[Adopted 7-13-2004 by Bill No. 2004-4]
This act is adopted for the purpose enhancing
tourism development and Caroline County promotion efforts by the commitment
of revenues generated from a tax on the charges paid to hotels and
other lodging establishments.
This Article is adopted by virtue of the authority
granted to the County Commissioners of Caroline County under Article
24, § 9-301 et seq. of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as
amended.
There is hereby imposed a hotel rental tax in
Caroline County, effective September 1, 2004, subject to the following
terms and conditions.
In this Article, the following words have the
meanings indicated:
The board of County Commissioners for Caroline County.
As the context requires, Caroline County.
An establishment that offers sleeping accommodations for
compensation. Hotel includes an apartment, a bed-and-breakfast, a
cottage, a hostelry, an inn, a lodge, a motel, a resort, a rooming
house or a tourist home.
The tax authorized under this article.
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.
The board shall impose a tax on a transient charge
paid to a hotel located in Caroline County and that tax rate shall
be 5% of the transient charge.
B.
A person shall pay the hotel rental tax to the hotel
when the person pays the transient charge.
(2)
A hotel holds hotel rental tax collected in trust
for Caroline County until the hotel pays the tax to Caroline County
as required hereunder.
(3)
A hotel shall complete, sign and file a hotel rental
tax return with Caroline County on or before the tenth day of each
month.
(4)
A hotel rental tax return shall be made on the form
that Caroline County requires and shall contain the information the
County requires, including the amount of:
(5)
A hotel shall pay to Caroline County the tax collected
for a calendar month with the return that covers that month.
(7)
If a hotel fails to pay the hotel rental tax as required
under 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 is 1/2%.
(8)
If a hotel fails to pay the hotel rental tax to Caroline
County within one month after the payment is due, the hotel shall
pay a tax penalty of 10% on the unpaid tax.
(9)
Caroline County may file a civil action to collect
unpaid hotel rental tax; also, any unpaid hotel rental tax in Caroline
County is a lien against the real and personal property of the person
owing the tax and is collectible in the same manner as the property
tax may be collected under the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland.
(10)
The Comptroller of Maryland shall supply to
the board information in aid of verification of liability for the
hotel rental tax. The Comptroller of Maryland may make a reasonable
charge for this assistance, which shall be paid by the board and treated
as a part of the reasonable costs of collecting the tax.
(11)
Caroline County shall manage the hotel rental
tax to provide for orderly, systematic and thorough administration
of the hotel rental tax and may adopt regulations that are consistent
with this Article and conform to the applicable provisions and regulations
for the sales and use tax under Title 11 of the Tax-General Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
(12)
To cover the revenue that the County Comptroller
collects under this Article, the board may increase the surety bond
required for the Comptroller. The board shall treat any additional
premium due to a surety bond increase allowed under this Article as
a hotel rental tax administrative cost.
[Amended 5-8-2007 by Bill No. 2007-1; 10-9-2007 by Bill No. 2007-5]
(13)
The board, in order to protect the revenues
to be generated by the hotel rental tax, may require a hotel collecting
the tax to file with the board a surety bond issued by a surety company
authorized to do business in the State of Maryland and approved by
the State Insurance Commissioner as to solvency and responsibility,
in such amount or amounts from time to time as the board may fix to
secure the payment of the tax due which may become due from the hotel
collecting the tax. If the board determines that the hotel is to file
such a bond, the board shall give notice to the hotel to that effect
specifying the amount of bond required; the bond shall be filed within
five days after receiving the notice, unless within that period the
hotel requests, in writing, a hearing before the board, at which hearing
the necessity, propriety and amount of the bond shall be determined
by the board. This determination is final and shall be complied with
within 15 days after the hotel collecting the tax receives notice
thereof.
(14)
In lieu of the bond required, securities approved
by the board or cash in such amount as the board prescribes may be
deposited, which shall be kept in the custody of the board. The board,
at any time without notice to the depositor of the securities or cash,
may apply them to any hotel rental tax due, and for that purpose the
securities may be sold by the board at public or private sale, without
notice to the depositor of the securities.
A.
Caroline County shall distribute the hotel rental
tax revenue as follows:
(1)
From the total revenue, a reasonable sum for hotel
rental tax administrative costs to the general fund of the County;
(2)
After distribution in Subsection A(1) of this subsection, the revenue attributable to a hotel located in a municipal corporation to the municipal corporation; and
(3)
The remaining balance to the general fund of the County.
B.
All revenue generated to the County by the hotel rental
tax is to be used exclusively for tourism development and Caroline
County promotion efforts.
