GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	1 

SENATE BILL 364

Short Title:  Columbus Occupancy Tax	(Local)

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Sponsors: Senator Soles.

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Referred to:  Finance

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March 13, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE COLUMBUS COUNTY TO LEVY A ROOM OCCUPANCY AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TAX.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Occupancy tax.  (a)	Authorization and scope.  The Columbus County Board of Commissioners may by resolution, after not less than 10 days' public notice and after a public hearing held pursuant thereto, levy a room occupancy tax of up to three percent (3%) of the gross receipts derived from the rental of any room, lodging, or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, or similar place within the county that is subject to sales tax imposed by the State under G.S. 105-164.4(a)(3).  This tax is in addition to any State or local sales tax.  This tax does not apply to accommodations furnished by nonprofit charitable, educational, or religious organizations.
(b)	Collection.  Every operator of a business subject to the tax levied under this section shall, on and after the effective date of the levy of the tax, collect the tax.  This tax shall be collected as part of the charge for furnishing a taxable accommodation.  The tax shall be stated and charged separately from the sales records, and shall be paid by the purchaser to the operator of the business as trustee for and on account of the county.  The tax shall be added to the sales price and shall be passed on to the purchaser instead of being borne by the operator of the business.  The county shall design, print, and furnish to all appropriate businesses and persons in the county the necessary forms for filing returns and instructions to ensure the full collection of the tax.  An operator of a business who collects the occupancy tax levied under this section may deduct from the amount remitted to the county a discount equal to the discount the State allows the operator for State sales and use tax.
(c)	Administration.  The county shall administer a tax levied under this section.  A tax levied under this section is due and payable to the county finance officer in monthly installments on or before the 15th day of the month following the month in which the tax accrues.  Every person, firm, corporation, or association liable for the tax shall, on or before the 15th day of each month, prepare and render a return on a form prescribed by the county.  The return shall state the total gross receipts derived in the preceding month from rentals upon which the tax is levied.
A return filed with the county finance officer under this section is not a public record and may not be disclosed except in accordance with G.S. 153A-148.1 or G.S. 160A-208.1.
(d)	Penalties.  A person, firm, corporation, or association who fails or refuses to file the return or pay the tax required by this section is subject to the civil and criminal penalties set by G.S. 105-236 for failure to pay or file a return for State sales and use taxes.  The Columbus County Board of Commissioners has the same authority to waive the penalties for a room occupancy tax that the Secretary of Revenue has to waive the penalties for State sales and use taxes.
(e)  Distribution and use of tax revenue.  Columbus County shall, on a quarterly basis, remit the net proceeds of the occupancy tax to the Columbus County Tourism Board.  The Board shall use the funds remitted to it under this subsection to promote travel and tourism in Columbus County and for tourism-related expenditures.
The following definitions apply in this subsection:
(1)	Net proceeds. – Gross proceeds less the cost to the county of administering and collecting the tax, as determined by the finance officer, not to exceed seven percent (7%) of the gross proceeds.
(2)	Promote travel and tourism. – To advertise or market an area or activity, publish and distribute pamphlets and other materials, conduct market research, or engage in similar promotional activities that attract tourists or business travelers to the area; the term includes administrative expenses incurred in engaging in the listed activities.
(3)	Tourism-related expenditures. – Expenditures that are designed to increase the use of lodging facilities in a county or to attract tourists or business travelers to the county.  The term includes expenditures to construct, maintain, operate, or market a convention or meeting facility, a visitors' center, or a coliseum and other expenditures that, in the judgment of the Authority, will facilitate and promote tourism.
(f)  Effective date of levy.  A tax levied under this section shall become effective on the date specified in the resolution levying the tax.  That date must be the first day of a calendar month, however, and may not be earlier than the first day of the second month after the date the resolution is adopted.
(g)  Repeal.  A tax levied under this section may be repealed by a resolution adopted by the Columbus County Board of Commissioners.  Repeal of a tax levied under this section shall become effective on the first day of a month and may not become effective until the end of the fiscal year in which the repeal resolution was adopted.  Repeal of a tax levied under this section does not affect a liability for a tax that was attached before the effective date of the repeal, nor does it affect a right to a refund of a tax that accrued before the effective date of the repeal.
Sec. 2.  Tourism Board.  (a)	Appointment.  When the board of commissioners adopts a resolution levying a room occupancy tax under this act, if it has not already created a county Tourism Board under Chapter 706 of the 1993 Session Laws, it shall adopt a resolution creating that Board, which shall be a public authority under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act.  The resolution shall provide for the membership of the Board including the members' qualifications and terms of office, and for the filling of vacancies on the Board.  The board of commissioners may designate one member of the Board as chair and shall determine the compensation, if any, to be paid to members of the Board.
The Board shall meet at the call of the chair and shall adopt rules of procedure to govern its meetings.  The Finance Officer for Columbus County shall be the ex officio finance officer of the Board.
(b)	Duties.  The Board shall expend the net proceeds of the tax levied under this act for the purposes provided in Section 1 of this act.  The Board shall promote travel, tourism, and conventions in the county, sponsor tourist-related events and activities in the county, and finance tourist-related capital projects in the county.
(c)	Reports.  The Board shall report quarterly and at the close of the fiscal year to the board of commissioners on its receipts and expenditures for the preceding quarter and for the year in such detail as the board may require.
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.