[Adopted 6-8-2011 (Sec. 2-5-15 of the 1988 Code)]
Pursuant to § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., a tax of 4% of
the gross receipts is hereby imposed on the privilege and service
of furnishing, at retail, rooms, lodging or sites to transients by
lodging establishments and other persons furnishing overnight accommodations
that are available to the public, irrespective of whether or not membership
is required for the use of the accommodations. The tax shall not be
subject to the selective sales tax imposed by § 77.52(2)(a)l,
Wis. Stats. In order to defray the cost of collecting the room tax,
any person, business, or other entity collecting and remitting the
tax approved by this article shall be entitled to a collection fee
of 2% of the tax so collected. The collection fee shall be itemized
on the tax return and shall be retained from the amount collected
and remitted.
The words and phrases used in this article shall have the meaning
defined in § 66.0615, Wis. Stats. If there is any conflict
between definitions provided herein and those found in § 66.0615,
Wis. Stats., the meanings and intent contained herein shall take precedence.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
As defined in § 77.51(4)(a), (b) and (c), Wis.
Stats., insofar as applicable.[1]
A building or group of buildings in which the public may
obtain accommodations for consideration, including, without limitation,
such establishments as hotels, inns, motels, tourist homes, apartment
hotels, resort lodges, cabins, bed-and-breakfast establishments, campgrounds,
boats and any other building, group of buildings, structures or vehicles
in which overnight accommodations are available to the public, except
accommodations rented for a continuous period of more than one month
and accommodations furnished by any hospital, sanitarium or nursing
home, or corporations or associations organized and operated exclusively
for religious, charitable or educational purposes, provided that no
part of the net earnings of such corporation or association inures
to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
Any person residing for a continuous period of less than
one month in a hotel or motel or other overnight accommodation available
to the public.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 77.51(4), Wis. Stats., was repealed
by 2009 Act 2.
The proceeds of the tax shall be allocated as follows:
A.
The Village shall create a Tourism Commission to oversee the expenditure
of the tax proceeds. The Commission shall operate under the auspices
of the Village and shall have the responsibility to ensure that all
funds are used strictly for activities related to tourism promotion
and development.
B.
The Commission shall be composed of five voting members all of whom
shall be appointed annually by the Village President and approved
by the Village Board. The five voting members shall include the following:
(1)
One person who shall represent the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry
within the Village and shall be currently employed by or have ownership
interest in one of the establishments subject to the room tax.
(2)
One person designated as official Village representative.
(3)
Three at-large appointments.
C.
Appointments shall be for a period of one year. The Commission shall
elect its own Chairperson, who shall serve a one-year term.
D.
The nonvoting ex officio member shall be the Village Administrator
or the Village President or his appointed representative.
E.
Ex officio positions shall be permanent.
F.
Members may be reappointed for successive terms at the discretion
of the Village President and as approved by the Village Board.
G.
On or before November 30 of each year or at any other reasonable
time as required by the Village, the Village Tourism Commission shall
provide the Village Clerk-Treasurer with reports and shall document
any evidence that the tax proceeds are being used for the purposes
set forth in this article.
H.
The Village representative on the Commission shall have the responsibility
for quarterly reporting to the Village Board regarding the activities
of the Tourism Commission.
I.
All expenditures of said Commission shall be reviewed and approved
by the Village Board as part of its claims.
A.
The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall administer this article and shall
establish those measures necessary for such enactment.
B.
The tax imposed is due and payable within 30 days of the end of each
calendar quarter. Those who operate a lodging establishment within
the Village shall submit the tax to the Village Clerk-Treasurer. The
tax shall be submitted with such forms as specified by the Clerk-Treasurer
along with an exact duplicate copy of the Wisconsin sales tax returns,
showing the taxable gross receipts for the lodging establishment for
the three months covered by the tax submission.
C.
If any person liable for any amount of tax under this article sells
out his business or stock of goods or quits the business, his successor
or assigns shall withhold sufficient of the purchase price to cover
such amount until the former owner produces a receipt from the Village
Clerk-Treasurer that it has been paid or a certificate stating that
no amount is due. If any person subject to the tax imposed by this
article fails to withhold such amount of tax from the purchase price
as required, he shall become personally liable for payment of the
amount required to be withheld by him to the extent of the price of
the accommodations valued in money.
D.
Whenever the Clerk-Treasurer has probable cause to believe that the
correct amount of room tax has not been assessed or that the tax return
is not correct, the Clerk-Treasurer shall arrange for an audit of
the financial records of any lodging establishment subject to the
room tax to determine whether or not the correct amount of tax is
assessed and whether or not the tax return is correct.
E.
Any person or lodging establishment who or which fails to comply with a written request to inspect or audit appropriate financial records, as stated in Subsection D above, within a thirty-day period after receiving the written request shall be subject to a forfeiture of 5% of the total tax due.
F.
Delinquent tax returns shall be subject to a late filing fee set
by the Village Board plus interest at the rate of 1% per month on
the unpaid balance.
G.
If any person or lodging establishment fails, neglects or refuses
to file a return, the Clerk-Treasurer shall first notify the person
or lodging establishment of the delinquency along with the late filing
fee plus the interest. This notification shall be made after the tax
is delinquent more than 30 days but less than 60 days.
H.
If the person or lodging establishment shall fail, neglect or refuse
to make payment within 30 days of receiving the delinquency notice,
the Clerk-Treasurer shall make an estimate of the amount of the gross
receipts for the applicable period. On the basis of this estimate,
the Clerk-Treasurer shall compute and determine the amount required
to be paid to the Village. The person or lodging establishment shall
then be required to pay the estimated amount of tax plus interest
on the unpaid balance from the initial due date. No refund or modification
of the payment determined may be granted until the person or lodging
establishment files a correct room tax return and permits the Village
to inspect and audit the appropriate financial records.
I.
If the Clerk-Treasurer is forced to determine a tax due amount as provided in Subsection H above, a penalty of 25% of the previous year's tax, or an estimate thereof for the first year this tax is in place or $5,000, whichever is less, shall be assessed in addition to applicable interest and other penalties.
J.
Every person or business liable for the tax imposed by this article
shall keep or cause to be kept such records, receipts, invoices and
other pertinent papers in such form as the Clerk-Treasurer requires.
K.
Confidential information.
(1)
All tax returns, schedules, exhibits, writings or audit reports relating
to such returns on file with the Clerk-Treasurer are deemed to be
confidential, except that the Clerk-Treasurer may divulge their contents
only to the following:
(2)
Persons violating the confidentiality requirements of this section
shall be subject to a forfeiture of $500 per incident.
For the tax year 2011, any person or business otherwise required
to file a return and make payment to the Village under this article
will be allowed an exemption from the requirement to collect and pay
room tax for any signed contract dated prior to the adoption of this
article in which the contract guarantees the lodging rates. This exemption
will expire on December 31, 2011.
