(A) A tax is imposed upon persons engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting rooms in a hotel at the rate of 5% of the gross rental receipts from such renting, leasing or letting, excluding, however, from gross rental receipts, the proceeds of such renting, leasing or letting to permanent residents of that hotel.
(B) The amounts collected by municipality pursuant to this subchapter shall be expended by the municipality solely to promote tourism and conventions within this municipality or otherwise to attract nonresident overnight visitors to the municipality.
(C) No funds received pursuant to this Act shall be used to advertise for or otherwise promote new competition in the hotel business.
(D) However, such tax is not imposed upon the privilege of engaging in any business in interstate commerce or otherwise, which business may not, under the Constitution and statutes of the United States, be made the subject of taxation by this city or the state. In addition, the tax is not imposed upon gross rental receipts for which the hotel operator is prohibited from obtaining reimbursement for the tax from the customer by reason of a federal treaty.
(E) Persons subject to any tax imposed pursuant to authority granted by this section may reimburse themselves for their tax liability for such tax by separately stating such tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with state tax imposed under the Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Act, being 35 ILCS 145/1 et seq.
(Ord. 95-5, passed 12-6-1995)