For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Hotel.
Any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, including any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location or other similar structure or portion thereof.
Occupancy.
The use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room or portion thereof in any hotel for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes.
Operator.
The person who is proprietor of a hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, sublessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee or any other capacity. Where the operator performs his functions through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent shall also be deemed an operator for the purposes of this article, and shall have the same duties and liabilities as his principal. Compliance with the provisions of this article by either the principal or the managing agent shall be considered to be compliance by both.
Person.
Any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
Rent.
The consideration charged, whether or not received, for the occupancy of space in a hotel, valued in money, whether to be received in money, goods, labor or otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and property and services of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom whatsoever.
Transient.
Any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license or other agreement for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. Any such person so occupying space in a hotel shall be a transient until the period of 30 days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer period of occupancy.
(Ord. No. 212, § 2)
Within 30 days after commencing business each operator of any hotel renting occupancy to transients shall register such hotel with the director of finance and obtain from him a transient occupancy registration certificate, to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises. Such certificate, among other things, shall state the following:
(a) 
The name of the operator.
(b) 
The address of the hotel.
(c) 
The date upon which the certificate was issued.
(d) 
"This transient occupancy registration certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of this article by registering with the director of finance for the purpose of collecting from transients the transient occupancy tax and remitting such tax to the director of finance. This certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any unlawful business or to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a hotel without strictly complying with all local applicable laws, including but not limited to those requiring a permit from any board, commission, department or office of this city. This certificate does not constitute a permit."
(Ord. No. 212, § 6)
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel/motel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of 10% of the rent actually charged or customarily charged by the operator for the room and/or facilities occupied by the transient. Such tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only by the payment to the operator or to the city. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel/motel at the time the rent is paid. If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each installment. The unpaid tax shall be due upon the transient's ceasing to occupy space in the hotel/motel. If for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel/motel, the director of finance may require that such tax shall be paid directly to the director of finance.
(Ord. No. 212, § 3; Ord. No. 728, § 1, 6-11-84; Ord. No. 728-A, § 1, 6-25-84; Ord. No. 876, § 1, 11-12-91)
No tax under this article shall be imposed upon the following:
(a) 
Any person as to whom, or any occupancy as to which, it is beyond the power of the city to impose such tax.
(b) 
Any officer or employee of a foreign government who is exempt by reason of express provision of federal law or international treaty.
No exemption under this section shall be granted except upon a claim therefor made at the time rent is collected and under penalty of perjury upon a form prescribed by the director of finance.
(Ord. No. 212, § 4; Ord. No. 284, § 1)
(a) 
Whenever the amount of any tax, interest or penalty under this article has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city it may be refunded as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section; provided, that a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the director of finance within three years of the date of payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the director of finance.
(b) 
An operator may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received, when it is established in a manner prescribed by the director of finance that the person from whom the tax has been collected was not a transient; provided, that neither a refund nor a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been refunded to the transient or credited to rent subsequently payable by the transient to the operator.
(c) 
A transient may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city by filing a claim in the manner provided in subsection (a) of this section, but only when the tax was paid by the transient directly to the director of finance or when the transient having paid the tax to the operator, establishes to the satisfaction of the director of finance that the transient has been unable to obtain a refund from the operator who collected the tax.
(d) 
No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant establishes this right thereto by written records showing entitlement thereto.
(Ord. No. 212, § 12)
Each operator shall collect the tax imposed by this article to the same extent and at the same time as the rent is collected from every transient. The amount of tax shall be separately stated from the amount of the rent charged, and each transient shall receive a receipt for payment from the operator. No operator of a hotel shall advertise or state in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, that the tax or any part thereof will be assumed or absorbed by the operator, or that it will not be added to the rent, or that, if added, any part will be refunded except in the manner provided in this article.
(Ord. No. 212, § 5)
Each operator, on or before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter, or at the close of any shorter reporting period which may be established by the director of finance, shall make a return to the director of finance on forms provided by him of the total rents charged and received and the amount of tax collected for transient occupancies. At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the director of finance. The director of finance may establish shorter reporting periods for any certificate holder if he deems it necessary in order to insure collection of the tax and he may require further information in the return. Returns and payments are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason. All taxes collected by operators pursuant to this article shall be held in trust for the amount of the city until payment thereof is made to the director of finance.
