Chapter 3.50
TRANSIENT ROOM TAX
Sections:
3.50.090 Penalties and interest.
3.50.100 Deficiencies, fraud, evasion, delay.
3.50.110 Transient room tax – Redeterminations.
3.50.120 Transient room tax – Security, collection, business registration revocation.
3.50.130 Transient room tax – Lien.
3.50.140 Transient room tax – Refunds.
3.50.150 Transient room tax – Collection fee.
3.50.160 Transient room tax – Administration.
3.50.170 Transient room tax – Appeal to city administrator.
3.50.180 Transient room tax – Appeal to council.
3.50.190 Transient room tax – Business registration.
3.50.200 Transient room tax – Violations.
3.50.010 Title.
This chapter shall be known as the “transient room tax” and shall apply to all areas within the incorporated city limits of the city of Veneta. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.020 Definitions.
Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions given in this section govern this chapter.
(1) “Accrual accounting” means a system of accounting in which the operator enters on the operator’s records the rent due from a transient when the rent is earned, whether or not it is paid.
(2) “Cash accounting” means a system of accounting in which the operator does not enter on the operator’s records the rent due from a transient until the rent is paid.
(3) “City administrator” means the city administrator of the city of Veneta or the city administrator’s designee.
(4) “Council” means the city council of the city of Veneta.
(5) “Hotel” means any structure or portion of any structure which is occupied or intended or designed for transient occupancy for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes, and includes any hotel, inn, house, cabin, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment, condominium, other dwelling unit, public or private dormitory, fraternity, sorority, public or private club, recreational vehicle park, or similar facility or structure or portion thereof so occupied, provided the occupancy is for less than a 30-day period.
(6) “Occupancy” means the use or possession, or the right to use or possession, for lodging or sleeping purposes, of any portion of a hotel.
(7) “Operator” means the person who is proprietor of a hotel in any capacity and, where the operator performs the operator’s functions through a managing agent other than an employee, the managing agent shall have the same duties and liabilities as the managing agent’s principal. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter by either the principal or the managing agent shall be considered to be compliance by both.
(8) “Person” means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, fraternity, sorority, public or private dormitory, joint stock company, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
(9) “Recreational vehicle park” means a development which is occupied or intended or designed for transient occupancy for 30 days or less, on which travel trailers, pickup campers, tent trailers, tents, and/or self-propelled motorized vehicles are parked or set up; the purpose of such development being to provide to the public a temporary location for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes, but excluding recreational vehicle parks operated by the federal government.
(10) “Rent” means the consideration charged, whether or not received by the operator, for the occupancy of space in a hotel whether or not valued in money, goods, labor, credits, property, or other consideration valued in money, without any deduction.
(11) “Rent package plan” means the consideration charged for both food and rent where a single rate is made for the total of both. The amount to rent for determination of the transient room tax under VMC 3.50.030 shall be the same charge made for rent when not a part of a package plan.
(12) “Tax” means either the tax payable by the transient, or the aggregate amount of taxes due from an operator during the period for which the operator is required to report the operator’s collections.
(13) “Tax administrator” means the finance director of the city of Veneta or the finance director’s designee.
(14) “Transient” means any individual who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy in a hotel for a period of less than 30 consecutive calendar days, counting portions of calendar days as full days. The day a transient checks out of the hotel shall not be included in determining the 30-day period if the transient is not charged rent for that day by the operator. Any individual so occupying space in a hotel shall be deemed to be a transient until the period of 30 days has expired, unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer period of occupancy. A person who pays for lodging on a monthly basis, irrespective of the number of days in the month, shall not be deemed a transient. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.030 Levy.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel located in the city of Veneta, each transient shall pay a tax of four percent of the rent charged by the operator for the occupancy. The tax shall constitute a debt owed by the transient to the city and shall be 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. The operator shall enter the tax on the operator’s records when the rent is collected, if the operator keeps the operator’s records on the cash accounting basis, and when earned, if the operator keeps the operator’s records on the accrual accounting basis. If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid by the transient to the operator with each installment. If for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the tax administrator may require that the tax be paid directly to the city. In all cases the rent paid or charged for occupancy shall exclude amounts received for the sale of goods, services, or commodities; other than the furnishing of rooms, accommodations, and parking space in recreational vehicle parks. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.040 Collection.
