[R.O. 2008 §625.150; Ord. No. 6645A §§I — IX, 4-8-2002; Ord. No. 24-2014 §1, 11-10-2014; Ord. No. 04-2016 §§1 — 2, 3-14-2016; Ord. No. 02-2018, 1-22-2018; Ord. No. 4-2023, 6-26-2023]
A. 
Terms used in this Article and in accordance with Sections 67.1360 and 67.1364, RSMo., shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section and shall be construed as indicated in this Section as follows, to wit:
GROSS DAILY RENTAL RECEIPTS
The entire amount of any receipt from the rental of sleeping accommodations by hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and campgrounds and any docking facility that rents slips to recreational boats used by transients for sleeping, excluding all State, Federal and local taxes, whether paid in cash, credits or property, and without any deduction or exemption therefrom whatsoever.
HOTEL, MOTEL, BED AND BREAKFAST or TOURIST CENTER
Any structure or building, under management, which contains rooms furnished for the accommodation or lodging of guests, with or without meals being provided, and used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public as a place where sleeping accommodations are provided for pay or compensation to transient guests or lodgers and having one (1) or more bedrooms furnished for the accommodation of such guests
PERMANENT RESIDENT
A person who contracts in advance for a room in a hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast for a period more than thirty-one (31) consecutive days and who actually remains a guest of the hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast for more than thirty-one (31) days is considered a permanent resident and the rental or lease receipt from letting the room are not subject to hotel/motel tax. A permanent resident is not considered synonymous with a permanent room. Persons who rent or lease accommodations on a permanent basis to business for their employees are subject to the hotel/motel tax on the receipts from all the accommodations.
TRANSIENT GUEST
A person who occupies a room in a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, campground, or tourist center for thirty-one (31) consecutive days or less. Any guest who is contractually obligated to make payment for a period in excess of thirty-one (31) days shall be exempt from tax after thirty-one (31) consecutive days.
B. 
There is hereby established a Convention and Tourism Fund in the City of Louisiana. All taxes and fines levied and collected and appropriated pursuant to this Article shall be deposited to the credit of such fund as hereinafter provided.
C. 
Levy Of Tax.
1. 
There is hereby levied a tax of four percent (4%) of the gross daily rent due from and paid by transient guests of all sleeping rooms occupied and rented by transient guests of lodging establishments located in the City. This charge is in addition to the charge for the sleeping room and shall be in addition to any other tax and said transient guest tax shall be administered by the Louisiana Tourism Commission, which is established for the purpose of promoting tourism. The Commission shall administer such funds within the limits of the budget as approved by the City.
2. 
The said tax under this Section shall be remitted to the City Collector or his/her designee quarterly and shall be due and payable on or before the last day of the month for the tax due for the preceding quarter.
3. 
Any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this Article within the time required shall pay a penalty of one percent (1%) and interest of two percent (2%) per month of the amount of such tax and interest. All penalties and interest imposed under the provisions of this Article shall become a part of the tax herein required to be paid.
D. 
Liability, Responsibility, Inspection Of Records.
1. 
It shall be the duty of every person engaged in the business of operating and carrying on the lodging location to file with the City Clerk, on forms provided by him/her, such information as may be necessary to determine the amounts to which the tax shall supply for all gross daily rental receipts for the monthly period, to be submitted with scheduled payments.
2. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, proprietor, managing agent, operator or any type of employee of a lodging establishment to fail or refuse to register a lodging establishment, to pay the lodging tax as required by this Article, or to submit any tax return or other financial records, or to refuse to permit any necessary inspection of hotel records, or to willfully render a false or fraudulent tax return, or claim as required by this Article. The City Collector or his/her representative shall have the right at all reasonable times during business hours to make such examination and inspection of all books and records of the motel or hotel as may be necessary to determine the correctness of such reports.
3. 
When a revocation order is issued for non-payment of transient guest tax by the City Council, the business licenses issued by the City to such delinquent operators shall be deemed null and void at that time. Before the license can be re-issued, all such delinquent hotel/motel taxes, collection charges, penalties, attorney's fees and costs must be paid in full. A revocation order may not be issued until the hotel/motel is ninety (90) days delinquent.
4. 
Any suspension or revocation shall not relieve the obligation to pay tax due or any future tax to become due. In addition to the penalties provided herein, any person subject to other provisions of this Section who fails to file a statement or pay the tax or refuse to permit inspection of his/her books and record upon request, or who files a false or fraudulent statement, as required by this Article or within the time required in this Article, shall, upon conviction thereof be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
E. 
The hotel/motel tax shall begin April 15, 2002.