[Adopted 7-7-1999]
The following words and phrases, when used in
this article, shall have, for the purpose of this article, the following
respective meanings except where the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
Any alcoholic beverages as defined in Virginia Code Section
4.1-100 and any nonalcoholic beverages, when either is served as part
of a meal.
An establishment with eight or fewer bedrooms which provides
overnight accommodations.
A person who furnishes meals and/or beverages on the premises
of another, for compensation.
Any and all edible refreshments or nourishment, liquid or
otherwise, purchased for human consumption in or from a restaurant.
Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm,
partnership or any group of individuals acting as a unit.
Any person who:
Any place where food is prepared for service
to the public on or off the premises or any place where food is served.
Examples of such places include but are not limited to lunchrooms,
short-order places, cafeterias, coffee shops, cafes, taverns, delicatessens,
dining accommodations of public or private clubs, kitchen facilities
of hospitals and nursing homes, dining accommodations of public and
private schools and colleges and kitchen areas of local correctional
facilities subject to standards adopted under § 53.1-68.
Excluded from the definition are places manufacturing packaged or
canned foods which are distributed to grocery stores or other similar
food retailers for sale to the public.
Any place or operation which prepares or stores
food for distribution to persons of the same business operation or
of a related business operation for service to the public. Examples
of such places or operations include but are not limited to operations
preparing or storing food for catering services, push-cart operations,
hotdog stands and other mobile points of service. Such mobile points
of service are also deemed to be restaurants unless the point of service
and of consumption is in a private residence.
Any person:
In addition to all other taxes imposed by law,
a four-percent tax is hereby levied on the amount paid by any purchaser
who:
A.
Purchases food and/or beverages served, sold or delivered
for human consumption in Rappahannock County, Virginia, in or from
a restaurant or by a caterer; or
B.
Pays for the occupancy of a room, together with food
and/or beverages, at a bed-and-breakfast establishment for a fixed
aggregate price.
A.
Any bed-and-breakfast establishment which collects
and remits to the County the tax referred to in § 151-57B,
immediately above, for room occupancy together with food and/or beverages,
at a fixed aggregate price, shall then be exempt from the levy and
collection of any County transient occupancy tax as to such room occupancy.
B.
Any bed-and-breakfast which chooses to itemize its
charges to a purchaser so to show charges for food and/or beverages
separate and apart from charges for room occupancy shall collect the
tax levied by § 151-57B, immediately above, on the portion
of the bill attributable to food and/or beverages, and shall collect
the tax levied by the County transient occupancy tax on the portion
of the bill attributable to room occupancy.
Every seller shall collect the amount of tax
imposed under this article from the purchaser at the time payment
is made by the purchaser, regardless of the means of payment. The
amount of tax owed shall be added to, and shown on, the bill, receipt
or other written record of the charges made to the purchaser. The
seller shall pay the taxes collected to Rappahannock County, Virginia,
as provided in this article. Taxes collected by the seller shall be
held in trust by the seller until remitted to Rappahannock County,
Virginia.
A.
Report.
(1)
Every seller required to collect the tax under this
article shall make out a report, upon such forms and setting forth
such information as the Commissioner of the Revenue may require, showing:
(2)
The seller shall sign and deliver such report to the
County Treasurer with the remittance of such tax. The report shall
contain the current mailing address and telephone number of the seller.
Such reports and remittance shall be made on or before the 20th day
of each January, April, July and October, covering the amount of tax
collected during the preceding calendar quarter. For example, the
first payment due after the effective date of this article (October
1, 1999) is to be made by no later than January 20, 2000, and covers
the period October 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999.
B.
The seller shall be entitled to retain 3% of the amount
of any payment due the County, provided that the payment and report
are not delinquent.
It shall be the duty of any seller liable for collection and remittance of the taxes imposed by this article to keep and preserve for a period of three years records showing the information required to be reported by § 151-60 above. The Commissioner of the Revenue shall have the power to examine such records for the purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions of this article and to make copies of all or any parts thereof and may require the seller to produce such records in the office of the Commissioner upon 10 days' written request to the seller, by certified mail to the seller's address most recently on file with the Commissioner. Failure by the seller to so produce said records shall be a violation of the article.