(1) Every operator renting a room in the city of Veneta, the occupancy of which is not exempted under the terms of VMC 3.50.060, shall collect a tax from the occupant of the room. The tax collected or accrued by the operator constitutes a debt owing by the operator to the city.
(2) In all cases of credit or deferred payment of rent, the payment of the tax to the operator may be deferred until the rent is paid, and the operator shall not be liable for the tax until the credit is paid or the deferred payment is made.
(3) The tax administrator shall enforce this chapter and may adopt rules and regulations consistent with those sections and necessary to aid in the enforcement. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.050 Operator’s duties.
Each operator shall collect the tax imposed by VMC 3.50.030 on a transient at the same time as the operator collects rent from the transient. The amount of the tax shall be separately stated upon the operator’s records and on any receipt for the rent rendered by the operator to the transient. No operator shall advertise that the tax or any part of the tax will be assumed or absorbed by the operator, or that it will not be added to the rent, or that, when added, any part will be refunded. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.060 Exemptions.
No tax may be imposed upon:
(1) Any occupant for more than 30 successive calendar days;
(2) Any person who pays for lodging on a monthly basis, irrespective of the number of days in the month;
(3) Any occupant whose rent is of a value less than $2.00 per day;
(4) Any occupant whose rent is paid for a hospital room or to a medical clinic, convalescent home, or home for aged people;
(5) Any occupant whose rent is paid by a local agency, either directly or through a voucher, in response to a local disaster or declared emergency. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.070 Registration.
Every person engaging in business as an operator of a hotel in the city of Veneta shall register with the tax administrator on a form provided by the tax administrator within 15 calendar days after commencing operation of the hotel. Nonregistration under this section shall not relieve any person from the obligation to pay the tax. The registration shall set forth the name under which the operator transacts or intends to transact business, the location of the operator’s place or places of business, and such other information that the tax administrator requires to facilitate the collection of the tax. The registration shall be signed by the operator. The tax administrator shall, within 10 days after the registration, issue without charge a certificate of authority to the registrant to collect the tax from the occupants of the hotel, together with a duplicate thereof for each additional place of business of the registrant. Such a certificate shall be nonassignable and nontransferable and shall be surrendered immediately to the tax administrator upon the cessation of business at the location named on the certificates or upon sale or transfer of the business. Each such certificate and duplicate thereof shall state the place of business to which it is applicable and shall be prominently displayed so as to come to the notice readily of all occupants and persons seeking occupancy in the hotel. The certificate shall, among other things, state the following:
(1) The name of the operator;
(2) The address of the hotel;
(3) The date when the certificate is issued;
(4)
This Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of the transient room tax ordinance of the City of Veneta by registration with the Tax Administrator for the purpose of collecting from transients the City’s transient room tax and remitting the tax to the Tax Administrator. This certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any unlawful business or to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, or to operate a hotel without strictly complying with all local applicable laws, including, but not limited to, those requiring a permit from any board, commission, department or office of the City. This certificate does not constitute a permit.
(Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.080 Returns.
(1) The tax imposed by VMC 3.50.030 shall be paid by the transient to the operator when the transient pays rent to the operator. All such taxes collected by any operator are due and payable to the tax administrator on the fifteenth day of the month for the preceding month and are delinquent on the last day of the month in which they are due.
(2) On or before the fifteenth day of the month following each month of collection by an operator, he or she shall file a return for that month’s tax collections with the tax administrator. The return shall be filed in such form as the tax administrator prescribes.
(3) A return shall show the amount of tax collected or otherwise due for the period for which the return is filed; the total rentals upon which the tax is collected or otherwise due; gross receipts of the operator for the period; the amount of any exempt rents; and an explanation of any discrepancies in the amounts included in the return.
(4) The person required to file the return shall deliver the return, together with the remittance of the amount of the tax due, to the tax administrator at the tax administrator’s office; either by personal delivery or by mail. If the return is mailed, the postmark shall be considered the date of delivery.
