ARTICLE
II. TOURIST DEVELOPMENT, Sec. 20-71.
CODE OF ORDINANCES - County
of OKALOOSA, FLORIDA Codified through Ord. No. 99-6,
adopted February 16, 1999. (Publication)
CODE OF ORDINANCES
Chapter 20 TAXATION*
Chapter 20 TAXATION*
*Cross reference(s)--Special
districts, App. D.
__________
ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
Secs. 20-1--20-70.
Reserved.
ARTICLE II. TOURIST
DEVELOPMENT
Sec. 20-71.Tax levied;
collection; remittance.
(a) There is hereby levied
and imposed a tourist development tax in the hereinafter
described subcounty special district of Florida, at the rate of
two percent of each whole and major fraction of each dollar of
the total rental charged every person who rents, leases or lets
for consideration any living quarters or accommodations in any
hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment,
apartment motel, rooming house, tourist or trailer camp, or
condominium for a term of six months or less. When receipt of
consideration is by way of property other than money, the tax
shall be levied and imposed on the fair market value of such
nonmonetary considerations.
(b) The tourist development
tax shall be in addition to any other tax imposed pursuant to
Chapter 212, Florida Statutes, and in addition to all other
taxes, fees, and the considerations for the rental or lease.
(c) The tourist development
tax shall be charged by the person receiving the consideration
for the lease or rental, and it shall be collected from the
lessee, tenant or customer at the time of payment of the
consideration for such lease or rental.
(d) The person receiving the
consideration for such rental or lease shall receive, account
for, and remit the tax to the board of county commissioners at
the same time and in the manner provided for persons who collect
and remit taxes under Section 212.03, Florida Statutes. The same
duties and privileges imposed by Chapter 212, Florida Statutes,
upon dealers in tangible property, respecting the collection and
remission of tax, the making of returns, the keeping of books,
records and accounts, the payment of a dealer's credit, and
compliance with the rules of the county clerk of the circuit
court in the administration of said chapter shall apply to and
be binding on all persons who are subject to the provisions of
this article; provided, however, the clerk of the circuit court
may authorize a quarterly payment when the tax remitted by the
dealer for the preceding quarter did not exceed $25.00.
(e) The county clerk of the
circuit court shall keep records showing the amount of taxes
collected, which records shall be open to the public during the
regular office hours of the county clerk of the circuit court,
subject to the provisions of Section 213.053, Florida Statutes.
(f) Collections received by
the county clerk of the circuit court, less costs of
administration of this article, shall be paid on a monthly
basis, to the board of county commissioners for use by the
county in accordance with the provisions of this article and
shall be placed in the county tourist development trust fund.
(g) The county clerk of the
circuit court is authorized to employ persons and incur other
expenses necessary to administer this article.
(h) The county clerk of the
circuit court may promulgate such rules and may prescribe and
publish such forms as may be necessary to effectuate the purpose
of this article.
(i) The county clerk of the
circuit court shall perform the enforcement and audit functions
associated with the collection and remission of this tax,
including, without limitation, the following:
(1) a. For the purpose of
enforcing the collection of the tax levied by this article, the
clerk is hereby specifically authorized and empowered to examine
at all reasonable hours the books, records, and other documents
of all dealers, or other persons charged with the duty to report
or pay a tax under this article, in order to determine whether
they are collecting the tax or otherwise complying with this
article.
b. In the event such dealer
refuses to permit such examination of its books, records, or
other documents by the clerk as aforesaid, such dealer is guilty
of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in
Sections 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084, Florida Statutes. The
clerk shall have the right to proceed in circuit court to seek a
mandatory injunction or other appropriate remedy to enforce his
right against the offender, as granted by this section, to
require an examination of the books and records of such dealer.
(2) a. Each dealer, as
defined in this article, shall secure, maintain, and keep for a
period of three years, a complete record of rooms or other
lodging, leased or rented by the dealer, together with gross
receipts from such sales, and other pertinent records and papers
as may be required by the county clerk of the circuit court for
the reasonable administration of this article; and all such
records which are maintained in this state shall be open for
inspection by the clerk at all reasonable hours at such dealer's
place of business located in the county.
b. Any dealer who maintains
such books and records at a point outside the county must make
such books and records available for inspection by the county
clerk. Any dealer subject to the provisions of this article who
violates these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor of the
first degree, punishable as provided in Sections 775.082,
775.083, or 775.084, Florida Statutes.
(3) a. The clerk shall send
written notification, at least 30 days prior to the date an
auditor is scheduled to begin an audit. The clerk is not
required to give 30 days prior notification of a forthcoming
audit in any instance in which the taxpayer requests an
emergency audit.
b. Such written
notification shall contain:
1.
The approximate date on which the auditor is scheduled to
begin the audit.
2.
A reminder that all of the records, invoices, and related
documentation must be made available to the auditor.
3.
Any other requests or suggestions the clerk may deem
necessary.
c. Only records, receipts,
invoices, and related documentation which are available to the
auditor when such audit begins shall be deemed acceptable for
the purposes of conducting such audit.
(4) Effective with taxes
collected for the month of July 1992, all taxes collected under
this article shall be remitted to the board of county
commissioners, Attention: Finance officer.
