§ 12-18

The tax collector shall have the right to audit an operator's records at any time at their discretion. It shall be the duty of every operator liable for the collection and payment to the county of any tax imposed by this article to keep and preserve, for a period of five (5) years, all records that may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he or she may have been liable for the collection of and payments to the county under this article. At a minimum, the records deemed necessary for this determination shall be a chronological cash journal showing tax and room rate separately, or other means acceptable to the tax collector of summarizing the operator's monthly or quarterly revenue, supported by room registrations (including the name and address of the transient), the automobile license plate number of the transient, a calendar of advance registrations, copies of forms used to claim exemption from the tax, and prenumbered payment receipts showing payment for occupancy which state the room rate separate from the amount of tax paid and which may, with reasonable effort, be identified with the revenue summary. These records shall be available, at all times, for inspection by the tax collector. Performance of an audit does not waive the county's right to any tax or the five (5) year requirement of preserving records. If adequate records are not kept, or if an operator fails or refuses to provide records when requested and within the timeframe prescribed, even if the operator has filed a return, the tax collector shall determine the amount of base tax due in the manner prescribed in Section 12-17, and that amount shall be the base tax due for the time period requested.

(Ord. No. 6391, § II, 10-4-2022)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 6391, § II, adopted Oct. 4, 2022, amended § 12-18.1 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former § 12-18.1 pertained to records to be kept and derived from Ord. No. 5823, § 2, adopted Jan. 6, 2009.

(a)

In the event that there is a change in ownership or operator of any lodging facility, the new owner or operator is required to submit an updated registration form to the tax collector.

(b)

Unless otherwise provided by law, upon the sale of any lodging facility:

(1)

it is the joint and several liability of both the seller and buyer to remit any tax due up until the date of sale; and

(2)

A certificate of delinquent transient occupancy tax lien may be filed against both the seller and/or buyer in an amount determined by the tax collector.

(c)

Following any change of ownership or operator, the new owner and operator are subject to an audit by the tax collector.

(d)

Any owner of a lodging facility required to collect or pay transient occupancy tax may apply for and receive within ninety (90) days of application, an occupancy tax clearance certificate, provided that the taxes and any penalties are paid in full for the time period specified.

(Ord. No. 6391, § II, 10-4-2022; Ord. No. 5823, § 2, 1-6-2009.)