(5) The tax administrator may, for good cause, extend the time for making any return or paying any tax for a period not to exceed one month. No further extension may be granted, except by the city administrator. Any operator to whom an extension is granted shall pay interest at the rate of one percent per month on the amount of tax due, without proration for a fraction of a month. If a return is not filed, and the tax and interest due is not paid by the end of the extension granted, then the interest shall become a part of the tax for computation of penalties prescribed in VMC 3.50.090.
(6) The tax administrator, if he or she deems it necessary in order to insure payment or facilitate collection by the city of the amount of taxes in any individual case, may require returns and payment of the amount of taxes for other than monthly periods. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.090 Penalties and interest.
(1) Any operator who has not been granted an extension of time for remittance of tax due and who fails to remit any tax imposed by VMC 3.50.030 prior to delinquency shall pay a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the tax due in addition to the amount of the tax.
(2) Any operator who has not been granted an extension of time for remittance of tax due, and who fails to pay any delinquent remittance on or before a period of 30 days following the date on which the remittance first becomes delinquent shall pay a second delinquency penalty of 15 percent of the amount of the tax due plus the amount of the tax and the 10 percent penalty first imposed.
(3) If the tax administrator determines that the nonpayment of any remittance due under VMC 3.50.030 is due to fraud or intent to evade the provisions of this code, a penalty of 25 percent of the amount of the tax shall be added due in addition to the amount of tax due and the penalties stated in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
(4) In addition to any penalties imposed, any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by VMC 3.50.030 shall pay interest on the amount of tax due, exclusive of penalties, at the rate of one-half of one percent per month or fractions thereof, without proration for portions of a month, from the date on which the remittance first becomes delinquent, until paid in full.
(5) Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall be merged with, and become a part of, the tax required to be paid. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.100 Deficiencies, fraud, evasion, delay.
(1) If the tax administrator determines that a tax return required by VMC 3.50.080 is incorrect, the tax administrator may compute and determine the amount required to be paid, upon the basis of the facts contained in the return or returns or upon the basis of any information within the tax administrator’s possession. One or more deficiency determinations may be made of the amount due for one or more periods, and the amount so determined shall be due and payable immediately upon service of notice as provided in this chapter and shall be subject to penalties for deficiencies as set forth in VMC 3.50.090.
(a) In making a deficiency determination the tax administrator may offset overpayments, if any, against any underpayment for a subsequent period or periods, or against penalties and interest on the underpayment. The interest on underpayment shall be computed in the manner set forth in VMC 3.50.090.
(b) The tax administrator shall give to the operator or occupant a notice of the tax administrator’s determination. The notice may be served personally or by mail. If served by mail, the notice shall be addressed to the operator at the operator’s address as it appears in the records of the tax administrator and service shall be deemed complete at the time of deposit in the United States Post Office, postage prepaid.
(c) Except in the case of fraud or intent to evade this chapter or any rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, every deficiency determination shall be made and notice of the deficiency determination shall be mailed within three years after the last day of the month following the close of the monthly period for which the deficiency is alleged, or within three years after the return is filed, whichever period expires later.
(d) Any deficiency shall become due and payable immediately upon service of notice by the tax administrator and a deficiency determination shall become final on the tenth calendar day after the date the tax administrator serves notice of the deficiency determination unless the tax administrator receives a written petition for redetermination before the tax administrator’s determination becomes final.
(2) If any operator fails or refuses to collect the tax or to make any report required by this chapter, within the time required by this chapter, or to remit the tax or any portion thereof required to be remitted, or makes a fraudulent return or otherwise willfully attempts to evade the provisions of this chapter, the tax administrator shall proceed to obtain facts and information on which to base an estimate of the tax due and shall proceed to determine and assess against the operator the tax, interest, and penalties provided for by VMC 3.50.030 and 3.50.090. In the event such a determination is made, the tax administrator shall give a notice, in the manner prescribed by subsection (1)(b) of this section, of the amount so assessed. The determination and notice shall be made and mailed within three years after discovery by the tax administrator of any fraud, intent to evade, failure or refusal to collect the tax, or failure to file a required return. Any deficiency determination shall become due and payable immediately upon service of the notice and shall become final on the tenth calendar day after the tax administrator serves the notice of the deficiency determination unless the tax administrator receives a written petition for redetermination before the tax administrator’s determination becomes final.