(Ord. No. 212, § 7)
If any operator shall fail or refuse to collect the tax levied pursuant to this article and to make, within the time provided in this article, any report and remittance of such tax or any portion thereof required by this article, the director of finance shall proceed in such manner as he may deem best to obtain facts and information on which to base his estimate of the tax due. As soon as the director of finance shall procure such facts and information as he is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by this article and payable by any operator who has failed or refused to collect the same and to make such report and remittance, he shall proceed to determine and assess against such operator the tax, interest and penalties provided for by this article. In case such determination is made, the director of finance shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the operator so assessed at his last known place of address. Such operator may within ten days after the serving or mailing of such notice make application in writing to the director of finance for a hearing on the amount assessed. If application by the operator for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax, interest and penalties, if any, determined by the director of finance shall become final and conclusive and immediately due and payable. If such application is made, the director of finance shall give not less than five days' written notice in the manner prescribed in this article to the operator to show cause at a time and place fixed in such notice why such amount specified therein should not be fixed for such tax, interest and penalties. At such hearing, the operator may appear and offer evidence why such specified tax, interest and penalties should not be so fixed. After such hearing the director of finance shall determine the proper tax to be remitted and shall thereafter give written notice to the person in the manner prescribed in this article of such determination and the amount of such tax, interest and penalties. The amount determined to be due shall be payable after fifteen days unless an appeal is taken as provided in this article.
(Ord. No. 212, § 9)
Should the tax administrator be required to perform an audit of the records of any operator in order to ascertain the facts and information pursuant to section 26-28 hereof to determine the proper amount of any tax owed pursuant to this chapter, the entire cost of said audit shall be assessed against the operator. In the event that the books and/or records required to perform an audit are not made available within the City of Cypress, the assessment shall include the cost of transportation, lodging, meals, and portal-to-portal travel time. Said assessment shall be due and payable not more than 30 days after written notice of said assessment is sent, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the operator. Should the operator fail to pay said assessment within the 30 day time limit, said assessment shall constitute a lien against the property for which the audit was performed. After confirmation of said assessment lien by the city council, the city assessor and tax collector shall be notified, and shall add the amount of the assessment lien to the next regular tax bill levied against said property for municipal purposes.
(Ord. No. 876, § 2, 11-12-91)
(a) 
Original delinquency. Any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this article within the time required shall pay a penalty of ten percent of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax.
(b) 
Continued delinquency. Any operator who fails to remit any delinquent remittance on or before a period of thirty days following the date on which the remittance first became delinquent shall pay a second delinquency penalty of ten percent of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax and the ten percent penalty first imposed.
(c) 
Fraud. If the director of finance determines that the nonpayment of any remittance due under this article is due to fraud, a penalty of twenty-five percent of the amount of the tax shall be added thereto in addition to the penalties stated in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(d) 
Interest. In addition to the penalties imposed by this section, any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this article shall pay interest at the rate of one-half of one percent per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent, until paid.
(e) 
Penalties merged with tax. Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax required to be paid under this article.
(Ord. No. 212, § 8)
It shall be the duty of every operator liable for the collection and payment to the city of any tax imposed by this article to keep and preserve, for a period of three years, all 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 city, which records the director of finance shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable time.
(Ord. No. 212, § 11)
Any operator aggrieved by any decision of the director of finance with respect to the amount of tax, interest and penalties, if any, under this article, may appeal to the city council by filing a notice of appeal with the city clerk within fifteen days of the serving or mailing of the determination of tax due. The city council shall fix a time and place for hearing such appeal, and the city clerk shall give notice in writing to such operator at his last known place of address. The findings of the city council shall be final conclusive and shall be served upon the appellant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing. Any amount found to be due shall be immediately due and payable upon the service of notice.
(Ord. No. 212, § 10)
No operator or other person shall fail or refuse to register as required in this article, or furnish any return required to be made, or fail or refuse to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the director of finance, or render a false or fraudulent return or claim. No person required to make, render, sign or verify any report or claim shall make any false or fraudulent report or claim with intent to defeat or evade the determination of any amount due required by this article to be made.
(Ord. No. 212, § 14)
Any tax required to be paid by any transient under the provisions of this article shall be a debt owed by the transient to the city. Any such tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to the city shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the city. Any person owing money to the city under the provisions of this article shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the recovery of such amount.
(Ord. No. 212, § 13)
No injunction or writ of mandate or other legal or equitable process shall issue in any suit, action, or proceeding in any court against the city or any officer thereof, to prevent or enjoin the collection of taxes sought to be collected pursuant to this chapter and payment of all tax, interest, and penalties shall be required as a condition precedent to seeking judicial review of any tax liability imposed by this chapter.
(Ord. No. 1109, § 1, 8-24-09)