GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1997
SESSION LAW 1998-14
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH DAVIE OCCUPANCY TAX PROCEEDS MAY BE USED AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING CHANGES TO THE LAW.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. Section 1 of Chapter 928 of the 1989 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Section 1. Occupancy Davie County
occupancy tax.
(a) Authorization and
Scope. - The Davie 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 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(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.
(b) Collection. Administration.
- A tax levied under this section shall 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repealed as provided in G.S. 153A-155.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.
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. An operator of a business who collects the
occupancy tax levied under this section may deduct from the amount remitted to
the county a discount of three percent (3%) of the amount collected.
(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 tax administrator 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 tax administrator 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 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. The board of commissioners may, for good
cause shown, compromise or forgive the additional tax penalties imposed by this
subsection.
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.
(e) Distribution and use
of tax revenue. - Davie County shall, on a monthly basis, deposit in a special
account thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) at least fifty
percent (50%) of the net proceeds of the occupancy tax. Funds in the
special account may be used only to promote travel and tourism in Davie County
and to finance tourism related capital projects in the county. However,
any tax proceeds in the special account that have not been appropriated after
three years following the date they were deposited in the account shall be
remitted to the general fund of Davie County and may be used for any lawful
purpose.
Davie County shall, on a monthly basis, remit the remaining sixty-six
and two-thirds percent (66-2/3) of the net proceeds of the tax to its
general funds and may use these funds for any lawful purpose. As used
in this subsection, "net proceeds"means gross proceeds,
including penalties and interest, less the cost to the county of administering
and collecting the tax, as determined by the finance office. 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 seven percent (7%) of the amount collected.
(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.
(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
Davie 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 2. County Administrative Provisions. Section 3(b) of S.L. 1997-102, as amended by Section 2 of S.L. 1997-255, Section 2 of S.L. 1997-342, Section 3 of S.L. 1997-364, and Section 6 of S.L. 1997-410, reads as rewritten:
"(b) This section applies only to Avery, Brunswick, Davie, Madison, Nash, Person, Randolph, and Scotland Counties."
Section 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 1998.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 23rd day of June, 1998.
s/ Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
s/ Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives