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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 030 ORDINANCE NO. 30 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF A.TASCADERO CREATING CHAPTER 1 TO TITLE 3 OF THE ATASCADERO MUNICIPAL CODE, ENTITLED TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX The Council of the City of Atascadero ordains as follows: Section 1. Chapter 1 of Title 3 is added to the Atascadero Municipal Code to read as follows: TITLE 3. FINANCE Chapter 1. Transient Occupancy Tax 3-1. 01. Title. This Chapter shall be known as the "Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Law of the City of Atascadero" . 3-1. 02 . Definitions. Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions given in this Section govern the construction of this Chapter: ' (a) "Hotel" means any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and ' includes any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, mobile- home or house trailer at a fixed location , or other similar ' structure or portion thereof. (b) "Occupancy means the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession of any room or rooms or portion thereof, in any hotel for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes. (c) "Operator" means the person who is proprietor of the hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, sub-lessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, or any other capacity. ' Where the operator performs his functions through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent shall also be deemed an operator for the ' purposes of this Chapter and shall have the same duties and liabilities as his principal. Compliance with the provi- sions of this Chapter by either the principal or the managing agent shall, however, be considered to be compliance by both. (d) "Rent" means the consideration charged, whether or not received, for the occupancy or space in a hotel valued in money, whether to be received in money, goods, labor or otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and pro- perty and services of any kind or nature, without any deduc- tion therefrom whatsoever. ' (e) "Tax administrator" means the City Finance Director. (g) "Transient" means any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy by reason of concession, permit, right of access , license or other agreement for a period of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days or less , counting portions of calendar days as full days. Any such person so occupying space in a hotel shall be deemed to be a transient until the period of thirty (30) days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the opera- tor and the occupant providing for a longer period of occupancy. 3-1. 03. Tax imposed. For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of six percent (60) of the rent charged by the operator. said tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the City which is extinguished only by payment to the operator or to the City. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each installment. The unpaid tax shall be due upon the transient' s ceasing to occupy space in the hotel. If for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the Tax Adminis- trator may require that such tax shall be paid directly to the Tax Administrator. 3-1. 04. Exemptions. 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) Any officer or employee of a foreign government who is exempt by reason of express provision of federal law or international treaty. No exemption shall be granted except upon a claim therefor made at the time rent is collected and under penalty of perjury upon a form prescribed by the Tax Administrator. 3-1.05. Operator' s duties. ' Each operator shall collect the tax imposed by this Chapter to the same extent and at the same time as the rent is collected from every transient. The amount of tax shall be separately stated from the amount of the rent charged, and each transient shall receive a 2 r receipt for payment from the operator. No operator of a hotel shall advertise or state in any manner, whether 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 rent, or that, if added, any part will be refunded except in the manner hereinafter ' provided. 3-1.06 . Registration. Prior to commencing business, each operator of any hotel renting occupancy to transients shall register the hotel with the Tax Adminis- trator through the means of obtaining a business license. The tax administrator will insure that the operator then receives all neces- sary forms for collection and reporting of occupancy taxes. 3-1.07. Reporting and remitting. ' Each operator shall file a Tax Return quarterly starting with the first calendar quarter during which the hotel commenced business. On a quarterly basis, each operator shall make a return to the Tax Administrator on forms provided by the Tax Administrator of the total rents charged and received and the amount of tax collected for transient occupancies. At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the Tax Administrator. Any addi- tional information which the Tax Administrator may deem necessary in order to insure collections shall be included with the return. Returns and payments are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason. All taxes collected by operators pursuant to this Chapter shall be held in trust for the account of the City until pay- ment thereof is made to the Tax Administrator. 3-1. 08. Penalities and interest. t (a) ORIGINAL DELINQUENCY. Any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this Chapter within the time required shall pay a penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount of the tax ' in addition to the amount of the tax. (b) CONTINUED DELINQUENCY. Any operator who fails to remit any delinquent remittance on or before a period of thirty (30) days following the date on which the remittance first became delinquent shall pay a second delinquency penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax and the ten percent (10%) penalty first imposed. (c) FRAUD. If the Tax Administrator determines that the non- payment of any remittance due under this Chapter is due to fraud, a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount ' of the tax shall be added thereto in addition to the penalties stated in subsections (a) and (b) . (d) INTEREST. In addition to the penalties imposed, any - 3 - t remit operator who fails n p o any tax imposed by this Chapter shall pay interest at the rate of one-half (1/2) of one percent (1%) per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until paid. ' (e) PENALTIES MERGED WITH TAX. Every penalty P enalt imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax herein required to be paid. 3-1. 