§ 5-7. Hotel/motel occupancy tax.
(a)
Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases are defined as follows:
(1)
Hotel: Any building or buildings in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations, including hotels, motels, tourist homes, houses or courts, lodging houses, inns, rooming houses, or other buildings where rooms are furnished for a consideration, excluding hospitals, sanitariums and/or nursing homes.
(2)
Consideration: The cost of a room in a hotel that is ordinarily used for sleeping but not including the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant of such room not related to the cleaning and readying of such room for occupancy.
(3)
Occupancy: The use or possession, or the right to the use or possession of any room or rooms in a hotel if the room is one which is ordinarily used for sleeping and if the occupant is not a permanent resident as hereinafter defined.
(4)
Occupant: Anyone who, for a consideration, uses, possesses, or has the right to use or possess any room or rooms in a hotel under any lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract or agreement, other than a permanent resident as hereinafter defined.
(5)
Person: Any individual, company, corporation or association owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel.
(6)
Monthly period: The regular calendar months of the year.
(7)
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 calendar year or preceding year.
(b)
Tax levied; amount; exemptions. There is hereby levied a tax of seven percent of the price paid for a room in a hotel on every person who, under a lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract, or agreement, pays for the use of possession or for the right to the use or possession of a room that is in a hotel, costs $2.00 or more per day, and is ordinarily used for sleeping. The price of a room in a hotel does not include the cost of food served by the hotel and the cost of personal services performed by the hotel for the person except those services related to the cleaning and readying of the room for possession.
Exceptions are as follows:
(1)
No tax shall be imposed upon a permanent resident.
(2)
No tax shall be imposed upon federal or state employees traveling on official business.
(3)
No tax shall be imposed upon diplomatic personnel who present a tax exemption card duly issued by the United States Department of State.
(4)
No tax shall be imposed upon federal or state military personnel traveling on official military business. This exemption does not include military staff on leave or between stations.
(c)
Collection of tax. Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel shall collect the tax levied by this section for the City of Terrell.
The hotel operator shall be entitled to one percent of the hotel occupancy tax revenues collected as reimbursement for the operator's administrative costs for collecting the tax. However, as provided below, this reimbursement may be forfeited at the direction of the city if the hotel operator fails, for any reason, to timely pay over the tax, to timely file a report as required by the city, or to file a false report with the city.
(d)
Monthly reports to city secretary. On the twentieth day of the month, every person required to collect the tax imposed hereby shall file a report with the city secretary of taxes collected showing the price paid for all room occupancies in the preceding month, the amount of tax collected on such occupancies, and any other information the city secretary may reasonably require. Such person shall pay the tax due on such occupancies at the time of filing such report. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the city secretary. The city secretary is hereby authorized and directed to take all actions necessary to carry out the terms of this section. The city secretary shall have the authority to request and receive within a reasonable time documentation for information contained in the report to the city by the hotel. The hotel operator shall also furnish a copy of the quarterly tax report filed by the hotel with the state comptroller regarding the state hotel occupancy tax.
(e)
Power of the city secretary; access to books and records. The city secretary shall have the power to make such rules and regulations as are reasonable and necessary to effectively collect the tax levied hereby and shall, upon reasonable notice, have access to books and records necessary to enable him to determine the correctness of any report filed under the provisions of this ordinances including, but not limited to, the amount of taxes due to the City of Terrell.
(f)
Penalties. If any person should fail to file a tax report as required herein or should file a false report or fail to pay the tax when due to the city, said person shall be liable to the city for its reasonable attorney's fees and penalty equal to 15 percent of the total amount of the tax owed. Delinquent taxes shall draw interest at the rate of ten percent per annum beginning 60 days from the date due.
Any person violating any provision of this article, including, but not limited to, hotel operators who fail to collect the tax, fail to file a report, file a false report, or who are delinquent in their tax payment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon convection, be fined in any sum not to exceed $500.00. Each 24-hour period of any such violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(g)
Additional penalties. The city is hereby authorized to take any or all of the following actions against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and pay said collection over to the city and/or has failed to file a report, filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due:
(1)
Require the forfeiture of any revenue the city allowed the hotel operator to retain for its cost of collecting the tax;
(2)
Bring suit against the hotel for noncompliance; and/or
(3)
Bring suit against the hotel seeking any other remedies provided under Texas law.
(h)
Additional authorization to bring suit. The city attorney is hereby authorized to bring suit against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby, is required to pay said collection over to the city and who has filed to file a report, filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due. Such suit may seek to collect such tax not paid or to enjoin such person from operating a hotel in the city until the tax is paid or the report is filed or both, as applicable and as provided in the injunction.
(i)
Use of revenue derived from levy of hotel occupancy tax. The revenue derived from any hotel occupancy tax imposed and levied by this section may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry with such use being limited to the following:
(1)
The acquisition of sites for and the construction, improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and maintenance of convention center facilities (as such is defined in V.A.T.S. Tax Code, Section 351.001);
(2)
The furnishing of facilities, personnel, and materials for the registration of convention delegates or registrants;
(3)
Advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates or registrants to the municipality or its vicinity;
(4)
The encouragement, promotion, improvement, and application of the arts including, but not limited to, instrumental and vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and creative arts, motion pictures, radio, television, tape and sound recording, and other arts related to the presentation, performance, execution and exhibition of these major art forms; and
(5)
Historical restoration and preservation projects or activities or advertising and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to encourage tourists and convention delegates to visit preserved historic sites or museums:
a.
Which are at or in the immediate vicinity of convention center facilities; or
b.
Which are located elsewhere in the municipality or its vicinity that would be frequented by tourists, convention delegates, or other visitors to the municipality.
Revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax shall be expended only in a manner which directly enhances and promotes tourism and the convention and hotel industry as herein before delineated. Such revenue shall not be used for general revenue purposes or for general governmental operations of the municipality which are not directly related to promoting the hotel and convention industry or tourism in the municipality.
(j)
Budget and allocation of funds.
(1)
The Terrell City Council shall determine the maximum amount and/or percentage of funds to be expended during the next fiscal year.
(2)
Each person or organization requesting consideration of funds shall submit a written proposal to the city secretary containing as a minimum the following:
a.
The purpose for which the funds are requested. This purpose may be an event (e.g., Heritage Jubilee), project (e.g., restoration of the Robert Terrell house), or program (e.g., operation of monthly historical tour) or other purpose under V.A.T.S. Tax Code, Subsection (a), Section 351.101,
b.
A statement setting forth how the expenditure will directly enhance and promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry as outlined in V.A.T.S. Tax Code, Subsection (a), Section 351.101.
c.
A detailed budget proposal showing a statement of their expected costs.
(3)
Within 60 days the city secretary shall forward to the Terrell City Council a copy of all requests for funds which have been submitted under the provisions of subsection (2) above together with any and all written recommendations for expenditures. The Terrell City Council will, following an evaluation of all applicable requests and recommendations, approve a final budget for the expenditure of funds collected through the hotel occupancy tax for that year.
(Ord. No. 1745, §§ 1—11, 6-21-94; Ord. No. 2431, §§ 1—10, 10-1-09; Ord. No 2474, 1-18-11)