The following words, terms and phrases are defined as follows:
Hotel.
Any building or buildings in which the public may, for a
consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations, including hotels, motels,
tourist homes, houses or courts, lodging houses, inns, rooming houses
or other buildings where rooms are furnished for a consideration,
but not including hospitals, sanitariums or nursing homes.
Consideration.
The cost of the room in a hotel only if the room is ordinarily
used for sleeping, and not including the cost of any food served or
personal services rendered to the occupant of such room not related
to the cleaning and readying of such room for occupancy.
Occupancy.
The use or possession, or the right to the use or possession,
of any room or rooms in a hotel if the room is one which is ordinarily
used for sleeping and if the occupant is other than a permanent resident
as hereinafter defined.
Occupant.
Anyone who, for a consideration, uses, possesses or has a
right to use or possess any room or rooms in a hotel under any lease,
concession, permit, right of access, license, contract or agreement,
other than a permanent resident as hereinafter defined.
Person.
Any individual, company, corporation or association owning,
operating, managing or controlling any hotel.
Quarterly Period.
The regular quarters of the fiscal year, the first quarter
being composed of the months of October, November and December; the
second quarter being the months of January, February and March; the
third quarter being the months of April, May and June; and the fourth
quarter being the months of July, August and September.
Permanent Resident.
Any occupant who has or shall have the right to occupancy
of any room or rooms in a hotel for at least thirty (30) consecutive
days during the calendar year or preceding year.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-11)
(a) There
is hereby levied a tax of seven (7) percent of the price paid for
a room in a hotel within the City of Hillsboro and within its extraterritorial
jurisdiction, on every person who, under a lease, concession, permit,
right of access, license, contract or agreement, pays for the use
or possession or for the right to the use or possession of a room
that is in a hotel, costs two dollars ($2.00) or more each day, and
is ordinarily used for sleeping. The price of a room in a hotel does
not include the cost of food served by the hotel and the cost of personal
services performed by the hotel for the person except those services
related to the cleaning and readying of the room for possession.
(b) Exceptions
are as follows:
(1) No
tax shall be imposed upon a permanent resident.
(2) No
tax shall be imposed for federal or state employees traveling on official
business.
(3) No
tax shall be imposed for diplomatic personnel who present a tax exemption
card issued by the United States Department of State.
(4) No
tax shall be imposed for federal or state military personnel traveling
on official military business. This exemption does not cover military
staff on leave or between stations.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-12)
(a) Every
person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel within
the City of Hillsboro or within its extraterritorial jurisdiction,
shall collect the tax levied by this article for the City of Hillsboro.
(b) The hotel
operator shall be entitled to one (1) percent of the hotel occupancy
tax revenues collected as reimbursement for the operator's administrative
costs for collecting the tax. However, as herein below provided, this
reimbursement may be forfeited at the discretion of the city if the
hotel operator fails to timely pay the tax or timely file a report
as required by the city, or files a false report with the city.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-13)
On the last of the month following each quarterly period (beginning
the last day of the month following the third quarterly period of
fiscal year 1992), every person required to collect the tax imposed
hereby shall file a report with the city showing the price paid for
all room occupancies in the preceding quarter, the amount of the tax
collected on such occupancies and any other information the city may
reasonably require. Such person shall pay the tax due on such occupancies
at the time of filing such report. The report shall be in a form prescribed
by the city.
The city shall do all such things necessary or convenient to
carry out the terms of this article. The city shall have the authority
to request and receive within a reasonable time documentation for
information contained in the report to the city by the hotel.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-14)
At the end of each quarter, each hotel shall provide a copy
of the quarterly report filed with the state comptroller to the city.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
The city shall have the power to make such rules and regulations
as are reasonable and necessary to effectively collect the tax levied
hereby, and shall upon reasonable notice have access to books and
records necessary to enable its representative to determine the correctness
of any report filed as required by this ordinance, and the amount
of taxes due under the provisions of this article.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-15)
(a) If a person
who is liable for the payment of a tax under this article is the owner
of a hotel and sells the hotel, the successor to the seller or the
seller's assignee shall withhold an amount of the purchase price sufficient
to pay the amount due until the seller provides a receipt by a person
designated by the city to provide the receipt showing that the amount
has been paid or a certificate showing that no tax is due.
(b) The purchaser
of a hotel who fails to withhold an amount of the purchase price as
required by this section is liable for the amount required to be withheld
to the extent of the value of the purchase price.
(c) The purchaser of a hotel may request that the person designated by the city to provide under subsection
(a) issue a certificate stating that no tax is due or issue a statement of the amount required to be paid before a certificate may be issued. The person designated by the city shall issue the certificate or statement not later than the sixtieth day after the date that the person receives the request.
(d) If the person designated by the city to provide a receipt under subsection
(a) fails to issue the certificate or statement within the period provided by subsection
(c), the purchaser is released from the obligation to withhold the purchase price or pay the amount due.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-16)
(a) If any
person shall fail to file a report as required herein or shall file
a false report or shall fail to pay to the city the tax as imposed
herein when said report or payment is due, he shall pay an additional
five (5) percent of the amount due as penalty, and after the first
thirty (30) days, he shall pay an additional five (5) percent of such
tax. However, such penalty shall never be less than one dollar ($1.00).