(5) a. In addition to
criminal sanctions, the clerk is empowered, and it shall be his
duty, when any tax becomes delinquent or is otherwise in
jeopardy under this article, to issue a warrant for the full
amount of the tax due, or estimated to be due, with the
interest, penalties, and cost of collection, directed to all and
singular sheriffs of the state, and shall record the warrant in
the public records of the county, and thereupon the amount of
the warrant shall become a lien on any real or personal property
of the taxpayer in the same manner as a recorded judgment.
b. The clerk may issue a tax
execution to enforce the collection of taxes imposed by this
article and deliver it to the sheriff. The sheriff shall then
proceed in the same manner as prescribed by law for executions
and shall be entitled to the same fees for his services in
executing the warrant to be collected.
c. The clerk may also have a
writ of garnishment to subject any indebtedness due to the
delinquent dealer by a third person in any goods, money,
chattels, or effects of the delinquent dealer in the hands,
possession, or control of the third person in the manner
provided by law for the payment of the tax due. Upon payment of
the execution, warrant, judgment, or garnishment, the clerk
shall satisfy the lien of record within 30 days.
(j) Tax revenues may be used
only in accordance with the provisions of Section 125.0104,
Florida Statutes.
(k) Three percent of the tax
collected herein shall be retained by the clerk for costs of
administration. The remainder of the tax shall be deposited in
the county tourist development trust fund on a monthly basis.
(Ord. No. 86-06, § 1,
3-4-86; Ord. No. 92-08, §§ I, II, 4-28-92)
Sec. 20-72.Tourist
development plan.
(a) The tax revenues
received pursuant to this article shall be used to fund the
county tourist development plan, which is hereby adopted as
follows:
(1) The anticipated revenue
to be produced by the tourist development tax as identified
herein is provided as an annual total minus the costs of
administration retained by the county clerk of the circuit court
pursuant to its local tax administration authority under the
provision of County Ordinance No. 92-08.
(2) The area to be included
within the subcounty special district shall be as follows:
All of that area included
within Voting Precincts 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 30, 32, 35, 38,
41, 42 and 44, and as more specifically described in Composite
Exhibit A, as attached hereto and incorporated herein by
reference.
(3) The following is a list,
in the order of priority, of the proposed uses of the funds
anticipated to be available for the 24 months immediately
following adoption of Ordinance No. 95-10 and the approximate
expense allocation for each specific project or special use:
a.
Tourism promotion....56%
b.
Beach maintenance and improvements....25%
c.
Tourist bureau administration....14.5%
d.
Contingency and statutory improvements....4.5%
(b) There is also hereby
established an emergency reserve fund which shall set aside the
amount of $500,000.00 to be held aside from year to year for the
specific purpose defined herein. The emergency reserve fund is
created to provide a reserve fund for the operation of the
county's tourist development functions and/or clean-up of the
beaches and restoration of the county's beach improvements
following the impact of a major emergency event. The tourist
development council will be responsible for recommending to the
commission when and how these funds should be used following a
major emergency event and the commission shall then make a final
determination on the allocation to meet emergency related needs.
(c) The above and foregoing
tourist development plan may not be amended except by ordinance
enacted by an affirmative vote of a majority plus one additional
member of the board of county commissioners.
(Ord. No. 86-06, § 2,
3-4-86; Ord. No. 93-52, § 1, 12-7-93; Ord. No. 95-10, § 1,
8-15-95)
Sec. 20-73.Tourist
development council.
(a) Established. There is
hereby established, pursuant to the provisions of Section
125.0104, Florida Statutes, an advisory council to be known as
the "Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council."
Appointments to the county tourist development council have
previously been made by resolution and are hereby ratified and
affirmed, a copy of said resolution being attached hereto and
made a part hereof by reference. The members of the tourist
development council shall elect from among their members a
member to serve as chairman of the council and prescribe the
term of office.
(b) Duties and
responsibilities. The council hereby established shall, from
time to time, make recommendations to the board of county
commissioners for the effective operation of the uses of the
tourist development tax revenue raised by the tax hereby levied
and may perform such other duties or functions as hereinafter
may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution.
(c) Review of revenue
expenditures. The council shall continuously review all
expenditures of revenue raised by the tax hereby levied and
shall report to the board of county commissioners all
expenditures of said revenue believed to be unauthorized by the
provisions of this article. The board of county commissioners,
upon receiving notification of expenditures believed to be
unauthorized by the council, shall review the council's findings
and take such administrative or judicial action as it sees fit
to ensure compliance with this article and the provisions of
Section 125.0104, Florida Statutes.
(Ord. No. 86-06, § 3,
3-4-86; Ord. No. 93-06, § 1, 3-9-93)
Sec. 20-74.Failure to
charge or collect tax.
Any person who is taxable
hereunder who fails or refuses to charge and collect from the
person paying any rental or lease the taxes herein provided,
either by himself or through his agents or employees, shall be,
in addition to being personally liable for the payment of the
tax, guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
provided in Section 775.082, Section 775.083 or Section 775.084,
Florida Statutes.
(Ord. No. 86-06, § 4,
3-4-86)
Sec. 20-75.Representation
that tenant or lessee need not pay tax.
No person shall advertise or
hold out to the public in any manner, directly or indirectly,
that he will absorb all or any part of the tax, or that he will
relieve the person paying the rental of the payment of all or
any part of the tax, or that the tax will not be added to the
rental or lease consideration, or when added, that it or any
part thereof will be refunded or refused, either directly or
indirectly, by any method whatsoever. Any person who willfully
violates any provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in
Section 775.082, Section 775.083 or Section 775.084, Florida
Statutes.
(Ord. No. 86-06, § 5,
3-4-86)
Sec. 20-76.Tax deemed
lien.
The tax hereby levied shall
constitute a lien on the property of the lessee, customer or
tenant in the same manner as, and shall be collectible as are,
liens authorized and imposed in Sections 713.67, 713.68 and
713.69, Florida Statutes.
See Also: Section 125.0104 Tourist development tax
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