[Amended 6-6-2000 by Bill No. 00-5; 10-16-2007 by Bill No. 07-2; 5-21-2019 by Bill No. 19-1; 8-20-2019 by
Bill No. 19-5; 1-18-2022 by Bill No. 21-9]
(a)
Imposition and rate. The Board of County Commissioners
of Worcester County may impose a tax within every resort area within
the County on the amount paid for room or building rental by or for
any transient at any hotel or motel, at any house, townhouse, apartment,
condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured home, rooming house,
recreational vehicle, recreational park model, or any other building
or structure or portion thereof used as a place of lodging. This tax,
if imposed, shall be at the rate as a per centum of the room or building
rental as the Board may, by resolution after public notice and hearing,
determine, but not to be imposed at a rate in excess of five percent.
Any resolution establishing a rate in excess of three percent shall
require the unanimous consent of all of the County Commissioners.
The notice of public hearing shall be advertised at least twice in
at least one newspaper of general circulation in the County, with
the first such notice appearing not less than ten days prior to the
date of such hearing and shall state the possible rates that may be
set and the date, time and place of the hearing.
(b)
HOSTING PLATFORM
(1)
(2)
(3)
HOTEL, MOTEL, APARTMENT, COTTAGE OR SIMILAR PLACE
PERSON
RESORT AREA
ROOM OR BUILDING RENTAL
TRANSIENT
Definitions. In this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meaning indicated, unless the context
clearly indicates a different meaning:
A person or entity that, in exchange for compensation of
any kind:
Facilitates advertisements or reservations of a room or building
rental;
Serves as a conduit of communication between property owners
and property managers and renters; or
Otherwise facilitates any transactions for the rental of any
house, townhouse, apartment, condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured
home, rooming house, recreational vehicle, recreational park model
or any other tourist home, hotel or motel room, or any other building
or structure or portion thereof as a place of sleeping accommodations
or space provided to a transient.
Any hotel or motel, any public or private house, townhouse,
apartment, condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured home, recreational
vehicle, recreational park model, or other tourist home or house,
or any other building or structure or portion thereof, or other similar
lodging place offering sleeping accommodations or space for one or
more persons at any time, where the owner or operator thereof provides
or offers to provide such sleeping accommodations or space to any
transient in return for compensation of any kind.
Any individual, corporation, company, association, firm,
partnership or any group of individuals acting as a unit and includes
any trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative thereof.
Any portion or portions of the County, as specified by the
Board of County Commissioners from time to time, which, by reason
of natural, scenic or man-made attractions or development, has or
have an unusual influx of visitors, sojourners and temporary residents
and which, by reason of the influx, requires municipal services in
unusual number or magnitude. The term specifically includes but is
not necessarily limited to the Tenth Election District of the County,
as it existed on January 1, 1971.
The total charge for any monetary compensation or the fair
market value of any non-monetary compensation received by the owner,
operator, hosting platform, or resident agent of any house, townhouse,
apartment, condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured home, rooming
house, recreational vehicle, recreational park model, hotel or motel
room, or any other building or structure or portion thereof as a place
of sleeping accommodations or space provided to a transient. If the
charge includes any amount for services or accommodations in addition
to that of the use of sleeping space, the portion of the total charge
which represents only "room or building rental" shall be distinctly
set out and billed to the transient as a separate item.
Any person who, for any period of less than four consecutive
months, obtains sleeping accommodations or space, either at his own
expense or at the expense of another, in any house, townhouse, apartment,
condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured home, rooming house,
recreational vehicle, recreational park model, hotel or motel room,
or any other building or structure or portion thereof as sleeping
accommodations.
(c)
Collection. Every person or hosting platform
receiving any payment for room or building rental on which a tax is
levied under this section shall collect the amount of tax imposed
from the transient or person on whom it is levied or from the person
paying for the room or building rental at the time payment is made.
The taxes required to be collected hereunder shall be deemed held
in trust by the person or hosting platform required to collect them
until remitted as hereinafter required.
(d)
Reports and remittances. The person or hosting platform collecting the tax as required in Subsection (c) herein shall complete a report, upon forms and setting forth information the County Commissioners prescribe and require, showing the amount of room or building rental charges that have been collected. The person or hosting platform collecting the tax shall sign and deliver the report to the Board of County Commissioners with a remittance of the tax required hereunder. The reports and remittances shall be made on or before the 21st day of each month, covering the
sales and the amount of tax collected during the preceding calendar
month. If the reports and remittances are mailed to the Board of County
Commissioners, a postmark on the 18th day
of the month is deemed to be evidence of timely payment.
(e)
Failure to report and remit. If any person
or hosting platform fails or refuses to remit to the Board of County
Commissioners the tax required to be collected and paid under this
section and/or file the required report within the time and in the
amount specified in this section, there shall be added to the tax
by the Board of County Commissioners interest at the rate of one-half
percent per month on the unpaid tax for each month or portion thereof
from the date upon which the tax is due, as provided in this section.
