[Ord. No. 07-28 §2, 8-28-2007; Ord. No. 07-45 §1, 12-5-2007; Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008; Ord. No. 10-05, 2-18-2010]
Pursuant to the authority granted by Sections 67.1360 and 67.1362, RSMo., a tax for tourism purposes is hereby imposed on charges for sleeping rooms to be paid by transient guests of hotels, motels, nightly rentals, bed and breakfast inns, campgrounds and any docking facility which rents slips to recreational boats which are used for sleeping to the extent and in the manner provided for in Sections 67.1360 and 67.1362, RSMo. The rate of the tax shall be five percent (5%).
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008; Ord. No. 10-05, 2-18-2010]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
BED AND BREAKFAST
Any structure or building under one (1) management which contains rooms furnished for the accommodation or lodging of guests, with or without meals being provided and kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public as a place where sleeping accommodations are sought for pay or compensation to transient guests.
BUSINESS
Includes any activity resulting in gross receipts exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) in a calendar year engaged in by any person or caused to be engaged in by him/her with the object of gain, benefit or advantage, either direct or indirect, and the classification of which business is of such character as to be subject to the terms of this Article. No tourism tax is charged on any sale of one dollar ($1.00) or less.
CAMPGROUND
Real property, other than State-owned property, which contains parcels for rent to transient guests for pay or compensation, which may include temporary utility hookups for use by transient guests, and where such transient guests generally use tents, recreational vehicles or some other form of temporary shelter while on the rented premises. Campground shall be construed to include tourist camps, tourist cabins and tourist courts.
CONDOMINIUM UNIT
Any structure or building, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions, which contains rooms or space furnished for the accommodation or lodging of guests, with or without meals being provided and kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public as a place where sleeping accommodations are sought for pay or compensation to transient guests. Condominium unit shall be construed to include timeshares in condominium units.
DOCKING FACILITY
A facility which rents slips to recreational boats which are used by transient guests for sleeping.
GROSS RECEIPTS
The total amounts received by a seller for the renting or leasing of living quarters, sleeping accommodations, sleeping rooms or a part thereof in connection with any hotel, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility.
HOTEL
Any structure or building under one (1) management which contains rooms furnished for the accommodation or lodging of guests with or without meals being provided and kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public as a place where sleeping accommodations are sought for pay or compensation to transient guests. Hotel shall be construed to include motels and inns and the use of the term "hotel", "motel" or "inn" shall also be deemed to include all such structures, buildings and facilities.
NIGHTLY RENTAL
A building or portion thereof in which sleeping accommodation is available for four (4) or fewer guestrooms, for legal consideration, for a term less than thirty (30) consecutive days.
PERMANENT RESIDENT
A person who contracts in advance for a room or space in a hotel, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility for more than thirty (30) consecutive days. The gross receipts from letting such room or space are not subject to the tourism tax. Permanent resident is not considered synonymous with a permanent room. Persons who rent or lease accommodations on a permanent basis to businesses for their employees' use are subject to the tourism tax on the gross receipts received from such activity.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, co-partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, municipal or private and whether organized for profit or not, State, County, political subdivision, state department, commission, board, bureau, agency, estate, trust, business trust, receiver or trustee appointed by the State or Federal court, syndicate or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number.
PROMOTION OF TOURISM
Actions taken to accelerate the growth or progress of tourism within the City. These actions include, but are not limited to: tourism-related public infrastructure improvements and tourism-related advertising and publicity.
SELLER
The person selling or rendering services pursuant to this Article, on the gross receipts from which a tax is imposed pursuant to this Article.
TOURISM TAX
The tax levied by Section 140.370 of this Article.
TRANSIENT GUEST
Any person who rents or leases living quarters, sleeping accommodations, sleeping rooms or a part thereof in a hotel, nightly rental, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility for thirty (30) consecutive days or less.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008; Ord. No. 10-05, 2-18-2010]
A. 
There is hereby levied a tourism tax within the City, based upon the prices paid or charged for services rendered by hotels, bed and breakfasts, condominium units, campgrounds or docking facilities.
B. 
