Ordinance No. 7,096Published in the Baytown Sun 940922 -3
Thursday, September 29, 1994
Friday, September 30, 1994 ORDINANCE NO. 7096
• AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, AMENDING
CHAPTER 28h "TAXATION," BY ADDING SECTION 28h -5, ET SEQ.
"HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF
BAYTOWN, TEXAS; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; CONTAINING
A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND
PROVIDING THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
Section 1: That Chapter 28h "Taxation," of the Code of
Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by adding
Sections 28h -5 "Hotel Occupancy Tax" to read as follows:
Sec. 28k -5 Hotel Occupancy Tax.
Sec. 28k -5.1. Definitions.
For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates
or requires a different meaning.
(a) Consideration means the cost of the room in a hotel only
if the room is ordinarily used for sleeping, and not including
the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to
the occupant of such room not related to the cleaning and
readying of such room for occupancy.
(b) Hotel means any building or buildings in which members of
the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping
accommodations, including without limitation, hotels, motels,
tourist homes, houses or courts, lodging houses, inns, rooming
houses, or other buildings where rooms are furnished for a
consideration, but not including hospitals, sanitariums or
nursing homes.
(c) Occupancy means the use or possession or the right to the
use or possession of any room or rooms in a hotel if the room
is one which is ordinarily used for sleeping and if the
occupant is other than a permanent resident as hereinafter
defined.
(d) Occupant means any person who, for a consideration, uses,
possesses, or has a right to use or possess any room or rooms
in a hotel under any lease, concession, permit, right or
access, license, contract or agreement, other than a permanent
resident as hereinafter defined.
(e) Permanent Resident means any occupant who has the right
to use or possess a room in a hotel for at least thirty (30)
consecutive days so long as there is no interruption of
• payment for the period.
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• (f) Person means any individual company corporation or
association owning, operating, managing or controlling any
hotel.
(g) Quarterly period means the regular calendar quarters of
the year, the first quarter being composed of the months of
October, November and December; the second quarter being the
months of January, February and March, and third quarter being
the months of April, May and June; and the fourth quarter
being the months of July, August and September.
(h) Tax Collector means the tax collector of the City of
Baytown, Texas.
Sec. 28h -5.2. Tax Levied; Amount; Exception.
(a) There is hereby levied a tax of seven percent (7 %) on the
consideration paid for a room in a hotel on every occupant
who, under a lease, concession, permit, right of access,
license, contract, or agreement, pays for the use or
possession, or for the right to the use or possession of a
room that is in a hotel, costs two dollars ($2.00) or more
each day, and is ordinarily used for sleeping.
(b) Exceptions are as follows:
(1) No tax shall be imposed hereunder upon a permanent
resident.
(2) No tax shall be imposed hereunder on the United
States, the State of Texas, or an agency, institution,
board or commission of the State of Texas other than an
institution of higher education. For the purposes of
this ordinance "institution of higher education" has the
meaning assigned by Tex. Educ. Code Ann. $61.003 (Vernon
1991) .
(3) No tax shall be imposed on an officer or employee of
a governmental entity described in subsection (b)(2) when
traveling on or otherwise engaged in the course of
official duties for the governmental entity.
(4) No tax shall be imposed for diplomatic personnel who
present a Tax Exemption card issued by the United States
Department of State.
Sec. 28'k -5.3. Collection of Tax.
(a) Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling
• any hotel or collecting payment for occupancy in any hotel
shall collect the tax levied by this section for the city.
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• (b) The hotel operator shall be entitled to one percent (1$)
of the hotel occupancy tax revenues collected as reimbursement
for the operator's administrative costs for collecting the
tax. However, as hereinbelow provided, this reimbursement may
be forfeited at the discretion of the city if the hotel
operator fails to timely pay over the tax or timely file a
report as required by the city or files a false report with
the city.
(c) Collection procedures on purchase of hotel.
(1) If a person who is liable for the payment of a tax
under this section is the owner of a hotel and sells the
hotel, the successor to the seller or the seller's
assignee shall withhold an amount of the purchase price
sufficient to pay the amount of tax due until the seller
provides a receipt issued by the City of Baytown's Tax
Collector showing that the amount has been paid or a
certificate issued by the same showing that no tax is
due.
(2) The purchaser of a hotel who fails to withhold an
amount of the purchase price as required by this section
is liable for the amount of tax required to be withheld
to the extent of the value of the purchase price.
(3) The purchaser of a hotel may file a written request
with the Tax Collector for the issuance of a certificate
stating that no tax is due or for the issuance of a
statement of the amount required to be paid before a
certificate may be issued. The Tax Collector shall issue
the certificate or statement not later than the sixtieth
(60th) day after the date that the Tax Collector receives
the request.
(4) If the Tax Collector fails to issue the certificate
or statement within the period provided by subsection
(b) (3) of this section, the purchaser is released from
the obligation to withhold the tax on the purchase price
or pay the amount of tax due.
28k -5.4. Quarterly reports to Tax Collector
(a) On the last day of the month following each quarterly
period, every person required to collect the tax imposed by
this section pursuant to g28h- 5.3(a) shall file a report with
the Tax Collector showing the consideration paid for all room
occupancies in the preceding quarter, the amount of the tax
collected on such occupancies, the amount of permanent and
regular exemptions granted, and any other information the Tax
Collector may reasonably require. A copy of the concurrent
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• quarterly "Texas Hotel and Motel Tax Report" filed with the
State of Texas by the hotel shall be attached to the quarterly
report along with the names, addresses, and identification
relied upon the granting of exemptions to the collection of
the tax herein levied. The tax due on such occupancies shall
be paid at the time of filing the quarterly report. The
report shall be in a form prescribed by the Tax Collector.
