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19770503 1977-16ORDINANCE No. 1977-16 AN ORDINANCE ADDING A NEW ARTICLE TO CHAPTER 7 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, PROVIDING FOR A TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX WITHIN THE CITY. BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, that Chapter 7 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, be, and hereby is, amended by adding thereto a new article, Article IX, to read in its entirety as follows: ARTICLE IX. TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX Sec. 7-47 .~.~finitions For the purposes of this Article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: a. "Commissioner of Revenue" shall mean the Commissioner of Revenue of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, or any of his duly authorized deputies, agents or employees. b. "Hotel" shall mean any public or private hotel, inn, apartment hotel, hostelry, motel, or other lodging place within the City of Fairfax offering lodging for four (4) or more persons at any one time. c. "Hotel Owner and Operator" shall mean the owner and operator of any hotel, who, for compensation, furnishes lodging to any transients as hereinafter defined; provided, however, that if the hotel owner and operator as heretofore defined are not the same person, the phrase "hotel owner and operator" shall include both the hotel owner and the hotel operator, each of whom shall be jointly and severally responsible for the duties imposed by the provisions of this Article and for the penalties provided for any violation of the provisions of this Article. 1977-16 -2 d. "Person" shall mean and include individuals, firms partnerships, associations, corporations, persons acting in repre- sentative capacity for others, and combinations of the aforesaid of whatever form or character. e. "Room Rental" shall mean the total charge exclusive of federal, state or other local taxes thereon made by any hotel aforesaid for lodging or space, both inclusive of each other, furnished any transient. f. "Transient" means any person who, for any period of time of not more than thirty consecutive days, either at his own expense or at the expense of another, obtains lodging or the use of any space in any hotel as hereinabove defined, for which lodgin or use of space a charge is made by such hotel. Sec. 7-48 Levy and Rate In addition to all other taxes of every kind now or hereafter imposed by law, there is hereby imposed and levied on every hotel owner and operator, jointly and severally, a tax equivalent to two per cent (2%) of the charge or amount paid for total room rental by or for any transient to any hotel, less and except any charges for services or accommodations other than lodging or the use of space. This rate of tax may hereafter be continued, increased or decreased as provided by law. Sec. 7,49 Exemptions from Tax No tax shall be payable hereunder on room rental charged by or paid to any hospital, medical clinic, convalescent home, mental institution, home for the aged or home for those infirm in mind or body. Sec. 7-50 Collection of Tax Any person receiving any' payment for room rental with respect to which a tax is levied under this Article shall collect the amount of tax hereby imposed from the person paying for such ~room 1977-16 -3 rental at the time payment for such room rental is made, and shall remit the same to the hotel owner and operator to be held pursuanl to Section 7-51 hereof. Every hotel owner and operator shall r~uire any person receiving any payment for room rental with respect to which a tax is levied under this Article to collect and remit the amount of tax hereby imposed in accordance with the provisions of this Article. Sec. 7-51 Reporting and Payment of Tax Every hotel owner and operator receiving any transient occu- pancy tax remitted pursuant to section 7-50 hereof shall hold the same in escrow for the City of Fairfax and shall prepare a report thereon upon such forms and setting forth such information as the Commissioner of Revenue shall prescribe and require. Such reports shall show, among other things, the amount of room rental charges collected and the tax required to be collected; and the aforesaid reports shall be signed and delivered timely to the Commissioner of Revenue together with a remittance of the total tax covered thereby payable to the City of Fairfax. The aforesaid reports and remittances shall be made and ten- dered on or before the twentieth (20th) day of January, April, July and October in each calendar year; and they shall cover the amount of taxes collected during the immediately preceding quarte~ The first report must be filed and the tax thereon paid not later than October 20, 1977, for the quarter ending September 30, 1977. Suceeding reports must be filed quarterly thereafter as aforesaid. Sec. 7-52 Civil Penalties and Interest, as Applicable If any hotel owner and operator shall fail to remit to the City of Fairfax the taxes required to be collected and paid under this Article or to submit to the Commissioner of Revenue the report required to be made under this Article, there shall be added to such tax otherwise imposed by the Commissioner of 1977-16 -4 Revenue a penalty of ten per cent (10%), and if the tax payment or report thereon shall remain delinquent for a period of one month from their due date, there shall be added thereto by the Commissioner of Revenue interest at the rate of two-thirds of one per cent (2/3%) per month upon the tax and penalty otherwise imposed for each month or portion thereof from the date upon which the tax became delinquent as provided in this Article. If any person shall fail or refuse to collect the tax require to be collected at the time and in the amount specified in this Article, then the incidence of such tax together with such penalties and interest as may apply shall fall and be imposed upon such person. Sec. 7-53 Determination of Tax Due by Commissioner of Revenue If any person, including any hotel owner and operator, re- quired to collect and/or remit the tax imposed by this Article fails to file a report or a remittance as specified, or if the Commissioner of Revenue has reasonable cause to believe that an erroneous report has been filed or an incorrect remittance tendere the Commissioner of Revenue may proceed within his statutory authority under law to determine the amount of tax and applicable penalities and interest, if any, due to the City and to make an assessment of same against such person. Such assessment shall be a liability against such person the same as though it had been made as otherwise required, and such assessment shall be accorded the full force of law, subject only to those rights of adminis- trative and judicial appeal as are otherwise reserved by law to such person. Sec. 7-54 Cessation of Business: Report and Tax Due Immediately Whenever any hotel shall quit or otherwise terminate or dispose of its business, any amount otherwise due under the provisions of this Article shall become due immediately upon such occasion, and any person, including any hotel owner and operator, required to collect and/or pay to the City of Fairfax any amount due under the provisions of this Article shall submit the repor-t 1977-16 -5 and pay the tax due thereon immediately, rather than as otherwise required by this Article. Sec. 7-55 Commissioner of Revenue, Other Powers and Duties Within his power and ability to do so, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Revenue to ascertain the name and address of every person liable for the collection and/or payment of the taxes levied by this Article and to assess such taxes thereon; but this duty shall in no manner diminish the obligation of such person to file the report and pay the tax thereon without being called upon to do so by the Commissioner of Revenue. The Commissioner of Revenue shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance of the taxes, penalties and interest herein levied; and such rules and regulations shall be accorded the full force of law. A copy of such rules and regu- lations as may be adopted by the Commissioner of Revenue in accordance with the provisions of this section and as may be revised from time to time shall be on file and available for public examination in the office of the Commissioner of Revenue. After having been notified and apprised of same in a manner acceptable under law, the failure or refusal of any person required to comply with any rules or regulations promulgated under this Section shall be deemed a violation of this Article. Sec. 7-56 Criminal Penalty Any person intentionally violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Each such violation or failure shall constitute a separtate offense. Any such conviction shall not relieve any such person from the payment, collection or remittance of such tax, civil penalties and interest as is otherwise provided and imposed by this Article. 1977-16 -6 Sec. 7-57 Severability of Parts of Article If any of the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases of this Article shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the Article in its entirety or any of the remaining sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phras Sec. 7-58 Effective Date of Article This Article shall take effect on July 1, 1977. Introduced: April 19, 1977 Adopted: May 3, 1977 Attest: Ci~:C~erk