No seller shall advertise or hold out to the
public in any manner, directly or indirectly, that all or any part
of the tax imposed under this article will be paid or absorbed by
the seller or anyone else, or that the seller or anyone else will
relieve the purchaser of payment of all or any part of the tax.
Where a purchaser provides a tip for an employee
of a seller and the amount of the tip is wholly at the discretion
of the purchaser, the tip is not subject to the tax imposed by this
article, whether paid in cash to the employee or added to the bill
and charged to the purchaser's account; provided that the full amount
of the tip must be turned over to the employee by the seller.
Whenever any seller required to collect and
pay the tax imposed under this article shall cease to operate or otherwise
dispose of his/her business, any tax payable under this article shall
become immediately due and payable, and such person shall immediately
make a report and pay to the Treasurer of Rappahannock County any
tax due.
The Commissioner of the Revenue shall promulgate
rules and regulations for the interpretation, administration and enforcement
of this article. It shall also be the duty of the Commissioner of
the Revenue to ascertain the name of every seller liable for collection
of the tax imposed by this article. If any such seller fails, refuses
or neglects to collect such tax or make the reports and remittances
required by this article, the Commissioner of the Revenue shall have
all the enforcement powers authorized by this article and Chapter
31 and Chapter 39 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia.
If any seller, whose duty it is to do so, shall
fail or refuse to collect the tax imposed under this article, or to
file the reports, or to pay the remittances mentioned in this article,
the Commissioner of the Revenue shall proceed in such manner as he/she
may deem best to obtain facts and information on which to base an
estimate of the tax due. As soon as the Commissioner of the Revenue
shall procure such facts and information, he/she shall proceed to
determine and assess against such seller the tax and penalties provided
for by this article and shall notify such seller, by certified mail
sent to the seller's last known address on file with the Commissioner,
of the total amount of such tax and penalties, whereupon the total
amount thereof shall be payable within 10 days from the date such
notice is sent; provided that, if payment is made within said ten-day
period, it shall not relieve the seller from any penalties otherwise
provided for in this article. The Commissioner shall also notify the
Treasurer of the amount determined to be due, and the Treasurer may
rely on this amount in any enforcement proceedings, including the
calculation of any penalties.
The Treasurer shall have the power and the duty
of collecting the taxes imposed and levied hereunder and shall cause
the same to be paid into the general treasury for Rappahannock County,
Virginia. The Treasurer shall have all powers of collection granted
by Chapter 39 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia.
The following purchases of food and/or beverages
shall not be subject to the tax under this article:
A.
Food and/or beverages furnished by restaurants to
employees as part of their compensation when no charge is made to
the employee.
B.
Food and/or beverages sold by nonprofit day-care centers
and public or private elementary or secondary schools.
C.
Food and/or beverages sold to the commonwealth, any
political subdivision of the commonwealth or the United States.
D.
Food and/or beverages sold by a hospital, medical
clinic, convalescent home, nursing home, home for the aged, infirm
or handicapped or other extended care facility to patients or residents
thereof.
E.
Food and/or beverages sold by a nonprofit charitable
organization to elderly, infirm, handicapped or needy persons in their
homes or at central locations.
F.
Food and/or beverages sold by nonprofit educational,
charitable, religious, social or benevolent organizations, including
fire and rescue squads or companies, on an occasional basis as a fund-raising
activity.
G.
Food and/or beverages sold through vending machines.
H.
Food and/or beverages sold through nonprofit cafeterias
in public schools, nursing homes and hospitals.
I.
Food and/or beverages sold in boardinghouses that
do not accommodate transients.
J.
Food and/or beverages sold through cafeterias operated
by industrial plants for employees only.
K.
Churches which serve meals for their members as a
regular part of their religious observances.
L.
Any other sale of food and/or beverages which is exempt
from taxation under the Code of Virginia.
M.
With respect to grocery and convenience stores, the
tax levied by this article shall apply only to prepared sandwiches
and single meal platters sold at delicatessen counters.
N.
Food and/or beverages sold within the Town of Washington,
so long as that town imposes a food and beverage tax.
