HomeMy WebLinkAbout2811ORDINANCE NO. 2811
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO IMPOSING A
TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX.
THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION ONE: Title. This ordinance shall be known as the
Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance of the City of San Bernardino.
SECTION TWO: Definitions. Except where the context other-
wise requires, the definitions given in this section govern the
construction of this ordinance:
(a) Person. "Person" means any individual, firm, partner-
ship, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organiza-
tion, joint stock company, corporation, estate, trust, business
trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combi-
nation acting as a unit.
(b) Hotel. "Hotel" means any structure, or any portion of
any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for occu-
pancy by transients for dwellin3, lodging or sleeping purposes,
and includes any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio
hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment
house, dormitory, public or private club, mobilehome 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 to 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
occupancy or is entitled to occupancy by reason of concession,
permit, right of access, license or other agreement for a period
of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions
32 of calendar days as full days 0 Any such person so occupying space
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ing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer I
period of occupancy. In determining whether a person is a transientl,
in a hotel shall be deemed to be a transient until the period of
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thirty (30) days has expired unless there is an agreement in writ-
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uninterrupted periods of time extending both prior and subsequent
to the effective date of this ordinance may be considered.
(e) Rent. "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, sub-lessee,
mortgagee in possession, licensee, or any other capacity. Where
the operator performs his functions through a managing agent or
any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent
shall also be deemed an operator for the purposes of this ordinance
and shall have the same duties and liabilities 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 THREE: 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 percent (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
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28 the time the rent is paid. If the rent is paid in installments,
29 a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each install-
30 ment. The unpaid tax shall be due upon the transient's ceasing
31 to occupy space in the hotel. If for any reason the tax due is
32 not paid to the operator of the hotel, the City Clerk may require
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1 i, that such tax shall be paid directly to the City Clerk.
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SECTION FOUR: Exemptions. No tax shall be imposed upon:
(a) Any person as to whom, or any occupancy as to which,
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(b) Any officer or employee of a foreign government who
is exempt by reason of express provision of federal law or inter-
national 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 City Clerka
SECTION FIVE: OperatorVs 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 receipt for
payment from the operatoro 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 hereinafter provideda
SECTION SIX: 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 City Clerk and obtain from him a "Transient Occu-
pancy Registration Certificate" to be at all times posted in a
conspicuous place on the premisesa
other things, state the following:
(1) The name of the operator;
(2) The add~ess of the hotel;
(3) The date upon which the certificate was issued;
Said certificate shall, among
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(4) "This Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate
2 signifies that the person named on the face he~eof has fulfilled
3 the requirements of the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance
4 by registering with the City Clerk for the purpose of collecting
5 from transients the Transient Occupancy Tax and remitting said tax
6 to the City Clerk. This certificate does not authorize any person
7 to conduct any unlawful business or to conduct any lawful business
8 in an unlawful manner, nor to operate a hotel without strictly
9 complying with all local applicable laws, including but not limited
10 to those requiring a permit from any board, commission, department
11, or office of this city. This certificate does not constitute a
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12, permit."
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SECTION SEVEN: Reporting and Remitting. Each operator
14 shall, on or before the last day of the month following the close
15' of each calendar quarter, or at the close of any shorter reporting
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period which may be established by the City Clerk, make a return
to the City Clerk 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 City Clerk. The City
Clerk may establish 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
25 for any reason. All taxes collected by operators pursuant to this
26 ordinance shall be held in trust for the account of the city until
27 payment thereof is made to the City Clerk.
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SECTION EIGHT: Penalties.
(a) Original Delinquency. Any operator who fails to remit
30 any tax imposed by this ordinance within the time required shall
31 pay a penalty of 10% of the amount of tax in addition to the amount
32 of the tax.
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(b) Continued Delinquency. .~y 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
firs t imposed.
(c) Fraud, If the City Clerk 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) Penalties Merged with Tax. Every penalty imposed
under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the
tax herein required to be paid.
