(A) Levy of tax; rate; exceptions.
(1) There is hereby levied a tax upon the occupancy of any room or space furnished by any hotel or motel where the cost of occupancy is at the rate of $8 or more per day; the tax to be equal to 4% of the consideration paid by the occupant of the room or space to the hotel or motel.
(2) No tax shall be imposed hereunder upon a permanent resident.
(3) No tax shall be imposed hereunder upon a corporation or association organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes, in which no part of the net earnings inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CONSIDERATION. The cost of the room in the hotel, and shall not include the costs of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant of the room, nor to the cleaning and readying of the room for occupancy, and shall not include any tax assessed for occupancy thereof by any other governmental agency.
HOTEL. Any building or buildings, trailer, or other facility in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term shall include hotels; motels; tourist homes, houses, or courts; lodging houses; inns; rooming houses; trailer houses; or any other buildings where more than four rooms are furnished for a cash consideration, but HOTEL shall not be defined so as to include hospitals, sanitariums, or nursing homes.
OCCUPANCY. The use or possession, or the rights to the use or possession, of any room or rooms in a hotel for any purposes.
OCCUPANT. Anyone who, for a consideration, uses, possesses, or has a right to use or possess any room or rooms in a hotel under any lease, concession, permit, right of access, license contract, or agreement.
PERMANENT RESIDENT. Any occupant who has or shall have the right to occupancy of any room or rooms in a hotel for at least 30 consecutive days during the current calendar year or preceding year.
PERSONS. Any individual, company, corporation, or association owning, operating, managing, or controlling any hotel.
TAX ASSESSOR-COLLECTOR. The Tax Assessor-Collector of the City of Willis, Texas.
(C) Collection. Every person owning, operating, managing, or controlling any motel or hotel within the city shall collect the tax imposed in division (A) above for the city.
(D) Reports. On the last day of each month, every person required in division (C) above to collect the tax imposed herein shall file a report with the City Tax Assessor-Collector showing the consideration paid for all room occupancies in the preceding month, the amount of tax collected on the occupancies, and any other information as the Tax Assessor-Collector may reasonably require. The person shall pay the tax due on the occupancies at the time of filing the report, and proper receipt will be issued by the city.
(E) Rules and regulations. The City Tax Assessor-Collector, and his or her deputies and agents, shall have the power to make any rules and regulations as are necessary to effectively collect the tax levied herein, and shall, upon reasonable notice, have access to books and records necessary to enable him or her to determine the correctness of any report filed as required by this section and the amount of taxes due under the provisions of this section.
(F) Agency for administration. The Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into contract with an agency outside of the city government to administer the funds made available under this section for the purpose of expending the fund pursuant to the purpose therein set out.
(G) Violations.
(1) Any person who fails to remit the tax or violates the reporting provisions imposed by this section within the time required shall forfeit an additional 5% of the tax. Additionally, taxes not paid within the time required by this section shall not be considered delinquent, and the delinquent taxes shall draw interest at the rate of 6% per annum if same remain unpaid after the date due, and may be collected through any court at law.
(2) Any person who willfully fails or refuses to pay, when due, the tax imposed under the provisions of this section, or who shall fail or refuse to make any report due under the terms of this section or shall file a false report, shall, upon conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and each and every day of violation is a separate offense.
(Ord. 88-816, passed 8-16-1988)