GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2005

 

 

SESSION LAW 2005-53

HOUSE BILL 843

 

 

AN ACT to authorize duplin county to levy an additional room occupancy and tourism development tax.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 377 of the 1987 Session Laws reads as rewritten:

"Section 1.  Occupancy tax. (a)  Authorization and scope.  The Duplin County Board of Commissioners may by resolution, after not less than 10 days' public notice and after a public hearing held pursuant thereto, levy a room occupancy tax of up to three percent (3%) of the gross receipts derived from the rental of any room, lodging, or similar accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, or similar place within the county that is subject to sales tax imposed by the State under G.S. 105-164.4(3).105-164.4(a)(3).  This tax is in addition to any State or local sales tax.  This tax does not apply to accommodations furnished by nonprofit charitable, educational, or religious organizations.

(a1)     Authorization of additional tax.  In addition to the tax authorized by subsection (a) of this section, the Duplin County Board of Commissioners may levy an additional room occupancy tax of up to three percent (3%) of the gross receipts derived from the rental of accommodations taxable under subsection (a) of this section.  The levy, collection, administration, and repeal of the tax authorized by this subsection must be in accordance with the provisions of this section.  Duplin County may not levy a tax under this subsection unless it also levies the tax authorized under subsection (a) of this section.

(a2)     Administration.  A tax levied under this section must be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 153A-155.  The penalties provided in G.S. 153A-155 apply to a tax levied under this section.

(b)       Collection. Every operator of a business subject to the tax levied under this section shall, on and after the effective date of the levy of the tax, collect the tax. This tax shall be collected as part of the charge for furnishing a taxable accommodation. The tax shall be stated and charged separately from the sales records, and shall be paid by the purchaser to the operator of the business as trustee for and on account of the county. The tax shall be added to the sales price and shall be passed on to the purchaser instead of being borne by the operator of the business. The county shall design, print, and furnish to all appropriate businesses and persons in the county the necessary forms for filing returns and instructions to ensure the full collection of the tax.

(c)       Administration. The county shall administer a tax levied under this section. A tax levied under this section is due and payable to the county finance officer in monthly installments on or before the 15th day of the month following the month in which the tax accrues. Every person, firm, corporation, or association liable for the tax shall, on or before the 15th day of each month, prepare and render a return on a form prescribed by the county. The return shall state the total gross receipts derived in the preceding month from rentals upon which the tax is levied.

A return filed with the county finance officer under this section is not a public record as defined by G.S. 132-1 and may not be disclosed except as required by law.

(d)       Penalties. A person, firm, corporation, or association who fails or refuses to file the return required by this section shall pay a penalty of ten dollars ($10.00) for each day's omission. In case of failure or refusal to file the return or pay the tax for a period of thirty 30 days after the time required for filing the return or for paying the tax, there shall be an additional tax, as a penalty, of five percent (5%) of the tax due in addition to any other penalty, with an additional tax of five percent (5%) for each additional month or fraction thereof until the tax is paid.

Any person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade a tax imposed under this section or who willfully fails to pay the tax or make and file a return shall, in addition to all other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both. The board of commissioners may, for good cause shown, compromise or forgive the penalties imposed by this subsection.

(e)       Distribution and Use use of tax revenue.  Except as otherwise provided in this act, Duplin County may shall use the net proceeds of a tax levied under this section in accordance with this subsection.  only It shall use at least two-thirds of the funds to promote travel and tourism in Duplin County.County and shall use the remainder for tourism-related expenditures.

The following definitions apply in this subsection:

(1)       Net proceeds. - Gross proceeds less the cost to the county of administering and collecting the tax, as determined by the finance officer, not to exceed three percent (3%) of the first five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of the gross proceeds collected each year and one percent (1%) of the remaining gross receipts collected each year.

(2)       Promote travel and tourism. - To advertise or market an area or activity, publish and distribute pamphlets and other materials, conduct market research, or engage in similar promotional activities that attract tourists or business travelers to the area; the term includes administrative expenses incurred in engaging in the listed activities.

(3)       Tourism-related expenditures. - Expenditures that, in the judgment of the Board of Commissioners, are designed to increase the use of lodging facilities, meeting facilities, or convention facilities in the county by attracting tourists or business travelers to the county. The term includes tourism-related capital expenditures.

(f)        Effective date of levy. A tax levied under this section shall become effective on the date specified in the resolution levying the tax. That date must be the first day of a calendar month, however, and may not be earlier than the first day of the second month after the date the resolution is adopted.

(g)       Repeal. A tax levied under this section may be repealed by a resolution adopted by the Duplin County Board of Commissioners. Repeal of a tax levied under this section shall become effective on the first day of a month and may not become effective until the end of the fiscal year in which the repeal resolution was adopted. Repeal of a tax levied under this section does not affect a liability for a tax that was attached before the effective date of the repeal, nor does it affect a right to a refund of a tax that accrued before the effective date of the repeal.

"Section 1.1.  Duplin County Tourism Development Authority.  (a) Appointment and Membership.  When the annual net proceeds of the occupancy tax exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), the Duplin County Board of Commissioners shall adopt a resolution creating a county Tourism Development Authority, which shall be a public authority under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act.  The resolution shall provide for the membership of the Authority, including the members' terms of office, and for the filing of vacancies on the Authority. At least one-third of the members must be individuals who are affiliated with businesses that collect the tax in the county, and at least three-fourths of the members must be individuals who are currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in the county.  The board of commissioners shall designate one member of the Authority as chair and shall determine the compensation, if any, to be paid to the members of the Authority.

The Authority shall meet at the call of the chair and shall adopt rules of procedure to govern its meetings.  The Finance Officer for Duplin County shall be the ex officio finance officer of the Authority.

"Section 1.2.  Duties.  If the board of commissioners establishes a Tourism Development Authority as provided in Section 1.1 of this act, then Duplin County shall, on a quarterly basis, remit the net proceeds of the tax to the Tourism Development Authority.  The Authority shall expend the net proceeds of the tax levied under this act for the purposes provided in Section 1 of this act.

"Section 1.3.  Reports.  If the board of commissioners establishes a Tourism Development Authority as provided in Section 1.1 of this act, then the Authority shall report quarterly and at the close of the fiscal year to the Duplin County Board of Commissioners on its receipts and expenditures for the preceding quarter and for the year in such detail as the board may require."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 153A-155(g) reads as rewritten:

"§ 153A-155.  Uniform provisions for room occupancy taxes.

(g)       This section applies only to Alleghany, Anson, Brunswick, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Granville, Madison, Montgomery, Nash, New Hanover, Pender, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Vance, and Washington Counties, and to the Township of Averasboro in Harnett County."

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of May, 2005.

 

 

                                                                    s/ Beverly E. Perdue

                                                                         President of the Senate

 

 

                                                                    s/ James B. Black

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives