[R.O. 2008 §625.150; Ord. No. 6645A §§I — IX, 4-8-2002; Ord. No. 24-2014 §1, 11-10-2014; Ord. No. 04-2016 §§1
— 2, 3-14-2016; Ord. No. 02-2018, 1-22-2018; Ord. No. 4-2023, 6-26-2023]
A. Terms used in this Article and in accordance with Sections 67.1360
and 67.1364, RSMo., shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this
Section and shall be construed as indicated in this Section as follows,
to wit:
GROSS DAILY RENTAL RECEIPTS
The entire amount of any receipt from the rental of sleeping
accommodations by hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and campgrounds
and any docking facility that rents slips to recreational boats used
by transients for sleeping, excluding all State, Federal and local
taxes, whether paid in cash, credits or property, and without any
deduction or exemption therefrom whatsoever.
HOTEL, MOTEL, BED AND BREAKFAST or TOURIST CENTER
Any structure or building, under management, which contains
rooms furnished for the accommodation or lodging of guests, with or
without meals being provided, and used, maintained, advertised or
held out to the public as a place where sleeping accommodations are
provided for pay or compensation to transient guests or lodgers and
having one (1) or more bedrooms furnished for the accommodation of
such guests
PERMANENT RESIDENT
A person who contracts in advance for a room in a hotel,
motel, or bed and breakfast for a period more than thirty-one (31)
consecutive days and who actually remains a guest of the hotel, motel,
or bed and breakfast for more than thirty-one (31) days is considered
a permanent resident and the rental or lease receipt from letting
the room are not subject to hotel/motel tax. A permanent resident
is not considered synonymous with a permanent room. Persons who rent
or lease accommodations on a permanent basis to business for their
employees are subject to the hotel/motel tax on the receipts from
all the accommodations.
TRANSIENT GUEST
A person who occupies a room in a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast,
campground, or tourist center for thirty-one (31) consecutive days
or less. Any guest who is contractually obligated to make payment
for a period in excess of thirty-one (31) days shall be exempt from
tax after thirty-one (31) consecutive days.
B. There is hereby established a Convention and Tourism Fund in the
City of Louisiana. All taxes and fines levied and collected and appropriated
pursuant to this Article shall be deposited to the credit of such
fund as hereinafter provided.
C. Levy Of Tax.
1.
There is hereby levied a tax of four percent (4%) of the gross
daily rent due from and paid by transient guests of all sleeping rooms
occupied and rented by transient guests of lodging establishments
located in the City. This charge is in addition to the charge for
the sleeping room and shall be in addition to any other tax and said
transient guest tax shall be administered by the Louisiana Tourism
Commission, which is established for the purpose of promoting tourism.
The Commission shall administer such funds within the limits of the
budget as approved by the City.
2.
The said tax under this Section shall be remitted to the City
Collector or his/her designee quarterly and shall be due and payable
on or before the last day of the month for the tax due for the preceding
quarter.
3.
Any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this Article
within the time required shall pay a penalty of one percent (1%) and
interest of two percent (2%) per month of the amount of such tax and
interest. All penalties and interest imposed under the provisions
of this Article shall become a part of the tax herein required to
be paid.
D. Liability, Responsibility, Inspection Of Records.
1.
It shall be the duty of every person engaged in the business
of operating and carrying on the lodging location to file with the
City Clerk, on forms provided by him/her, such information as may
be necessary to determine the amounts to which the tax shall supply
for all gross daily rental receipts for the monthly period, to be
submitted with scheduled payments.
2.
It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, proprietor, managing
agent, operator or any type of employee of a lodging establishment
to fail or refuse to register a lodging establishment, to pay the
lodging tax as required by this Article, or to submit any tax return
or other financial records, or to refuse to permit any necessary inspection
of hotel records, or to willfully render a false or fraudulent tax
return, or claim as required by this Article. The City Collector or
his/her representative shall have the right at all reasonable times
during business hours to make such examination and inspection of all
books and records of the motel or hotel as may be necessary to determine
the correctness of such reports.
3.
When a revocation order is issued for non-payment of transient
guest tax by the City Council, the business licenses issued by the
City to such delinquent operators shall be deemed null and void at
that time. Before the license can be re-issued, all such delinquent
hotel/motel taxes, collection charges, penalties, attorney's fees
and costs must be paid in full. A revocation order may not be issued
until the hotel/motel is ninety (90) days delinquent.
4.
Any suspension or revocation shall not relieve the obligation
to pay tax due or any future tax to become due. In addition to the
penalties provided herein, any person subject to other provisions
of this Section who fails to file a statement or pay the tax or refuse
to permit inspection of his/her books and record upon request, or
who files a false or fraudulent statement, as required by this Article
or within the time required in this Article, shall, upon conviction
thereof be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than
five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for not more than ninety
(90) days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
E. The hotel/motel tax shall begin April 15, 2002.