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 A tax levied under this section must be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 153A-155.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