[Adopted 6-8-2011 (Sec. 2-5-15 of the 1988 Code)]
Pursuant to § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., a tax of 4% of the gross receipts is hereby imposed on the privilege and service of furnishing, at retail, rooms, lodging or sites to transients by lodging establishments and other persons furnishing overnight accommodations that are available to the public, irrespective of whether or not membership is required for the use of the accommodations. The tax shall not be subject to the selective sales tax imposed by § 77.52(2)(a)l, Wis. Stats. In order to defray the cost of collecting the room tax, any person, business, or other entity collecting and remitting the tax approved by this article shall be entitled to a collection fee of 2% of the tax so collected. The collection fee shall be itemized on the tax return and shall be retained from the amount collected and remitted.
The words and phrases used in this article shall have the meaning defined in § 66.0615, Wis. Stats. If there is any conflict between definitions provided herein and those found in § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., the meanings and intent contained herein shall take precedence. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
GROSS RECEIPTS
As defined in § 77.51(4)(a), (b) and (c), Wis. Stats., insofar as applicable.[1]
LODGING ESTABLISHMENT
A building or group of buildings in which the public may obtain accommodations for consideration, including, without limitation, such establishments as hotels, inns, motels, tourist homes, apartment hotels, resort lodges, cabins, bed-and-breakfast establishments, campgrounds, boats and any other building, group of buildings, structures or vehicles in which overnight accommodations are available to the public, except accommodations rented for a continuous period of more than one month and accommodations furnished by any hospital, sanitarium or nursing home, or corporations or associations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes, provided that no part of the net earnings of such corporation or association inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
TRANSIENT
Any person residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a hotel or motel or other overnight accommodation available to the public.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 77.51(4), Wis. Stats., was repealed by 2009 Act 2.
The proceeds of the tax shall be allocated as follows:
A. 
Seventy percent of the tax proceeds to the Village of Luck Tourism Commission.
B. 
Thirty percent of the tax proceeds to a special revenue fund to be used for Village promotions, as determined by the Village Board.
A. 
The Village shall create a Tourism Commission to oversee the expenditure of the tax proceeds. The Commission shall operate under the auspices of the Village and shall have the responsibility to ensure that all funds are used strictly for activities related to tourism promotion and development.
B. 
The Commission shall be composed of five voting members all of whom shall be appointed annually by the Village President and approved by the Village Board. The five voting members shall include the following:
(1) 
One person who shall represent the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry within the Village and shall be currently employed by or have ownership interest in one of the establishments subject to the room tax.
(2) 
One person designated as official Village representative.
(3) 
Three at-large appointments.
C. 
Appointments shall be for a period of one year. The Commission shall elect its own Chairperson, who shall serve a one-year term.
D. 
The nonvoting ex officio member shall be the Village Administrator or the Village President or his appointed representative.
E. 
Ex officio positions shall be permanent.
F. 
Members may be reappointed for successive terms at the discretion of the Village President and as approved by the Village Board.
G. 
On or before November 30 of each year or at any other reasonable time as required by the Village, the Village Tourism Commission shall provide the Village Clerk-Treasurer with reports and shall document any evidence that the tax proceeds are being used for the purposes set forth in this article.
H. 
The Village representative on the Commission shall have the responsibility for quarterly reporting to the Village Board regarding the activities of the Tourism Commission.
I. 
All expenditures of said Commission shall be reviewed and approved by the Village Board as part of its claims.
A. 
The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall administer this article and shall establish those measures necessary for such enactment.
B. 
The tax imposed is due and payable within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter. Those who operate a lodging establishment within the Village shall submit the tax to the Village Clerk-Treasurer. The tax shall be submitted with such forms as specified by the Clerk-Treasurer along with an exact duplicate copy of the Wisconsin sales tax returns, showing the taxable gross receipts for the lodging establishment for the three months covered by the tax submission.
C. 
If any person liable for any amount of tax under this article sells out his business or stock of goods or quits the business, his successor or assigns shall withhold sufficient of the purchase price to cover such amount until the former owner produces a receipt from the Village Clerk-Treasurer that it has been paid or a certificate stating that no amount is due. If any person subject to the tax imposed by this article fails to withhold such amount of tax from the purchase price as required, he shall become personally liable for payment of the amount required to be withheld by him to the extent of the price of the accommodations valued in money.
D. 
Whenever the Clerk-Treasurer has probable cause to believe that the correct amount of room tax has not been assessed or that the tax return is not correct, the Clerk-Treasurer shall arrange for an audit of the financial records of any lodging establishment subject to the room tax to determine whether or not the correct amount of tax is assessed and whether or not the tax return is correct.
E. 
Any person or lodging establishment who or which fails to comply with a written request to inspect or audit appropriate financial records, as stated in Subsection D above, within a thirty-day period after receiving the written request shall be subject to a forfeiture of 5% of the total tax due.
F. 
Delinquent tax returns shall be subject to a late filing fee set by the Village Board plus interest at the rate of 1% per month on the unpaid balance.
G. 
If any person or lodging establishment fails, neglects or refuses to file a return, the Clerk-Treasurer shall first notify the person or lodging establishment of the delinquency along with the late filing fee plus the interest. This notification shall be made after the tax is delinquent more than 30 days but less than 60 days.
H. 
If the person or lodging establishment shall fail, neglect or refuse to make payment within 30 days of receiving the delinquency notice, the Clerk-Treasurer shall make an estimate of the amount of the gross receipts for the applicable period. On the basis of this estimate, the Clerk-Treasurer shall compute and determine the amount required to be paid to the Village. The person or lodging establishment shall then be required to pay the estimated amount of tax plus interest on the unpaid balance from the initial due date. No refund or modification of the payment determined may be granted until the person or lodging establishment files a correct room tax return and permits the Village to inspect and audit the appropriate financial records.
I. 
If the Clerk-Treasurer is forced to determine a tax due amount as provided in Subsection H above, a penalty of 25% of the previous year's tax, or an estimate thereof for the first year this tax is in place or $5,000, whichever is less, shall be assessed in addition to applicable interest and other penalties.
J. 
Every person or business liable for the tax imposed by this article shall keep or cause to be kept such records, receipts, invoices and other pertinent papers in such form as the Clerk-Treasurer requires.
K. 
Confidential information.
(1) 
All tax returns, schedules, exhibits, writings or audit reports relating to such returns on file with the Clerk-Treasurer are deemed to be confidential, except that the Clerk-Treasurer may divulge their contents only to the following:
(a) 
The person who filed the return.
(b) 
Officers or agents of the Village as may be necessary to enforce collection.
(c) 
Persons using the information in the discharge of duties imposed by law or other duties of their office.
(d) 
By order of a court.
(2) 
Persons violating the confidentiality requirements of this section shall be subject to a forfeiture of $500 per incident.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
For the tax year 2011, any person or business otherwise required to file a return and make payment to the Village under this article will be allowed an exemption from the requirement to collect and pay room tax for any signed contract dated prior to the adoption of this article in which the contract guarantees the lodging rates. This exemption will expire on December 31, 2011.