Loading...
Ordinance No. 212ORDINANCE NO 212 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CYPRESS IMPOSING A TAX UPON THE PRIVILEGE OF TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY AND PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION THEREOF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CYPRESS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I: Title: This ordinance shall be known as the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance of theCity of Cypress SECTION II: Definitions: Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions given in this section govern the construction of this ordinance (a) Person "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit. (b) Hotel "Hotel" means any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients fordwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodgth? house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, modilehome or house trailer at a fixed location, or other similar structure or portion thereof (c) Occupancy. "Occupancy" means the use or possession, or the right tr' the use or possession of any room or rooms or portion thereof, in any hotel for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes. (d) Transient. "Transient" means any person who exercises occu- pancy or is entitledto occupancy by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license or other agreement fora period of thirty (30) con- secutive calendar days or less, counting portions -of calendar days as full days. Any such person so occupying space in a hotel shall he deemed to be a transient until the period of thirty (30) days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer period of occupancy In determining whether a person is a transient, uninterrupted periods of time extending both prior and subsequent to the effective date of this ordinance may be considered (e) Bent "Rent" means the consideration charged, whether or not received, for the occupancy of space in a hotel valued in money, whether to be received in money, goods, labor or otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and property and services of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom whatsoever (f) Operator. "Operator" means the person who is proprietor of the hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, sublessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, or any other capacity Where the operator performs his functions through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent shall also be deemed an operator for the purpose of this ordinance and shall have the same duties andliabilities as his principal. Compliance with the provisions of this ordinance by either the principal or the managing agent shall, however, be considered to be compliance by both. SECTION III;:Tax Imposed. For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of four per cent (4%) of the rent charged by the operator Said tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only by payment to the operator or to the city The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the Hotel at the time the rent is paid If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each installment The unpaid tax shall be due upon the transient's ceasing to occupy space in the hotel. If for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the Finance Officer may require that such tax shall be paid directly tothe Finance Officer Ordinance No 212 SECTION IV. Exemptions. No tax shall be imposed upon: (a) Any person as to whom, or any occupancy as to which, it is beyond the power of the city to impose the tax herein provided, (b) Any federal or State of California officer or employee when on official business, (c) Any officer or employee of a foreign government who is exempt by reason of express provision of federal law or international treaty No exemption shall be granted except upon a claim therefor made at the time rent is collected and under penalty of perjury upon a form prescribed by the Finance Officer SECTION V Operator s Duties Each operator shall collect the tax imposed by this Ordinance to the same extent and at the same time as the rent is collected from every transient The amount of tax shall be separately stated from the amount of the rent charged and each transient shall receive a recept for payment from the operator No operator of a hotel shall advertise or state in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, that the tax or any part thereof will be assumed or absorbed by the operator, or that it will not be added to the rent, or that if added any part will be refunded except in the manner hreinafter provided SECTION VI: Registration Within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this ordinance or within thirty (30) days after commencing business whichever is later, each operator of any hotel renting occupancy to transients shall register said hotel with the Finance Officer and obtain from him a "Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate" to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises Said certificate shall, among other things, state the following. (1) The name of the operator; (2) The address of the hotel, (3) The date upon which the certificate was issued - (4) 'This Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate signifies that the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the requirements of the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance by registering with the Finance Officer for the purpose of collecting from transients the Transient Occupancy Tax and remitting said tax to the Finance Officer This certificate does not authorize any person to conduct any unlawful business or to conduct any lawful business in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a hotel without strictly complying with all local applicable laws including but not limited to those requiring a permit from any board, commission, de- partment or office of this city This certificate does not constitute a permit " SECTION VII• Reporting and Remitting Each operator shall, on or before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter, or at the close of any shorter reporting period which may be established by the Finance Officer,make a return to the Finance Officer on forms provided by him of the total rents charged and received and the amount of tax collected for transient occupancies At the time the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the Finance Officer The Finance Officer may estdlish shorter reporting periods for any certificate holder if he deems it necessary in order to insure collection of the tax and he may require further information in the return Returns and payments are due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason All taxes collected by operators pursuant to this Ordinance shall be held in trust for the amount of the city until payment thereof is made to the Finance Officer Ordinance No 212 SECTION VIII. Penalties and Interest (a) Original Delinquency Any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this ordinance within the time required shall pay a penalty of 10% of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax (b) Continued Delinquency Any operator who fails to remit any delinquent remittance on or before a period of thirty (30) days following the date on which the remittance first became delinquent shall pay a second delinquency penalty of 10% of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax and the 10% penalty first imposed (c) Fraud If the Finance Officer determines that the non-payment of any remittance due under this ordinance is due to fraud, a penalty of 25% of the