[Adopted 8-17-1988 by Res. No. 88-48]
In this article, the following words have the meanings indicated:
DIRECTOR
The Director of Finance for Charles County.
HOTEL
Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership or similar entity which operates an establishment that offers sleeping accommodations for compensation. Hotel includes an apartment; a cottage; a hostelry; an inn; a motel; a rooming house; or a tourist home.
HOTEL RENTAL TAX
The tax authorized under this article.
TRANSIENT CHARGE
A hotel charge for sleeping accommodations for a period not exceeding four consecutive months. Transient charge does not include any hotel charge for services or for accommodations other than sleeping accommodations.
A tax of 5% is hereby imposed on each transient charge paid to a hotel located in Charles County.
A. 
A hotel shall:
(1) 
Give the person who is required to pay a transient charge a bill that identifies the transient charge as a separate item from any other charge.
(2) 
Collect the hotel rental tax from the person who pays the transient charge.
B. 
A hotel holds hotel rental tax collected in trust for Charles County until the hotel pays the tax to that County as required under this article.
A. 
A hotel shall complete, sign and file a hotel rental tax return with the Director on or before the 21st day of each month.
B. 
A hotel rental tax shall be filed on the form prescribed by the Director which shall contain all information required, including the amount of transient charges paid to the hotel during the calendar month and the hotel rental tax required to be collected during the period calendar month.
C. 
A hotel shall pay to the Director the tax collected for a calendar month with the return that covers that month.
To provide for orderly, systematic and thorough administration of the hotel rental tax, the Director may adopt regulations not inconsistent with this article.
A. 
If a hotel fails to pay the hotel rental tax as required by this article, the hotel shall pay interest on the unpaid tax from the date on which the hotel is required to pay the tax to the date that the tax is paid. The interest rate for each month or fraction of a month is 0.5%.
B. 
If a hotel fails to pay the hotel rental tax within one month after the payment is due under this article, the hotel shall pay a tax penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax.
C. 
Unpaid hotel rental tax is a lien against all real and personal property of the hotel owing the tax and is collectible in the same manner as the property tax may be collected under the Tax - Property Article.
The following are exempt from the tax imposed hereby:
A. 
Room rental paid by a transient who is a foreign government officer or employee exempted from taxation by reason of an international treaty or any Act of Congress and certifies so.
B. 
Room rental paid to any hospital, medical clinic, convalescent home or home for aged people.
C. 
Room rental paid to any motel/hotel by the use of an authorized voucher system under the control and administration of the Charles County Government or any of its agencies.