If the tax remains delinquent and unpaid for a period of one month
from the date it is due and payable, there shall be added thereto
by the Board of County Commissioners a penalty of ten percent of the
unpaid tax. The Board of County Commissioners may proceed to collect
delinquent and unpaid taxes by suit or distraint.
(1)
The County Commissioners may institute injunctive, mandamus or other
appropriate proceedings of law to correct violations of this Subtitle.
Any court of competent jurisdiction shall have the right to issue
temporary or permanent restraining orders, injunctions or mandamus,
or other appropriate forms of relief.
(2)
Delinquent and unpaid taxes shall become a lien upon the real property
of the person or entity from whom they are due and shall be collectible
in the same manner as real estate taxes assessed against any such
property.
(f)
Distribution of proceeds.
(1)
From the total proceeds collected from the tax by the Board of County
Commissioners from time to time from any house, townhouse, apartment,
condominium unit, cottage, cabin, manufactured home, rooming house,
recreational vehicle, recreational park model, hotel or motel room,
or any other building or structure or portion thereof used as sleeping
accommodations:
A.
The Board of County Commissioners shall deduct a reasonable sum or
percentage for the cost of imposing and collecting the tax and credit
this deduction to the general funds of the County.
B.
That portion of the remainder of the total proceeds which came from
payments made for any house, townhouse, apartment, condominium unit,
cottage, cabin, manufactured home, rooming house, recreational vehicle,
recreational park model, hotel or motel room, or any other building
or structure or portion thereof used as sleeping accommodations located
in whole or in part within the corporate limits of a municipal corporation
in a resort area of the County shall be paid over, without qualification
or condition, to the Mayor and City Council, by whatever name known,
of the municipal corporation.
C.
The remaining portion of the total proceeds shall be credited to
the general funds of the County.
(2)
Distribution of these several payments shall be made periodically
by the Board of County Commissioners, not less than fifteen days nor
more than thirty days following the last day of each month during
the year.
(g)
State administrative fee. The Retail Sales Tax Division
of the Comptroller's Office shall supply to the Board of County
Commissioners information in aid of verification of liability for
the tax. The Retail Sales Tax Division may make a reasonable charge
for this assistance, which shall be paid by the Board of County Commissioners
and treated as a part of the reasonable costs of collecting the tax.
(h)
Amendments to laws and procedures. The Board
of County Commissioners may promulgate and from time to time change
or repeal rules and regulations not inconsistent with this section
and deemed necessary to provide for an orderly, systematic and thorough
collection and distribution of the tax imposed in this section. As
applicable, the laws and the regulations in effect as to the sales
and use tax in Maryland shall be adopted and followed by the Board
of County Commissioners in promulgating or changing a rule or regulation.
(i)
Surety bond of Treasurer. The surety bond of the Treasurer
of the County may be increased by the Board of County Commissioners
in relation to the moneys collected and distributed under this section.
The premium for any increase in the surety bond shall be deemed part
of the cost of imposing and collecting the tax imposed in this section.
(j)
Processing fee retained by remitter. The person or hosting
platform collecting the tax may apply and credit against the amount
of tax payable by him an amount equal to one and five-tenths percent
of the gross tax to be remitted by him to the Board of County Commissioners
to cover his expense in the collection and remittance of the tax.
However, nothing in this subsection applies to any person or hosting
platform who fails or refuses to file his return with the Board of
County Commissioners within the time prescribed within this section.
(k)
Bond.
(1)
The Board of County Commissioners, in order to protect the revenues
to be obtained under this section, may require any person or hosting
platform collecting the tax to file with the Board a surety bond issued
by a surety company authorized to do business in this State and approved
by the State Insurance Commissioner as to solvency and responsibility,
in such amount or amounts from time to time as the Board of County
Commissioners may fix, to secure the payment of the tax due or which
may become due from the person or hosting platform collecting the
tax. If the Board determines that the person or hosting platform is
to file such a bond, the Board shall give notice to the person or
hosting platform to that effect, specifying the amount of bond required.
The person or hosting platform collecting the tax shall file the bond
within five days after receiving the notice unless, within that period,
the person or hosting platform requests, in writing, a hearing before
the Board, at which hearing the necessity, propriety and amount of
the bond shall be determined by the Board of County Commissioners.
This determination is final and shall be complied with within fifteen
days after the person or hosting platform collecting the tax receives
notice thereof.
(2)
In lieu of the bond required by Subsection (k)(1) herein, securities
approved by the Board of County Commissioners or cash in such amount
as the Board prescribes may be deposited, which shall be kept in the
custody of the Board. The Board, at any time, without notice to the
depositor of the securities or cash, may apply them to any tax due,
and for that purpose the securities may be sold by the Board at public
or private sale without notice to the depositor of the securities.
(l)
Applicability. The procedures under Title 20, Subtitle
4 (Hotel Rental Taxes) of the Local Government Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, as from time to time amended, apply to this section.