[Adopted 6-5-1984 by Res. No. 277; amended 12-5-1989 by Res. No. 339]
[Amended 6-20-1995 by Res. No. 443]
A. Pursuant to the authority granted in § 9-303
of Article 24 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the County Council
hereby confirms the imposition of a hotel rental tax and levies the
tax at the rate of 6% of all transient charges paid to a hotel or
other similar place providing sleeping accommodations within every
area of Wicomico County, provided that all revenue thus collected
shall be distributed as follows: 16.7% to the Salisbury Zoological
Park; 16.7% to the Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center to be used
for its improvement and renovation; and all remaining hotel rental
tax revenues shall be deposited in the general funds of Wicomico County
to underwrite the operating expenses of the Wicomico County Convention
and Visitors Bureau.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11; 11-20-2012 by Bill No. 2012-11]
B. The terms "hotel rental tax," "hotel" and "transient
charge" shall be as defined in § 9-301 of Article 24 of
the Annotated Code of Maryland. If the charges imposed include any
amount for services or accommodations in addition to that for the
use of sleeping space, the portion of the total charge which represents
a transient charge shall be distinctly set out and billed to the individual
as a separate item.
[Amended 6-22-1998 by Bill No. 1998-9]
A. A hotel owner shall collect the hotel rental tax from
the transient at the time the transient pays the charges imposed for
sleeping accommodations.
B. A hotel owner shall hold the hotel rental tax he or
she has collected in trust for the County until the hotel owner remits
the collected taxes to the County.
C. Once a hotel owner has been deemed in default of payment,
in accordance with Article 24, § 9-326, the County Executive
may require the hotel owner to file a bond or other security acceptable
to the County Attorney to guarantee remittance of the taxes, plus
penalties and interest.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
[Added 6-22-1998 by Bill No. 1998-9]
A. The hotel owner collecting the hotel rental tax shall
complete a report upon such forms and setting forth such information
as the Director of Finance may prescribe and require, showing the
amount of transient charges paid to the hotel owner during the prior
calender month and the hotel rental tax required to be collected and
shall sign and deliver the same to the Director with the remittance
of such tax.
B. The reports and remittances shall be made on or before
the 20th of each month, covering the amount
of tax collected during the preceding month. In the event a hotel
owner required to collect and pay to the County a tax under this article
shall cease to operate or shall transfer ownership of the business,
any tax payable under this article shall become immediately due and
payable and the hotel owner shall immediately make a report and pay
the tax due.
C. The hotel owner shall be allowed, for administrative
purposes, a discount equal to 1.5% of the gross amount of hotel rental
tax collected, if, on or before the due date set forth above, the
hotel owner files the return and pays the hotel rental tax due.
D. If the hotel owner shall fail or refuse to remit to
the County the tax required by this article within the time and in
the amount specified in this article, the hotel owner shall pay the
following penalty and interest on the unpaid taxes:
(1)
Interest at the rate of 1% per month on the
amount of the tax due for each month or portion of a month that the
remittance is late; and
(2)
A penalty of 10% of the amount of tax due on
taxes that are unpaid 120 days after the due date.
E. It shall be the duty of every hotel owner liable for
the collection and payment to the County of any tax imposed by this
article to keep and preserve, for a period of two years, such suitable
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 County.
F. The Director of Finance shall have the right, during
regular business hours, to inspect the records which the hotel owner
used to compile the information required by the Director.
[Added 6-22-1998 by Bill No. 1998-9]
A. If the hotel owner shall fail or refuse to collect
such tax and to make, within the time provided in this article, any
report and remittance required by this article, the Director of Finance
shall:
(2)
In such other manner as deemed best to obtain
facts and information on which to base an estimate of the tax due.
(a)
To estimate the tax due, the Director shall
determine the transient charges received by the hotel based on any
information the Director can obtain, including prior returns, and
shall assess the transient charges at not more than twice the estimated
receipts.
(b)
An estimated assessment under this article does
not excuse the hotel owner whose transient charges are assessed from
liability for interest and penalties imposed by law.
B. Upon receipt of the necessary information, the Director
of Finance shall proceed to determine and assess against such hotel
owner the tax and penalties provided by this article and shall notify
such person by mail sent to his last known place of address of the
total amount of such tax and interest and penalties, and the total
amount thereof shall be payable within 10 days from the date of the
notice.
[Added 6-22-1998 by Bill No. 1998-9]
A. Personal liability for the hotel rental tax and for
the interest and penalties on the tax extends to the hotel owner for
the tax that the owner does not collect or pay to the County as required
by this article.
(1)
If the hotel owner is a corporation, liability
extends to:
(a)
The president, vice president or treasurer of
the corporation; and
(b)
Any officer of the corporation who directly
or indirectly owns more than 20% of the stock of the corporation.
(2)
If the hotel owner is a limited liability company
liability:
(a)
If the limited liability company does not have
an operating agreement, liability extends to all members;
(b)
If the limited liability company has an operating
agreement, liability extends to those individuals who manage the business
and affairs of the limited liability company.
(3)
If the hotel owner is a limited liability partnership
(including a limited partnership registered as a limited liability
limited partnership):
(a)
If the limited liability partnership does not
have a written partnership agreement, liability extends to all general
partners;
(b)
If the limited liability partnership has a written
partnership agreement, liability extends to those individuals who
manage the business and affairs of the limited liability partnership.
B. Any person, firm or corporation violating or failing
to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than $1,000, and each violation or failure shall constitute a
separate offense. A conviction shall not relieve any person, firm
or corporation from the payment, collection or remittance of the tax
as provided in this article.
C. Any
person, firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with any
of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a civil infraction
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $100 a day. Each day
the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. A conviction
shall not relieve any person, firm or corporation from the payment,
collection or remittance of the tax as provided in this chapter. The
following officials from the Wicomico County Department of Finance
are authorized to issue citations for violations of this chapter:
Director or his designee.
[Added 11-20-2012 by Bill No. 2012-11]
D. Unpaid hotel rental taxes shall constitute a lien
against the real and personal property of the person owing the tax
and is collectible in the same manner as the property tax may be collected
under the Tax-Property Article.