(3) If the tax administrator believes that the collection of any tax or any amount of tax required to be collected and paid to the city by VMC 3.50.030 or any deficiency determination made under this section is jeopardized by delay, the tax administrator shall make a determination of the tax or amount of tax required to be collected, noting that fact upon the determination. The amount so determined as provided in this section shall be immediately due and payable, and the operator shall immediately pay the determined amount to the tax administrator after service of notice thereof. However, the operator may petition in writing for redetermination and refund, if the petition is filed within 10 calendar days from the date of service of notice by the tax administrator. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.110 Transient room tax – Redeterminations.
(1) Any person against whom a determination is made under VMC 3.50.100 or any person directly interested in the determination may petition for a redetermination, and refund if applicable, within the time required in VMC 3.50.100. If a petition for redetermination is not filed within the time required in VMC 3.50.100, the determination shall become final at the expiration of the allowable time.
(2) If a petition for redetermination is timely filed the tax administrator shall reconsider the determination, and, if requested in the petition, the tax administrator shall grant the petitioner hearing and shall give the petitioner at least 10 days’ notice of the time and place of the hearing. The tax administrator may continue the hearing from time to time as necessary.
(3) Following receipt of the petition, and the hearing if applicable, the tax administrator may decrease or increase the amount of the determination, and if an increase is determined, the increase shall be payable immediately upon service of the tax administrator’s redetermination.
(4) The decision of the tax administrator upon a petition for redetermination shall become final 10 calendar days after service upon the petitioner of notice thereof, unless a written appeal of the tax administrator’s decision is filed with the city administrator prior to the expiration of the 10-day period.
(5) No petition for redetermination or appeal therefrom shall be effective for any purpose unless the operator first complies with the payment provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.120 Transient room tax – Security, collection, business registration revocation.
(1) The tax administrator, whenever he or she deems it necessary to insure compliance with this chapter, may require any operator subject to the transient room tax to deposit with the tax administrator such security in the form of cash, bond, or other assets as the tax administrator may require. The amount of the security shall be fixed by the tax administrator but shall not be greater than twice the operator’s estimated average monthly liability for the period for which the operator files returns, or $5,000, whichever amount is the lesser. The amount of the security may be increased or decreased by the tax administrator subject to the limitations of this section.
(2) At any time within three years after any tax or any amount of tax required to be collected becomes due and payable, or at any time within three years after any determination by the tax administrator under this chapter becomes final, the tax administrator may bring an action in the courts of this state, or any other state, or of the United States, in the name of the city, to collect the amount of delinquent tax, together with any penalties and interest.
(3) At any time within three years after any tax or any amount of tax required to be collected becomes due and payable, or at any time within three years after any determination by the tax administrator under this chapter becomes final, the tax administrator may contract with a collections agency to collect the amount of delinquent tax, together with any penalties and interest.
(4) At any time after a determination by the tax administrator under this chapter becomes final, the city administrator may revoke the city of Veneta business registration for nonpayment of delinquent tax. The business registration shall not be reinstated unless and until the city receives payment for the amount of delinquent tax, together with any penalties and interest. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.130 Transient room tax – Lien.
The tax imposed by VMC 3.50.030, together with the interest and penalties provided by VMC 3.50.090 and the filing fees paid to the department of deeds and records of Lane County, Oregon, and advertising costs which may be incurred when the tax becomes delinquent shall be, and until paid shall remain, a lien from the date of its recording with the department of deeds and records of Lane County, Oregon, and superior to all subsequent recorded liens on all tangible personal property used in the hotel of an operator within Veneta and may be foreclosed on and sold as necessary to discharge the lien. Notice of the lien may be issued by the tax administrator whenever the operator is in default in the payment of the tax, interest, or penalties, and shall be recorded with the department of deeds and records of Lane County, Oregon, with a copy mailed to the delinquent operator at the operator’s address as it appears in the records of the tax administrator. The personal property subject to the lien and seized by the tax administrator may be sold by the tax administrator at public auction after 10 days’ notice thereof published in a newspaper in the city.