Delinquent taxes shall draw interest at the rate of ten (10) percent
per annum beginning sixty (60) days from the due date.
(b) Any person
violating any of the provisions of this article, including hotel operators
who fail to collect the tax, fail to file a return, file a false return
or who are delinquent in their tax payment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall upon conviction be fined in accordance with the general
penalty provision as set forth in Section 1.109 of this code, and
each twenty-four (24) hours of any such violation shall constitute
a separate offense.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-17)
The city is hereby authorized to take the following actions
against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and
pay the collection over to the city and who has failed to file a report,
or filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when due:
(1) Require
the forfeiture of any revenue the city allowed the hotel operator
to retain for its cost of collecting the tax;
(2) Bring
suit against the hotel for noncompliance; and/or
(3) Bring
suit against the hotel seeking any other remedies provided under Texas
law.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-18)
The city attorney is hereby authorized to bring suit against
any person required to collect the tax imposed herein and required
to pay the collection over to the city and who has failed to file
a report, or filed a false report or failed to pay the tax when due.
Such suit may seek to collect such tax not paid or to enjoin such
person from operating a hotel in the city until the tax is paid or
the report is filed or both, as applicable and as provided in the
injunction.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-19)
(a) The revenue
derived from any hotel occupancy tax imposed and levied by this article
may be used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry,
and that use is limited to the following:
(1) The
acquisition of sites for and the construction, improvement, enlarging,
equipping, repairing, operation and maintenance of convention center
facilities (as such is defined in V.A.T.S. Tax Code, Section 351.001);
(2) The
furnishing of facilities, personnel and materials for the registration
of convention delegates or registrants;
(3) Advertising
and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to attract tourists
and convention delegates or registrants to the municipality or its
vicinity;
(4) The
encouragement, promotion, improvement and application of the arts,
including instrumental and vocal music, dance, drama, folk art, creative
writing, architecture, design and allied fields, painting, sculpture,
photography, graphic and craft arts, motion pictures, radio, television,
tape and sound recording and other arts related to the presentation,
performance, execution and exhibition of these major art forms; and
(5) Historical
restoration and preservation projects or activities or advertising
and conducting solicitations and promotional programs to encourage
tourists and convention delegates to visit preserved historic sites
or museums:
(A) Which are at or in the immediate vicinity of convention center facilities;
or
(B) Which are located elsewhere in the municipality or its vicinity that
would be frequented by tourists, convention delegates or other visitors
to the municipality.
(b) Revenue
derived from the hotel occupancy tax shall be expended only in a manner
which directly enhances and promotes tourism and the convention and
hotel industry as hereinbefore delineated. Such revenue shall not
be used for the general revenue purposes or general governmental operations
of the city which are not directly related to promoting the hotel
and convention industry or tourism in the city.
(c) All hotel
occupancy tax revenue shall be apportioned in a manner set forth from
time to time by of the city council of the City of Hillsboro, as manifested
in the annual budget of the City of Hillsboro, pursuant to the authority
granted by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, including
Chapter 351 of the Texas Tax Code providing for Municipal Hotel Occupancy
Tax, Vernon's.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-20; Ordinance 98-01-02 adopted 1/20/98)
(a) The city
council may by contract, delegate to a person, including another governmental
entity or a private organization, the management or supervision of
programs and activities funded with revenue from the hotel occupancy
tax. The city council shall approve in writing in advance the annual
budget of the entity to which it delegates those functions, and shall
require the entity to make periodic reports to the city council at
least annually listing the expenditures made by the entity of revenue
from the tax provided by the city.
(b) The entity
must maintain the revenue provided by the city from the tax in a separate
account established for that purpose and may not commingle that revenue
with any other money or maintain it in any other account.
(c) The city
may not delegate to any person or entity the management or supervision
of its convention and visitors programs and activities funded with
revenue from the hotel occupancy tax other than by contract as provided
herein.
(d) The approval
by the city council of the annual budget of the entity to which these
functions are delegated creates a fiduciary duty in the person or
entity with respect to the revenue provided by the city to the person
or entity under the contract.
(e) A person
or entity with whom the municipality contracts to conduct authorized
activities shall maintain complete and accurate financial records
of each expenditure of hotel occupancy tax revenue made by the person
or entity and on request of the city council or other person, shall
make the records available for inspection and review
(f) Hotel
occupancy tax revenue may be spent for day-to-day operations, supplies,
salaries, office rental, travel expenses and other administrative
costs only if those administrative costs are incurred directly in
the promotion and servicing of expenditures hereinbefore authorized.
The portion of the total administrative costs for activities for which
hotel occupancy tax revenue may be used may not exceed the administrative
costs actually incurred in conducting the authorized activities.
(g) Hotel
occupancy tax revenue may not be spent for travel for a person to
attend an event or conduct any activity the primary purpose of which
is not directly related to the promotion of the person's job in an
efficient and professional manner.
(1974 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 29, Sec. 29-21)