[Added by Bill No. 14-35]
HOTEL
A facility that offers sleeping accommodations to the transient public. Hotel also includes an inn, motel, cottage, hostelry, rooming house, guest house, bed and breakfast or tourist home. Hotel does not include a cottage, hostelry, rooming house, guest house, bed and breakfast or tourist home with 3 or fewer separate sleeping rooms for the lodging of occupants.
HOTEL OWNER OR OPERATOR
Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership or similar entity which owns or operates an establishment that offers sleeping accommodations for compensation.
HOTEL RENTAL TAX
The tax authorized under this Article VII.
OCCUPANT
A person who uses or occupies a room in a hotel.
RENT
The consideration paid for the use or occupancy of a room in a hotel in the County. Rent includes charges for services and booking fees that are a condition of use or occupancy and any amount for which credit is allowed by the hotel owner or operator to the occupant. Rent shall not include charges for optional services provided by the hotel to the occupant that are in addition to the charge for use or occupancy and that are set forth separately on the bill presented to the occupant.
TOURISM
The attraction of people to the County for social, recreational, cultural, environmental and economic purposes, and the promotion of activities within the County for the people so attracted.
TOURISM-RELATED ACTIVITIES
Business activities that support and promote tourism. Tourism and tourism-related activities include the marketing of the features of the County as a travel destination and the provision of services for the people attracted to the County. Tourism and tourism-related activities include activities relating to sports, festival, museum, agriculture and agriculture exposition and farm-to-table experiences.
TREASURER
The Treasurer of Harford County with all the duties and responsibilities as prescribed by law.
There is a hotel occupancy tax levied on the rent paid for use or occupancy of a room in a hotel in the County. The rate of the tax is 6% of the rent paid. This tax shall not be levied on use or occupancy exceeding 30 consecutive days.
To provide for orderly, systematic and thorough administration of the hotel occupancy tax, the Treasurer may adopt regulations not inconsistent with this article and which conform to the applicable provisions and regulations for the sales and use tax as established under MD. Code Ann., Tax-General Article, Title 11.
A hotel owner or operator for which use or occupancy is subject to the tax levied under this article shall register with the Treasurer on the form prescribed by the Treasurer. A hotel owner or operator that fails to register as required by this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of $1,000 in addition to any other amount owed under this section.
A. 
A hotel owner or operator shall:
(1) 
Give the person who is required to pay the hotel occupancy tax a bill that clearly identifies the tax as a separate item from any other charge.
(2) 
Collect the hotel occupancy tax from the person who pays the rent.
(3) 
Remit to the Treasurer no later than the 25th day of each month the hotel occupancy tax collected.
(4) 
At the time of remittance, file with the Treasurer a return on forms prescribed by the Treasurer setting forth the amount of the hotel occupancy tax collected during the preceding period, the amount of the tax required to be collected in the preceding period and such other information as the Treasurer may require.
B. 
A hotel owner or operator holds hotel rental tax collected in trust for the County until the hotel owner or operator pays the tax to the Treasurer as required under this article.
C. 
A hotel owner or operator that fails to collect, remit or file a return for the hotel occupancy tax levied by this article within the time prescribed shall be assessed the amount of tax due, interest at the rate of 0.5% for each month or fraction of a month past due and a penalty of 10% of the tax due. The interest and penalty shall be collected as part of the tax. Unpaid hotel occupancy tax is a lien against the real and personal property of the hotel owner or operator owing the tax and is collectible in the same manner as the property tax may be collected under MD. Code Ann., Tax-Property Article.
[Amended by Bill No. 23-034[1]]
A. 
50% of the hotel occupancy tax collected from a hotel located within the corporate limits of a municipal corporation in the County shall be paid over to the Mayor and City Council of the municipal corporation.
B. 
25% of the balance of the hotel occupancy tax collected shall be used for Visit Harford!, Incorporated, the County's destination marketing organization (DMO). Out of the remaining balance, 25% of the hotel occupancy tax collected from a hotel not located in the corporate limits of a municipal corporation in the County shall be prioritized to funding tourism and tourism related activities in the Council District where the hotels are located, and the remainder of the hotel occupancy tax collected, including any amount not expended in the Council District where the hotel is located, shall be dedicated to funding tourism and tourism related activities throughout the County. No funds derived from the hotel tax shall be used for or towards payment of any capital project or debt relating to a capital project.
C. 
If a municipal corporation in the County elects to levy an additional hotel tax and contracts with the County to collect this additional tax. Administrative costs for collection shall be retained by the County prior to distribution of their share to the municipal corporation.
[1]
Editor's Note: This bill was passed by the Council over the veto of the County Executive.