or motel rooms and makes other travel arrangements for consumers via the World Wide Web, internet or other digital means. ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANIES are considered facilitators, as used herein.
PERSON. Any natural person, receiver, administrator, executor, conservator, assignee, trust in perpetuity, trust, estate, firm, co-partnership, joint venture, club, company, business trust, domestic or foreign corporation, association, syndicate, society of any group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, nonprofit, or otherwise, whenever the term PERSON is used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, the term as applied to associations shall mean the owners or part-owners thereof, and as applied to corporations, the offices thereof, or any other entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
PERMANENT RESIDENT. Any person who has occupied or has the right to occupy all or part of a hotel for more than 30 consecutive days.
TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY RENTAL UNIT. A dwelling unit or a habitable unit that is offered, in whole or in part, for rent, lease or hire that is rented, leased or hired for which a lessor receives consideration from a person for a period of 30 days or less and that person has the right to use, occupy or possess all or part of the dwelling unit or habitable unit for said period.
(1980 Code, § 17.202) (Ord. 9379, passed 5-6-2019; Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019)
(A) There is hereby levied and imposed a tax of 8% of the gross rent charged for the privilege and use of renting a hotel or motel room within the city for each 24-hour period or any portion thereof for which a room charge is made: provided, however, that the tax shall not be levied and imposed upon a person who works and lives in the same hotel or motel.
(B) Accommodations within said buildings or structures which are leased to the same occupant for a period of more than 30 consecutive days shall be exempt from the tax provisions of this subchapter.
(C) Lessors renting, leasing, or letting hotel rooms with the city are required to collect the hotel use tax; however, the ultimate incidence of any liability for payment of the tax is to be borne by the lessee.
(D) The hotel use tax shall be paid in addition to any and all other taxes and charges.
(E) It shall be the duty of the lessor of every hotel within the city to separately state such tax at the 8% rate upon the total amount of compensation charged for the use of the hotel. The lessor shall also state separately the amount of tax on the invoice for the transaction that will be tendered to the lessee.
(F) It shall be the duty of every lessor of every hotel within the city to collect the tax from the lessee at the time the lessee pays for the privilege of occupying all or part of a hotel transient occupancy rental unit, and to remit to the City Treasurer the tax under procedures provided for in this chapter or as otherwise prescribed by the city. If more than one person is the lessor as related to a particular transaction, the lessors are jointly and severally responsible for collecting and remitting the tax.
(G) It shall not be a defense to this subchapter that the lessor is not licensed by the city to rent hotels and the lessor will still be required to remit the proper tax to the city and obtain the necessary license(s).
(1980 Code, § 17.203) (Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019) Penalty, see § 45.999
The City Treasurer may promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter concerning enforcement and application of this subchapter. The term RULES AND REGULATIONS includes, but is not limited to case-by-case determination of whether or not the tax imposed by this subchapter applies.
(1980 Code, § 17.204) (Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019)
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to establish, operate or maintain, or permit to be established, operated or maintained upon any property owned or controlled by the person a hotel or motel within the city without having first obtained a license/certificate of registration therefore from the City Treasurer or without complying with all provisions of this subchapter.
(B) No license/certificate of registration shall be issued or annually renewed for a hotel or motel delinquent in payment of the use and privilege tax or the payment of any fines and/or penalties assessed for the nonpayment or late payment thereof.
(C) The license/certificate of registration shall be valid for one year.
(1980 Code, § 17.205) (Ord. 9379, passed 5-6-2019; Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019) Penalty, see § 45.999
The City Comptroller, or any person certified as his or her deputy or representative, may enter the premises of any hotel or motel for inspection and examination of books and records in order to effectuate the proper administration of this subchapter and to assure the enforcement of the collection of the tax imposed. It shall be unlawful for any person to prevent, hinder, or interfere with the City Comptroller or his or her duly authorized deputy or representative in the discharge of his or her duties and the performance of this subchapter. It shall be the duty of every lessor to keep accurate and complete books and records to which the City Comptroller or his or her deputy or authorized representative shall at all times have access, which records shall include a daily sheet showing:
(A) The number of hotel or motel rooms rented during the 24-hour period, including multiple rentals of the same hotel rooms where such still occur; and
(B) The actual hotel or motel tax receipts collected on the date in question.
(1980 Code, § 17.206) (Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019) Penalty, see § 45.999
(A) The lessor of each hotel within the city shall file tax returns and remit collected taxes to the City Treasurer Office showing tax receipts received with respect to each hotel during each monthly period commencing on December 1, 1999, and continuing on the first day of every month thereafter on forms prescribed by the city. The return shall be due on or before the last day of the calendar month succeeding the end of the monthly filing period. Each lessor shall file an application with the City Treasurer's Department for a city taxpayer identification number prior to filing the first tax return.
(B) The first taxing period for the purpose of this subchapter shall commence on December 1, 1999; and the tax return and payment for the period shall be due on or before January 31, 2000. Thereafter, reporting periods and tax payments shall be in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. At the time of filing the tax returns, the owner shall pay to the City Treasurer all taxes due for the period to which the tax return applies.
(1980 Code, § 17.207) (Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019)
(
A) Any notice, payment, remittance or other filing required to be made to the city for the tax imposed by this subchapter shall be considered late unless it is:
(1) Received by the City Treasurer on or before the due date imposed by this subchapter; or
(2) Received via a method consistent with the current established standards of filing and payment determined by the city.
(B) In the event a determination has been made that a tax is due and owing, through audit, assessment or other bill sent, the tax must be paid within the time frame otherwise indicated.
(C) Interest. The city hereby provides for the amount of interest to be assessed on a late payment, underpayment or non-payment of the tax, to be 2% per annum, based on a year of 365 days and the number of days elapsed.
(D) Late filing and payment penalties.
(1) If a tax return is not filed within the time and manner provided by the controlling tax ordinance, a late filing penalty of 5% of the amount of tax required to be shown as due on a return shall be imposed; and a late payment penalty of 2% of the tax due shall be imposed.
(2) If no return is filed within the time or manner provided by the controlling tax ordinance and prior to the city issuing a notice of tax delinquency or notice of tax liability, then a failure to file penalty shall be assessed equal to 7% of the total tax due for the applicable reporting period for which the return was required to be filed.
(3) A late filing or payment penalty shall not apply if a failure to file penalty is imposed by the controlling ordinance.
(Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019)
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