[Adopted 6-13-1995 as Ord. No. 1033]
[1]
Editor's Note: The phrase “mobile home” was changed
to “manufactured home” 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152.
Every person who applies for a permit for the placement of a manufactured home within the unincorporated areas of the county, pursuant to Article III, Chapter 62, of this Code, or in whose behalf a permit is applied for, shall be subject to pay a tax on the placement of the manufactured home; provided, however, that an owner of a manufactured home shall not be required to pay a manufactured home placement tax if the owner has previously paid a placement tax on the manufactured home and if the owner is obtaining a permit solely in order to relocate the manufactured home.
The manufactured home placement tax shall be
at the rate of 1% of the value of the manufactured home, as represented
by the permit application, and shall be payable at the time the permit
is applied for. The Sussex County Assessment Division shall be the
collector of the tax imposed by this article, and shall make a notation
on the permit which indicates that the tax has been paid.
No permit for the placement of a manufactured
home within the unincorporated areas of the county shall be issued
unless and until payment of the manufactured home placement tax is
made.
At the time of payment of the manufactured home
placement tax, the permit application shall contain the true, full
and complete value of the manufactured home and the reason, if any,
why such placement is not subject to taxation pursuant to this article.
The following shall be exempt from taxation
under this article:
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1)
Make, execute, deliver, accept or present or cause
to be made, executed, delivered, accepted or presented a permit application
for placement of a manufactured home without the full amount of tax
thereon being duly paid.
(2)
Fraudulently affix to a permit for placement of a
manufactured home that payment of the tax has been made, when the
full amount of the tax has not been duly paid.
B.
Any person who violates this section shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction in a court of competent
jurisdiction, shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for
not more than one year, or both, and in addition shall be required
to pay to Sussex County any unpaid transfer tax.
A.
If any person shall fail to pay any manufactured home
placement tax imposed by this article for which he is liable, the
Director of Finance may make a determination of additional tax and
interest due by such person, based upon information within his possession
or that shall come into his possession. All such determinations shall
be made so that notice thereof shall reach the party or parties against
whom it is made within three years after issuance of a manufactured
home placement permit.
B.
Promptly after the date of such determination, the
Director of Finance shall send, by registered mail, with return receipt
requested with postage prepaid, a copy thereof to the person to whom
it is made.
C.
Within 90 days after the date of which the copy of
any such determination of additional tax was mailed, such person may
file with the Director of Finance a petition for redetermination of
such tax. Every petition for redetermination shall state specifically
the reason or reasons which the petitioner believes entitle him to
such redetermination, and it shall be supported by affirmation that
it is not for the purpose of delay and that the facts set forth therein
are true and correct.
D.
It shall be the duty of the Director of Finance, within
six months after the date of any determination, to dispose of any
petition for redetermination. Notice of the action taken upon any
petition for a redetermination shall be given to the petitioner promptly
after the date of redetermination by the Director of Finance.
E.
Any person shall have the right to review, by a court
of competent jurisdiction, any determination made by the Director
of Finance pursuant to this section.
F.
Interest shall be added to any determination of additional
tax and shall be computed at the statutory rate from the date any
transfer tax shall have been paid to the date paid.
A.
Upon determination that any tax collected pursuant
to this article has been collected improperly, the Director of Finance
shall refund to the taxpayer the sums so paid, with interest from
the date of payment at the statutory rate.
B.
When the Director of Finance disallows a claim for
refund in whole or in part, the disallowance shall become final 90
days from the date when notice of disallowance is mailed to the taxpayer,
unless within that period the taxpayer files a written protest with
the County Administrator in which he shall set forth the grounds in
which the protest is based. If a protest is filed, the County Administrator
shall reconsider the disallowance. Notice of the County Administrator's
determination shall be mailed to the taxpayer by registered or certified
mail. The action of the County Administrator on the taxpayer's protest
is final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date when he mails
notice of his action to the taxpayer, unless within this period he
seeks review of the County Administrator's determination.
Funds realized by Sussex County pursuant to
this article shall be segregated from the County's general fund, and
the funds and all interest thereon shall be expended solely for the
benefit of the County's independent libraries.