Every person engaged in the business of renting or leasing living quarters, sleeping accommodations, sleeping rooms or a part thereof in connection with any hotel, nightly rental, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility shall collect at the time of sale or consumption and pay to the City a tourism tax equal to five percent (5%) of the total price paid by or charged to transient guests. Persons deriving gross receipts from room charges in connection with any hotel, nightly rental, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility, whether rented or leased on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, are subject to the tourism tax on these payments or charges unless the person renting or leasing is deemed to be a permanent resident or a student occupying a room rented or leased by an educational institution which furnishes room and board to full-time students in pursuit of their educational objectives. The tourism tax shall be in addition to all other license fee and taxes which are presently applicable within the City.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
There is hereby established in the treasury of the City a Tourism Tax Fund. All taxes levied and collected pursuant to this Article shall be deposited to the credit of the Tourism Tax Fund. The Tourism Tax Fund shall be segregated and kept separate and apart from all other funds of the City and shall not be commingled with any other funds of the City, no matter from whatever source collected. The funds, net of the cost of collection, shall be collected, held and administered by the City in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Article so that such funds on deposit in the Tourism Tax Fund are to be expended and disbursed for the promotion of tourism as required in this Section 140.380:
1. 
Except as provided in Subsection (A)(2) of this Section 140.380, the Tourism Tax Fund may be used for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating tourism related infrastructure improvements including, but not limited to, sidewalks, streets, highways, roads, waterworks, wastewater, including distribution and collection of such wastewater and solid waste disposal facilities. The cost of these tourism related public infrastructure improvements may be funded by issuing bonds which may be retired by revenues received from the funds on deposit in the Tourism Tax Fund.
2. 
Not less than thirty percent (30%) of the tourism taxes collected shall be administered and disbursed, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 140.390 of this Article, for tourism related advertising and publicity purposes.
B. 
The Board of Aldermen shall annually budget and appropriate the amounts necessary to provide for the payment of the necessary expenses for the administration and collection of the tourism tax, which shall in no event exceed two percent (2%) of the collected revenues.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
The Board of Aldermen hereby finds that entering into one (1) or more contracts with qualified vendors to implement tourism related advertising and publicity is in the best interest of citizens of the City. The Board of Aldermen hereby finds it necessary and desirable in order to accomplish the purposes of this Section to approve one (1) or more contracts between the City and qualified vendors to implement tourism related advertising and publicity. The Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to execute and deliver the contracts for and on behalf of the City, and the City Clerk is hereby directed to attest and seal the contracts, submitted to and considered by the Board of Aldermen at its regular meetings.
B. 
The Finance Officer is hereby authorized to disburse funds from the Tourism Tax Fund to cover the cost of executing the contracts described in Subsection (A) of this Section. A copy of the approved budget will serve as an operating plan for the administration of such contracts.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
No person shall operate a hotel, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility without a current City business license, bearing the annotation "Tourism Tax License" clearly stated on the City business license. As a condition to obtaining a City business license with the tourism tax license annotation, the person applying must show evidence of compliance with Article VIII of Chapter 140 of the City Code and must have in his/her possession a current retail sales tax license and license number issued by the State of Missouri. Applications for the City business license with the tourism tax annotation shall be made to the City Clerk's Office on forms prescribed for that purpose. The tourism tax shall be paid to the City Clerk's department monthly and shall be payable on or before the twentieth (20th) day of the following month, except for the months following the end of each calendar quarter, when payments will be due on the last day of the following month.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
Every person engaged in the business of operating a hotel, bed and breakfast, condominium unit, campground or docking facility shall file with the City Clerk's Office, on prescribed forms, information as may be necessary or required to determine the amounts paid or charged by the business to which the tourism tax applies.
B. 
Every such business shall file with the City Clerk's Office, so that it shall be received or postmarked on or before the twentieth (20th) day of each month, except for the months following the end of each calendar quarter, when the filings will be due on the last day of the following month, a statement, verified by the oath of the person, who must be an officer or agent of the business making the report, showing the entire receipts of business done in the City during the previous reporting period, including amounts paid or charged for business done by such person in connection with another person. The statement shall report as receipts all such sums earned or charged for business done within the City during the taxable reporting period whether actually received or not; and shall contain an abstract of the amount received under each business activity for which tourism tax is due and the total amount received for all business activities.
C. 