The Tax Collector is hereby authorized and directed to do all
such things necessary or convenient to carry out the terms of
this section. The Tax Collector shall have the authority to
request and receive within a reasonable time, additional
documentation verifying the information contained in the
report to the city by the hotel. Such verifying information
and documents shall be retained in a retrievable format and
shall be maintained for a period of not less than four (4)
years.
(b) All hotels collecting taxes hereunder shall hold such
monies in a separate liability account and may not use such
monies for any purpose other than payment to the city as
provided herein.
Sec. 28h -5.5 Rules and regulations of Tax Collector; Access
to books and records.
The Tax Collector shall have the power to make such rules
and regulation as are reasonable and necessary to effectively
collect the tax levied hereby, and shall upon reasonable
notice have access to books and records necessary to enable
him /her to determine the correctness of any report filed as
required by this ordinance, and the amount of taxes due under
the provisions of this section.
Sec. 28h -5.6. Allocation and use of revenue derived from
levy of tax.
(a) The revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax imposed
and levied by this section may be used only to promote tourism
and the convention and hotel industry, according to the
following limitations:
(1) the acquisition of sites for and the construction,
improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation,
and maintenance of convention center facilities or
visitor information centers, or both;
(2) the furnishing of facilities, personnel, and
materials for the registration of convention delegates or
registrants;
0
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• (3) advertising and conducting solicitations and
promotional programs to attract tourists, delegates or
registrants;
(4) the encouragement, promotion, improvement, and
application of the arts, including instrumental and vocal
music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing,
architecture, design and allied fields, painting,
sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, motion
pictures, radio television, tape and sound recording, and
other arts related to the presentation, performance,
execution, and exhibition of these major art forms; and
(5) historical restoration and preservation projects or
activities or advertising and conducting solicitations
and promotional programs to encourage tourists and
convention delegates to visit preserved historic sites or
museums:
(1) which are at or in the immediate vicinity or
convention, center facilities or visitor information
centers; or
(2) which are located elsewhere in the
municipality or its vicinity that would be
frequented by tourists and convention delegates.
(b) Revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax shall be
expanded only in a manner which directly enhances and promotes
tourism and the convention and hotel industry as hereinbefore
delineated. Such revenue shall not be used for the general
revenue purposes or general governmental operations of the
city.
(c) The provisions of the Tex. Tax Code Ann. 5351.101 (Vernon
1982) as the same may he amended form time to time, shall
govern the use of tax revenues for promotion of tourism as
these subsections apply.
Sec. 28k -5.7. Penalties.
(a) If any person shall fail to file a report as required
herein or shall file a false report or shall fail to pay to
the city the tax as imposed herein when said report or payment
is due, he shall pay in addition to the amount otherwise
required to be paid hereunder an additional sum equal to five
percent (5 %) of the amount due as penalty and after the first
thirty (30) days he shall pay an additional five percent (5 %)
of such tax. However, such penalty shall never be less than
one dollar ($1.00). Delinquent taxes shall draw interest at
the rate of twelve percent (12 %) per annum beginning sixty
(60) days from the due date.
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• (b) Any person violating any of the provisions of this
section, including persons who fail to collect the tax, fail
to file a return, file a false return, or who are delinquent
in their tax payment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
shall, upon conviction, be fined in any sum not to exceed five
hundred dollars ($500.00), and each twenty -four (24) hours of
any such violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) The city is hereby authorized to take the following
actions against any person required to collect the tax imposed
hereby and pay the collection over to the city and who has
failed to file a report, or filed a false report, or failed to
pay the tax when due:
(1) Require the forfeiture of any revenue the city
allowed the hotel operator to retain for its cost of
collecting the tax;
(2) Bring suit against the person for noncompliance to
collect the tax not paid; and /or
(3) Any other remedy provided by law.
(d) The penalties provided for herein are in addition to
other remedies and /or actions for collection available to the
city by law.
Sec. 28h -5.8. Additional authority to institute injunctive
action.
The City Attorney is hereby authorized to bring suit to
collect the tax not paid against any person who is required to
collect the tax imposed hereby and required to pay the
collections over to the city and who has failed to file a tax
report, or filed a false report, or failed to pay the tax when
due. Such suit may seek to collect such tax not paid or to
enjoin such person from operating a hotel in the city until
the tax is paid or the report is filed, as applicable and as
provided in the injunction.
Section 2: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent
with the terms of this ordinance are hereby repealed; provided
however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent of such
inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance shall be
cumulative of other ordinances regulating and governing the subject
matter covered by this ordinance.
•
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• Section 3: If any provision, section, exception, subsection,
paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the
application of same to any person or set of circumstances, shall
for any reason be held unconstitutional, void or invalid, such
provisions of this ordinance or their application to other persons
or sets of circumstances and to this end all provisions of this
ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten
(10) days from its passage by the City Council. The City Clerk is
hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the caption of
this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper of the
City of Baytown at least twice within ten (10) days after passage
of this ordinance.
INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the
City Council of the City of Baytown this 22nd day of September,
1994.
od& C' A
PETE C. AL 0, Mayor
ATTEST:
- z — I P, &zda
EILEEN P. id ia, ity Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CIO RAMIREZ, R , ity Attorney
40 bAlWhoteltax