amount of the tax shall be added thereto in addition to the penalties stated in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this section. (d) Interest In addition to the penalties imposed, any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this ordinance shall pay interest at the rate of one-half of 1% per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until paid (e) Penalties Merged With Tax Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax herein required to be paid SECTION IX: Failure to Collect and Report Tax. Determination of Tax by Finance Officer If any operator shall fail or refuse to collect said tax and to make, within the time provided in this ordinance, any report and remittance of said tax or any portion thereof required by this ordinance, the Finance Officer 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 Finance Officer shall procure such facts and information as he is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by this ordinance and payable by any operator who has failed or refused to collect the same and to make such report and remittance, he shall proceed to determine and assess against such operator the tax, interest and penalties provided for by this ordinance In case such determination is made, the Finance Officer shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States mail postage prepaid, addressed to the operator so assessed at his last known place of address Such operator may within ten (10) days after the serving or mailing of such notice make application in writing to the Finance Officer for a hearing on the amount assessed. If application by the operator for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax, interest and penalties, if any, determined by the Finance Officer shall become final and conclusive and immediately due and payable If such application is made the Finance Officer shall give not less than five (5) days written notice in the manner prescribed herein to the operator to show cause at a time and place fixed in said notice why said amount specified therein should not be fixed for such tax, interest and penalties At such hearing, the operator may appear and offer evidence why such specified tax interest and penalties should not be so fixed After such hearing the Finance Officer shall determine the proper tax to be remitted and shall thereafter give written notice to the person in the manner prescribed herein of such determination and the amount of such tax, interest and penalties The amount determined to be due shall be payable after fifteen (15) days unless an appeal is taken as provided in Section 10 SECTION X. Appeal Any operator aggrived by any decision of the Finance Officer with respect to the amount of such tax interest and penalties, if any, may ageal to the Council by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk within fifteen (15) days of the serving or mailing of the determination of tax due. The Council shall fix a time and place for hearing such appeal, and the City Clerk shall give notice in writing to such operator at his last known place of address The findings of the Council shallbe final and conclusive and shall be served upon the appel- ant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing Any amount found to be due shall be immediately due and payable upon the service of notice Ordinance No. 212 SECTION XI: Records It shall be the duty of every operator liable for the collection and payment to the city of any tax imposed by this ordinance to keep and preserve, for a period of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he may have been liable for the collection of and payment to the city, which records the Finance Officer shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times. SECTION XII. Refunds (a) Whenever the amount of any tax interest or penalty has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city under this ordinance it may be refunded as provided in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this section provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the Finance Officer with- in three years of the date of payment. The claim shall he on forms furnished by the Finance Officer (b) An operator may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received when it is established in a manner prescribed by the Finance Officer that the person from whom the tax has been collected was not a transient, provided, however, that neither a refund nor a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been refunded to the transient or credited to rent subsequently payable by the transient to the operator. (c) A transient may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city by filing a claim in the manner provided in subparagraph (a) of this section, but only when the tax was paid by the transient directly to the Finance Officer, or when the transient having paid the tax to the operator, estab- lishes to the satisfaction of the Finance Officer that the transient has been unable to obtain a refund from the operator who collected the tax (d) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant establishes his right thereto by written records show- ing entitlement thereto SECTION XIII: Actions to Collect. Any tax required to be paid by any transient under the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed a debt owed by the transient to the city Any such tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to the city shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the city. Any person owing money to the city under the provisions of this ordinance shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the City of Cypress for the recovery of such amount SECTION XIV• Violations, Misdemeanor Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shell be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable therefor by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not more than six months or by such fine and imprisonment Any operator or other person who fails or refuses to register as required herein, or to furnish any return required to be made, or who fails or refuses to furnish a supplemental return or other data required by the Finance Officer, or who renders a false or fraudulent return or claim, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is punishable as aforesaid Any person re- quired to make, render, sign or verify any report or claim who makes any false or fraudulent report or claim with intent to defeat or evade the determination of any amount due required by this ordinance to be made, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable as aforesaid SECTION XV. Severability If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional Ordinance No 212 140 SECTION XVI. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be effective thirty (30) days from and after the date of its passage except that the tax imposed by this ordinance shall become operative and be imposed on October 1, 1964, and shall not apply prior to said date PASSED AND ADOPTED this 27 day of July, 1964 by the following; roll call vote* AYES 4 COUNCILMEN: Corzeman, Kanel, McCarney and `;oe NOES: 0 COUNCILMEN• None ABSENT: 1 COUNCILMEN. Wright MAYOR ATTEST* tC CI CLERK STATE OF CALIFORNIA) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS CITY OF CYPRESS ) I, DARRELL ESSEX, City Clerk of the City of Cypress, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No 212 had its first reading by the City Council at a regular meeting held on the 22nd day of June, 1964, and had its second reading and was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Cypress on the 27th day of July, 1964. Ordinance No 212 CITY CLERK 1