[Adopted 3-8-1989 (Ch. 34 of the 1978 Code)]
[Amended 11-11-1996; 6-27-2011; 7-1-2013]
Commencing April 8, 1989, there is hereby levied and imposed, in addition to all other taxes and fees of every kind now imposed by law, on each transient a tax of 8% of the amount paid by lodging by or for any such transient to any hotel. Such tax shall be collected from such transient at the time and in the manner provided for by this article.
The following words and phrases, when used in this article, shall, for the purposes of this article, have the following respective meanings except when the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
HOTEL
Any public or private hotel, inn, hostelry, tourist home or house, motel, rooming house, bed-and-breakfast or other lodging place within the Town offering lodging, as defined herein, for compensation, to any transient, as defined herein.
LODGING
Space or room furnished with such space or room for a unit price.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, society, association, joint-stock company, corporation, estate receiver, trustee, assignee, referee or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise; and any combination or group of individuals acting as a unit.
TRANSIENT
Any person who, for a period of not more than 30 consecutive days, either at his own expense or at the expense of another, obtains lodging at any hotel, as defined herein.
TREASURER
The Treasurer of the Town of Hillsville and any of his duly authorized agents.
Every person receiving any payment for lodging with respect to which a tax is levied under this article shall collect the amount of such tax so imposed from the transient on whom such tax is levied or from the person paying for such tax or from the person paying for such lodging at the time payment for such board and lodging is made. The taxes required to be collected under this article shall be deemed to be held in trust by the person required to collect such taxes until remitted as required in this article.
A. 
It shall be the duty of every seller in acting as the tax collection medium or agency for the Town to collect from the purchaser, for the use of the Town, the tax hereby imposed and levied at the time of collecting and the purchase price charged for the lodging, and the taxes collected during each calendar month shall be reported to the Treasurer and remitted by each seller to the Treasurer on or before the 20th day of the following calendar month. The taxes collected by a seller shall be deemed to be held in trust by such seller until they have been remitted to the Treasurer. The required report shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the Treasurer.
[Amended 8-22-2011]
B. 
If the report is timely filed, the seller is allowed to withhold 5% of the proceeds collected by the seller for the month.[1]
[Amended 11-11-1996]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection C, which immediately followed and required that a report be filed even if no tax is due, was repealed 8-22-2011.
[Amended 8-22-2011]
If any person shall fail or refuse to remit to the Treasurer the tax required to be collected and paid under this article within the time and in the amount specified in this article, there shall be added to such tax by the Treasurer a penalty in the amount of 10% thereof or fraction thereof during which the failure continues and interest thereon at the rate of 10% per annum, which shall be computed upon the taxes and penalty from the date such taxes are due and payable.
If any person shall fail or refuse to collect the tax imposed under this Article or make the reports and remittances required in this article, the Treasurer 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 Treasurer shall procure such facts and information as he is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax payable by any person who failed or refused to collect such tax and to make such report and remittance, he shall proceed to determine and assess against such person such tax, penalty and interest as provided for in this article and shall notify such person, by registered mail sent to his last known place of address, of the amount of such tax, interest and penalty, and the total amount thereof shall be payable within 10 days from the date of the mailing of such notice.
It shall be the duty of every person liable for the collection and payment to the Town of any tax imposed by this article to keep and to preserve for a period of three years such suitable records as may be necessary to determine and show accurately the amount of such tax as he may have been responsible for collecting and paying to the Town. The Treasurer may inspect such records at all reasonable times.
Whenever any person required to collect and remit the tax imposed and levied by this article shall go out of business, dispose of his business or otherwise cease to operate, all of such taxes collected and any tax payable under this article shall thereupon be reported and remitted to the Treasurer of the Town.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Each violation or failure shall constitute a separate offense. Such conviction shall not relieve any such person from the payment, collection or remittance of the tax as provided in this article.