Occupancy Tax

Local Hotel Occupancy Tax for the City of Diboll

 

The following, words, terms and phrases are defined as follows:

(a)     Hotel. Any building or buildings in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations, including 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.

(b)     Consideration. 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.

(c)      Occupancy. 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. Anyone 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 of access, license, contract or agreement, other than a permanent resident as hereinafter defined.

(e)     Person. Any individual, company, corporation or association owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel.

(f)      Finance director/city manager. The finance director of the City of Diboll and/or the city manager of Diboll shall collect the local hotel occupancy tax.

(g)     Quarterly period. 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; the third quarter being the months of April, May and June; and the fourth quarter being the months of July, August and September.

(h)     Permanent resident. Any occupant who has or shall have the right to occupancy of any room or rooms in a hotel for at least thirty (30) consecutive days during the calendar year or preceding year.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.00, 3-12-2000

 

There is hereby levied a tax of seven (7) percent of the price for a room in a hotel on every person 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. The price of a room in a hotel does not include the cost of food served by the hotel and the cost of personal services performed by the hotel for the person except those services related to the cleaning and readying of the room for possession.

Exceptions are as follow:

(a)     No tax shall be imposed upon a permanent resident.

(b)     No tax shall be imposed for federal or state employees traveling on official business.

(c)      No tax shall be imposed for diplomatic personnel who present a tax exemption card issued by the United States Department of State.

(d)     No tax shall be imposed for federal or state military personnel traveling on official military business. This exemption does not cover military staff on leave or between stations.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.02, 3-12-2000)

 

Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel shall collect the tax levied by this article for the City of Diboll.

The hotel operator shall be entitled to one percent 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 file a false report with the city.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.03, 3-12-2000)

 

On the last day of the month following each quarterly period (beginning the last day of the month following the second quarterly period of calendar year 2000), every person required to collect the tax imposed hereby shall file a report with the assessor-collector of taxes showing the price paid for all room occupancies in the preceding quarter, the amount of the tax collected on such occupancies, and any other information the assessor-collector may reasonably require. Such person shall pay the tax due on such occupancies at the time of filing such report. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the assessor-collector. The assessor-collector is hereby authorized and directed to do all such things necessary or convenient to carry out the terms of this article. The assessor-collector shall have the authority to request and receive within a reasonable time documentation for information contained in the report to the city by the hotel.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.04, 3-12-2000)

 

The finance director/city manager shall the power to make such rules and regulations 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 to determine the correctness of any report filed as required by this article, and the amount of taxes due under the provisions of this article.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.05, 3-12-2000)

 

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 tax assessor-collector the tax as imposed herein when said report or payment is due, he shall forfeit five (5) percent of the amount due as penalty, and after the first thirty (30) days, he shall forfeit an additional five (5) percent of such tax. However, such penalty shall never be less than one dollar ($1.00). Delinquent taxes shall draw interest at the rate of ten (10) percent per annum beginning sixty (60) days from the due date.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article, including hotel operators 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 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.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.06, 3-12-2000)

 

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:

(a)     Require the forfeiture of any revenue the city allowed the hotel operator to retain for its cost of collecting the tax;

(b)     Bring suit against the hotel for noncompliance; and/or

(c)      Bring suit against the hotel seeking any other remedies provided under Texas law.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.07, 3-12-2000)

 

The city attorney is hereby authorized to bring suit against any person required to collect the tax imposed hereby and required to pay the collection over the city and who has failed to file a 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 or both, as applicable and as provided in the injunction.

(Ord. No. 2000-04, § 1.08, 3-12-2000)