09. Failure to collect and report tax. If any operator fails or refuses to collect said tax and to make, within the time provided in this Chapter, any report and re- mittance of the tax or any portion thereof required by this Chapter, the Tax Administrator shall proceed in such manner ashe may deem best to obtain facts and information on which to base his estimate of the tax due. As soon as the Tax Administrator procures such facts and information as he is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by this Chapter and payable by any operator who has failed or refused to collect the same and to make such report and remittance, he shall proceed to determine and assess against such operator the tax, interest and penalties provided for by this Chapter. In case such determination is made, the Tax Administrator shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the operator so assessed at his last known place of address. The operator may, within ten (10) days after serving or mailing of such notice, make application in writing to the Tax Administrator for a hearing before the City Manager on the ' amount assessed. If application by the operator for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax, interest and penalties, if any, determined by the Tax Administrator shall become final and conclusive and immediately due and payable. If such application is ' made, the City Manager shall give not less than five (5) days written notice in the manner prescribed herein to the operator to show cause at a time and place fixed in the notice why the amount specified therein should not be fixed for the tax, interest and penalties. At such hearing, the operator may appear and offer evidence why the specified tax, interest and penalties should not be so fixed. After the hearing, the City Manager shall determine the proper tax to be remitted and shall thereafter give written notice to the person in the manner prescribed herein of such determination and the amount of such tax, interest and penalties. The amount determined to be due shall be payable after fifteen (15) days unless an appeal is taken as provided in Section 3-1. 10. 3-1. 10. Appeal. Any operator aggrieved by any decision of the City Manager with respect to the amount of the tax, interest and penalties , if any, - 4 - r rmay appeal to the City Council by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk within fifteen . (15) days of the serving or mailing of the determination of tax due. The City Council shall fix a time and place for hearing the appeal, and the City Clerk shall give notice in writing to such operator at his last known place of ad- dress. The findings of the City Council shall be final and conclusive and shall be served upon the appellant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing. Any amount found to be due shall be immediately due and payable upon the service of notice. r3-1. 11. Records. ' It shall be the duty of every operator liable for the collection and payment to the City of any tax imposed by this Chapter to keep and preserve, for a period of three (3) years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he may have been liable for the collection of and payment to the City, which records the Tax Administrator shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times . r3-1. 12. Refunds (a) Whenever the amount of any tax, interest or penalty has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City under this Chapter, it may be refunded as provided in subsections (b) and (c) provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the Tax Administrator with- in three (3) years ofthedate of payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the Tax Administrator. (b) An operator may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received when it is established in a manner prescribed by the Tax Administrator that the person from whom the tax has been collected was not a transient; provided, however, that neither a refund nor a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been refunded to the transient or credited to rent subsequently payable by the transient to the operator. (c) A transient may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City by filing a claim in the manner pro- vided in subsection (2) , but only when the tax was paid by the transient directly to the Tax Administrator, or when the transient, having paid the tax to the operator, establishes to the satisfaction of the Tax Administrator that the transient has been unable to obtain a refund from the operator who collected the tax. (d) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this sec- tion unless the claimant establishes his right thereto by 1 _ 5 _ 0 0 written records showing entitlement thereto. ' 3-1. 13. Actions to collect. Any tax required to be paid by any transient under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the transient to the City. Any such tax collected by ,an operator which has not been paid to the City shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the City. Any person owing money to the City under the provisions of this Chapter shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount. 3-1. 14. Violations —Misdemeanor. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any operator or other person who fails or refuses to register as required herein, or to furnish any return required to be made, or who fails or re- fuses to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the Tax Administrator, or who renders a false or fraudulent return or claim, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is punishable as aforesaid. Any person required to make, render, sign or verify any report or claim who makes any false or fraudulent report or claim with intent to defeat or evade the determination of any amount due required by this Chapter to be made , is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable as provided by law. Section 2. The provisions of this ordinance are intended to supersede any provision of Ordinance No. 2 which is in conflict therewith. iSection 3. The City Clerk shall cause this ordinance to be published once within fifteen (15) days after its passage in the Atascadero News, a newspaper of general circulation, printed, pub- lished and circulated in this City in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code; shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and shall cause this ordinance and its certification to be entered into the Book of Ordinances of this City. Section 5. This ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12 : 01 a.m. on the thirty-first (31st) day after passage. The foregoing ordinance was introduced on September 22 , 1980 and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council held on October 13, 1980 6 0 • AYES: Councilmen Highland, Mackey, Nelson, Stover, and Mayor Wilkins NOES: None ABSENT: None , RO ERT J. WILK 111S, JR. , MayoIr ATTEST: MU RAY WARDEN, Cit Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Isl Allen Grimes ALLEN GRIMES, City Attorney 7 r CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of Ordinance. No. 30 passed by the Atascadero City Council at its regular Council meeting ,held on October 13, 1980 'AAY L ARDEN, City Clerk City of Atascadero, California