If the person fails or refuses, for more than thirty (30) days, after the twentieth (20th) day of the month or the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter, to render a statement showing an accurate account of receipts as required in this Section 140.410, or has failed to pay any tourism tax when due, such person shall be subject to all the penalties set forth in Section 140.460 of this Article for each violation.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
An authorized representative of the City shall have the right, at all reasonable times during business hours, to examine the books and records of any business licensed pursuant to this Article as may be necessary to determine the accuracy of the reports required by this Article. Books and records necessary for such determination shall be preserved by the business for at least three (3) years.
B. 
If such an examination takes place, the business being examined must furnish reasonably sufficient work space, lighting and working conditions for use by the authorized representative for conducting tourism tax audits.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
If the City Clerk believes that a seller who is obligated to pay the tourism tax is about to discontinue business and dispose of his/her property or assets, therefore jeopardizing the collection of any tourism taxes to be collected from such seller, the City Clerk shall make a determination of the amount of tourism taxes to be collected and paid by the seller, note the basis for the determination and give notice of the amount of the assessment to the seller. The amount thereof shall be immediately due and payable. Failure to comply with the City Clerk's payment order shall result in automatic and immediate relinquishment of the seller's City business license. The seller shall have the right to stay collection of such amount by filing, within ten (10) days after the date of issuance of the notice by the City Clerk, a request for reassessment accompanied by such reasonable security as the City Clerk may deem necessary to insure compliance with this Article.
B. 
If a request for reassessment, accompanied by the required security deposit, is filed within the ten (10) day period, the City Clerk shall reconsider the assessment. The City Clerk's action on the request for reassessment becomes final upon the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date when the City Clerk mails the notice described in Subsection (B) of this Section 140.430, unless within that thirty (30) day period, the seller files a request for review with the Board of Aldermen.
C. 
If the security is in cash, the City Clerk shall deposit such security in the City's General Fund, under a designated general ledger account code. At the time such security is deemed refundable, it shall be released from the general ledger account code. Such refunds shall be paid within thirty (30) days of the receipt of a warrant requesting such payment.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
The tourism tax levied pursuant to this Article shall be paid by the transient guest to the seller and it shall be the duty of each seller to collect from the transient guest full amount of the tourism tax levied by this Article.
B. 
The seller shall add the tourism tax to the price or charge of the service, and when added, the tourism tax shall constitute a part of such price or charge, shall be a debt from the purchaser to the seller until paid and shall be recoverable by law in the same manner as other debts.
C. 
A seller who willfully or intentionally fails or refuses to collect the full amount of the tourism tax, or willfully or intentionally fails, neglects or refuses to comply with this Article or remits or rebates to a transient guest, either directly or indirectly, and by whatsoever means, all or any part of the tourism tax, or makes statements, verbal or otherwise, in any form of advertising which infer that the seller is absorbing the tourism tax, or paying the tourism tax for the transient guest by an adjustment of prices or at a price including the tourism tax, or any manner whatsoever, shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Section 140.460 of this Article, plus costs, for each violation.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
The confidential and privileged nature of the records and files concerning the administration of the tourism tax is legislatively recognized and declared, and to protect the same the provisions of the Sales Tax Act are adopted by reference and made fully effective and applicable to the administration of the tourism tax levied in this Article as if set forth in full.
[Ord. No. 08-03, 2-2-2008]
A. 
For any amount of tourism tax due under this Article and not paid for the period owed, a collection charge of ten percent (10%) of the delinquent tourism tax shall be added to the amount owed. Interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum shall be assessed on all unpaid amounts and collection charges.
B. 
Any person subject to this Article who fails to obtain a City business license, file a statement required under this Article, pay the tourism tax or who files a false or fraudulent statement, as required by this Article or within the time required by this Article, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by the provisions of Sections 100.200 and 100.210 of the City Code. Each day after the first (1st) day that an action is required to be taken under this Article and such action is not taken shall constitute a separate offense. Any person failing to pay the tourism tax for forty-five (45) days past the due date shall be subject to having his/her City business license revoked by order of the Board of Aldermen.
C. 
When a revocation order is issued for non-payment of tourism tax, the seller's City business license shall be deemed void. Before the City business license can be reissued for a delinquent seller, all such delinquent tourism tax, collection charges and accrued interest must be paid.