[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Grafton by Ord. No. 011-94, 1994 (Title 5, Ch. 5.48, of the 1979 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Amended by Ord. No. 007, Series 2000]
Pursuant to § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., a tax is imposed
on the privilege and service of furnishing, at retail, rooms or lodging
to transients by hotelkeepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing
accommodations that are available to the public, irrespective of whether
membership is required for the use of the accommodations. Such tax
shall be at the rate of 7% of the gross receipts from such retail
furnishing of rooms or lodgings. Such tax shall not be subject to
the selective sales tax imposed by § 77.52(2)(a)1, Wis.
Stats.
[Added by Ord. No. 009, Series 2010]
Every hotelkeeper, motel operator or other persons furnishing accommodations under § 5.48.010 shall file with the Village Clerk an application for a permit for each place of business. Every application for a permit shall be made upon a form prescribed by the Village Clerk and shall set forth the name under which the applicant intends to transact business, the location of the business and such information as the Village Clerk requires. The application shall be signed by the owner if a sole proprietor and, if not a sole proprietor, by the person authorized to act on behalf of such sellers. At the time of making an application, and annually thereafter, the applicant shall pay a fee of $50. The permit shall be renewed each year by July 1.
[Added by Ord. No. 009, Series 2010]
After compliance with §§ 5.48.010 and 5.48.015, the Village Clerk shall grant and issue to each applicant a separate permit for each place of business within the Village. Such permit is not assignable and is valid for only the person in whose name it is issued and for the transaction of business at the place designated therein. It shall, at all times, be conspicuously displayed at the place for which issued.
[Added by Ord. No. 009, Series 2010]
When any person fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter, the Village Clerk may, upon 10 days' notification and after affording such person the opportunity to show cause why the permit shall not be revoked, revoke or suspend any or all permits held by such person. The Village Clerk shall give to each person written notice of the suspension or revocation of any permits. The Village Clerk shall not issue a new permit after revocation of a permit until §§ 5.48.020, 5.48.040, 5.48.050 and 5.48.070 have been complied with. A fee of $50 shall be imposed for the renewal or issuance of a permit which has been previously suspended or revoked.
The room tax imposed by § 5.48.010 for each calendar quarter is due and payable and must be received by the Director of Administrative Services at the Village Hall on or before the last business day of the following month succeeding the calendar quarter for which it is imposed. The business entity collecting the tax shall be entitled to retain 1% of the amount collected as reimbursement for its costs and efforts in the collection of the tax and the reporting requirements of this chapter.
A.
Quarterly room tax returns. A return shall be filed with the Director
of Administrative Services on or before the same date on which such
tax is due and payable. Such return shall be on a form provided by
the Village and shall show the gross receipts of the preceding calendar
quarter from such retail furnishing of rooms or lodging, the amount
of taxes imposed for such period, and such other information as the
Director of Administrative Services deems necessary, provided it is
directly related to the tax.
[Amended 7-16-2012 by Ord. No. 008-2012]
The room tax imposed hereunder shall be a continuing liability
upon the business entity or person upon whom it is imposed until paid
in full. Business successors shall be liable for all quarters for
which a return has not been filed and payment not received.
All unpaid taxes under this chapter shall bear interest at the
rate of 12% per annum from the due date of the return until the first
day of the month following the month in which the tax was paid.
Tax returns required hereunder and not timely filed shall be
deemed delinquent and shall be subject to a ten-dollar late filing
fee.
A.
The Director of Administrative Services shall be responsible for
the administration and collection of the room tax. The Director of
Administrative Services may, by field audit, determine the tax required
to be paid to the Village or the refund due to any person under this
chapter. The determination shall be made upon the basis of the facts
contained in the return being audited and upon any other information
available to the Director of Administrative Services. The Director
of Administrative Services is authorized to examine and inspect the
books, records memoranda and property of any person which are directly
related to the tax or which have a direct bearing upon the gross receipts
upon which the tax due is determined in order to verify the tax liability
of that person or of another person. Nothing herein shall prevent
the Director of Administrative Services from making a determination
of tax at any time.
B.
The room tax collection shall be allocated to the room tax fund for
the purposes of funding economic development, public works activities
and capital improvement projects as determined by the Village Board.
If any person fails to timely file a return, as required by
this chapter, the Director of Administrative Services shall make an
estimate of the amount of the gross receipts upon which the tax is
determined. Such estimate shall be made for the period for which such
person failed to make a return and shall be based upon any information
which is in the Director of Administrative Services' possession or
may come into his or her possession or such other information as may
have a bearing upon the determination of gross receipts. On the basis
of this estimate, the Director of Administrative Services shall compute
and determine the amount required to be paid to the Village, adding
to the sum thus arrived at a penalty equal to 10% thereof. Such determination
may be made for each quarterly period for which no return is filed.
Such penalty shall be due upon written notice to the business entity
or person owing the tax and shall not be in lieu of the tax due hereunder.
If a person files a false or fraudulent return with the intent
in either case to defect or evade the tax imposed by this chapter,
a penalty of 50% shall be added to the tax required to be paid, exclusive
of interest and other penalties.
Every person liable for the tax imposed by this chapter shall
keep or cause to be kept such records, receipts, invoices and other
pertinent papers in such form so as to enable the Director of Administrative
Services to determine the tax due hereunder.
A.
All tax returns, schedules, exhibits, writings or audit reports relating
to such returns on file with the Director of Administrative Services
are deemed to be confidential, except the Director of Administrative
Services may divulge their contents to the following and no others:
B.
No person having an administrative duty under this section shall
make known in any manner the business affairs, operations or information
obtained by an investigation of records of any person on whom a tax
is imposed by this section; the amount or source of income, profits,
losses, expenditures or any particular thereof set forth or disclosed
in any return; or permit any return or copy thereof to be seen or
examined by any person, except as provided herein.
C.
Violation of this section shall be subject to a penalty of not less
than $100 nor more than $500.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1.01, Code Adoption)]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings given herein:[1]
A building or group of buildings in which the public may
obtain accommodations for a consideration, including, without limitation,
such establishments as inns, motels, tourist homes, tourist houses
or courts, lodging houses, summer camps, bed-and-breakfast, apartment
hotels, resort lodges, campgrounds, cabins and any other building
or group of buildings in which the accommodations are available to
the public, except accommodations rented for a continuous period of
more than one month and accommodations furnished by any hospital,
sanitoriums or nursing homes, rooming houses, or by corporations or
associations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable
or educational purposes, provided that no part of the net earnings
of such corporations or associations inures to the benefit of any
private shareholder or individual.
Includes corporations, partnerships or other business entities.
Any individual residing for a continuous period of less than
one month in a motel, hotel or other furnished accommodations available
to the public.
Any violation of, or noncompliance with, any of the provisions
of this chapter for which a penalty has not been prescribed herein
shall subject the violator to a forfeiture of not less than $50 nor
more than $250, together with the costs of prosecution and, in default
of payment thereof, to imprisonment in the county jail until such
forfeiture has been paid, but not to exceed 15 days. Each day of violation
or noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense.