SECTION NINE: Failure to Collect and Report Tax, Determi-
nation of Tax by City Clerk. 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 City Clerk shall proceed
in such manner as he may deem best to obtain facts and information
on which to base the estimate of the tax due. As soon as the City
Clerk shall procure such facts and information as he is able to
obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by I
this ordinance and payable by any operator who has failed or refuse1
to collect the same and to make such report and remittance, he
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shall proceed to determine and assess against such operator the I
tax and penalties provided for by this ordinance. In case such
determination is made, the City Clerk 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 oper-
31 ator so assessed at his last known place of address. Such operator
32 may within ten (10) days after the serving or mailing of such
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notice make application in writing to the City Clerk for a hearing
on the amount assessed. If application by the operator for a
hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax and
shall become final I
If such apPlicati01
five (5) days '
penalties, if any, determined by the City Clerk
and conclusive and immediately due and payable.
is made, the City Clerk shall give not less than
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 and
penalties. At such hearing, the operator may appear and offer
evidence why such specified tax and penalties should not be so
fixed. After such hearing the City Clerk 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 and penalties. The amount determined
to be due shall be payable after fifteen (15) days unless an
appeal is taken as provided in Section Ten.
SECTION TEN: Appeal. Any operator aggrieved by any
decision of the City Clerk with respect to the amount of such tax
and penalties, if any, may appeal 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 addresso The findings of the Council
shall be final and conclusive and shall be served upon the
appellant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice
of hearing. Any amount found to be due shall immediately become
due and payable upon the service of notice.
SECTION ELEVEN: 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
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I" of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine the
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2 I amount of such tax as he may have been liable for the collection
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3 II of and payment to the city, which records the City Clerk shall
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4, have the right to inspect at all reasonable times.
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SECTION TWELVE: Refunds.
(a) Nhenever the amount of any tax or penalty has been
overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegal-
ly collected or received by the city under this ordinance, it may
be refunded as provided in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this sec-
tion provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty
of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded,
is filed with the City Clerk within three years of the date of
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13'1 payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the City Clerk.
14 (b) An operator may claim a refund or take as credit agains
15.. taxes collected and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than
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171 established in a manner prescribed by the City Clerk that the
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18! person from whom the tax has been collected was not a transient;
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19 provided, however, that neither a refund nor a credit shall be
20 allowed unless the amount of the tax so collected has either been
21 refunded to the transient or credited to rent subsequently payable
221 by the transient to the operator.
23 (c) A transient may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid or
24 paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or receiv d
25 by the city by filing a claim in the manner provided in subpara-
26 graph (a) of this section, but only when the tax was paid by the
27 transient directly to the City Clerk, or when the transient,
28 having paid the tax to the operator, establishes to the satisfac-
29 tion of the City Clerk that the transient has been unable to
30 obtain a refund from the operator who collected the taxo
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(d) No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this
32 section unless the claimant establishes his right thereto by
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1 written records showing entitlement thereto.
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SECTION THIRTEEN: Actions to Collect. Any tax required
:5 to be paid by any transient under the provisions of this ordinance
4' shall be deemed a debt owed by the transient to the city. Any
5 such tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to the
e city shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the city.
7 Any person owing money to the city under the provisions of this
8 ordinance shall be liable to an action brought in the name of
9 the City of San Bernardino for the recovery of such amount.
SECTION FOURTEEN: All taxes and penalties paid to the
11 City of San Bernardino pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance
12 shall be placed in a special fund or account and shall be expended
13 only for the purposes of promoting or advertising the city,
14 attracting visitors and tourists, establishing a convention and
15 cultural center and related purposes.
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SECTION FIFTEEN: Violations; Misdemeanor. Any person
violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall 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 San Bernardino County Jail for a period of not more than
six months or by both 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 City Clerk, or who renders
a false or fraudulent return or claim, is guilty of a misdemeanor,
and is punishable as aforesaid. Any person required 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 SIXTEEN: Severability. If any section, subsection,
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1 subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinanc4
2 or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional,
3 such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining por-
4 tions of this ordinance or any part thereof. The Mayor and Common
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Council hereby declare that it would have passed each section,
subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase
thereof, irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections,
subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or
phrases be declared unconstitutional.
SECTION SEVENTEEN: Effective Date. This ordinance, inas-
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much as it provides for a tax levy for the usual and current
expenses of the city, shall take effect immediately except that
the tax imposed by this ordinance shall become operative and be
imposed on June 1, 1967, and shall not apply prior to said date,
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly
of the City of San Bernar-
dino at <y;
the /~y
eeting thereof, held on
, 1967 by the following vote,
to wit:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT: ;P" ~ L .-I
The foregoing
of rfj/~
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ordinance is hereby approved this ~daY
, 19670
(eJ2
Mayor of
/J t1. ~/ /?
~, Q~~~l.cl
the C~ty of San Bernardino
FILED
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APR 1 3 )967
J"Qr 'E. m:l'ON. City Clerk
· ,or '("'7'.d.....1JUIU1Y