Any such lien shall, upon the payment in full to the city of the taxes, penalties, and interest for which the lien has been imposed, be released by the tax administrator. The operator or person making the payment shall receive a receipt stating that the full amount of the taxes, penalties, and interest has been paid and that the lien is thereby released and the record of lien satisfied. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.140 Transient room tax – Refunds.
Whenever the amount of any tax imposed under this chapter has been paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the tax administrator, it may be refunded, provided a written verified claim stating the specific reason upon which the claim is founded is filed with the tax administrator within three years from the date of payment. The claim shall be made on a form provided by the tax administrator. If the tax administrator approves the claim, the excess amount collected or paid may be refunded or may be credited against any amounts then due and payable from the operator from whom it was originally collected or by whom it was originally paid, and the balance may be refunded. All refunds shall be charged to the fund receiving room tax revenues. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.150 Transient room tax – Collection fee.
An operator liable for the collection and remittance of the tax imposed by VMC 3.50.030 may withhold five percent of the net tax due to cover the operator’s expenses related to the collection and remittance of the tax. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.160 Transient room tax – Administration.
(1) The tax administrator shall deposit all money collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter into the fund receiving room tax revenues.
(2) Every operator shall maintain records of rentals and accounting books and records of the rentals. The operator shall retain these records for three years and six months after they are created.
(3) The tax administrator or any person authorized in writing by the tax administrator may, after notification of the operator and during normal business hours, examine the books, papers, and accounting records relating to rentals of any operator liable for the tax, and may investigate the business of the operator in order to verify the accuracy of any return made, or if no return is made by the operator, to ascertain and determine the amount required to be paid by the operator.
(4) The city shall keep records related to the payment of the tax confidential to the extent those records are exempt from disclosure by ORS 192.502(18). Nothing in this subsection shall prevent, however:
(a) The disclosure to, or the examination of records by another city of Veneta official, employee, or tax collecting agent for the sole purpose of administering or collecting the tax.
(b) The disclosure, after the filing of a written request to that effect, to the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s receivers, trustees, executors, administrators, assignees, and guarantors, if directly interested, of information as to any such tax paid, any such tax unpaid or the amount of any such tax required to be collected, together with interest and penalties thereon provided the city attorney approves each such disclosure. The tax administrator may refuse to make any such disclosures referred to in this paragraph when in the tax administrator’s opinion the public interest would suffer thereby.
(c) The disclosure of the names and addresses of any persons to whom transient occupancy registration certificates have been issued.
(d) The disclosure of general statistics regarding taxes collected or business done in the city. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.170 Transient room tax – Appeal to city administrator.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the tax administrator may appeal the decision to the city administrator by filing a written appeal with the city administrator within 10 days of the date of service of the tax administrator’s decision. The city administrator shall fix a time and place for hearing the appeal and shall give the appellant at least 10 days’ written notice of the time and place of the hearing. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.180 Transient room tax – Appeal to council.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the city administrator under VMC 3.50.170 may appeal the city administrator’s decision to the council by filing a written appeal with the city administrator within 10 days of the date of service of the city administrator’s decision. The city administrator shall transmit the notice together with the file of the appealed matter, to the council, who shall fix a time and place for hearing the appeal. The council shall give the appellant not less than 10 days’ written notice of the time and place of hearing of the appeal. The decision of the city administrator upon a petition for redetermination shall become final 10 calendar days after service upon the petitioner of notice thereof, unless a written appeal of the city administrator’s decision is filed with the city prior to the expiration of the 10-day period. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.190 Transient room tax – Business registration.
Every person engaging in business as an operator of a hotel in the city of Veneta shall comply with the business registration requirements of Chapter 5.05 VMC. A hotel as defined in VMC 3.50.010 is not a property rental, apartment, or manufactured home park exempted from business registration by VMC 5.05.050. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)
3.50.200 Transient room tax – Violations.
No operator or other person subject to the provisions of this chapter shall:
(1) Fail or refuse to register as required by VMC 3.50.070;
(2) Fail or refuse to furnish any return required to be made under this chapter or to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the tax administrator;
(3) Render a false or fraudulent return under this chapter; or
(4) Render, sign, or verify any false or fraudulent report regarding the transient room tax. (Ord. 534 § 1, 2016)