[Adopted 5-22-2018[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article provided an effective date of 9-1-2018.
This article may be known and referred to as the "Mathews County Transient Occupancy Tax."
The following words and phrases, when used in this article, shall, for the purposes of this article, have the following respective meanings, except when the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of the Revenue of the County or his/her authorized designee.
HOTEL
Any public or private hotel, inn, hostelry, tourist home or house, motel, rooming house, travel campground or tourist camps, or other lodging place within the County offering lodging, as defined herein, for compensation, to any transient as defined herein.
LODGING
Space or room furnished any transient, including the total charge made by any hotel for room or space furnished any transient. If the charge made by such hotel to such transient includes any charge for services or accommodations in addition to that of lodging and/or the use of space, then such portion of the total charges as represents only room and/or space rental shall be distinctly set out and billed to such transient by such hotel as a separate item.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, society, association, joint stock company, corporation, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee, or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise; and any combination or group of individuals acting as a unit.
TRANSIENT
Any individual or group of same individuals who, for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days, either at his own expense, or at the expense of another, obtains lodging at any hotel as defined herein.
TREASURER
The Treasurer of the County or his/her authorized designee.
[Amended 12-15-2020]
Pursuant to the authority granted under § 58.1-3819 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, there is hereby levied and imposed, in addition to all other taxes and fees of every kind now imposed by laws, on each transient a tax equivalent to 5% of the total amount paid for lodging by or for any such transient to any hotel. Such tax shall be collected from such transient at the time and in the manner provided by this article. Three percent of this tax shall be designated and spent solely for tourism and travel, marketing of tourism or initiatives that, as determined after consultation with local tourism industry organizations, including representatives of lodging properties located in Mathews County, attract travelers to the locality, increase occupancy at lodging properties, and generate tourism revenues in Mathews County.
No tax shall be payable under this article on room rental paid to any hospital, medical clinic, convalescent home or home for the aged.
Every person receiving any payment for room rental with respect to which a tax is levied under this article shall collect the amount of such tax so imposed from the transient on whom such tax is levied or from the person paying for such lodging at the time payment for such lodging is made. The taxes required to be collected under this section shall be deemed to be held in trust by the person required to collect such taxes until remitted as required in this article.
A. 
The person collecting the tax levied under this article shall make a report upon such forms and setting forth such information as the Commissioner of the Revenue may prescribe and require.
B. 
Such report shall show the amount of lodging charges collected and the tax required to be collected and shall be signed and delivered to the Commissioner of the Revenue. Such reports shall be made monthly on or before the 20th of each month.
C. 
The taxes collected during each calendar month shall be reported and paid by each person to the Treasurer. The taxes collected by the person shall be deemed to be held in trust by such person until they have been remitted to the Treasurer.
D. 
If the remittance is by check or money order, it shall be payable to the County Treasurer.
If any person shall fail or refuse to remit to the Treasurer the tax required to be collected and paid under this article within the time and in the amount specified in this article, there shall be added to such tax by the Treasurer a penalty in the amount of 10% thereof and interest thereon at the rate of 10% per annum, which shall be computed upon the taxes and penalty from the date such taxes are due and payable.
If any person shall fail or refuse to collect the tax imposed under this article and to make, within the time provided in this article, the reports and remittances required in this article, the Commissioner shall proceed in such manner as she/he may deem best to obtain facts and information on which to base her/his estimate of the tax due. As soon as the Commissioner shall procure such facts and information as she/he is able to obtain upon which to base the assessment of any tax payable by any person who has failed or refused to collect such tax, and to make such report and remittance, she/he shall proceed to determine and assess against such person such tax, penalty and interest as provided for in this article, and shall notify such person, by certified mail sent to her/his last known place of address, of the amount of such tax, interest and penalty, and the total amount thereof shall be payable within 10 days from the date of the mailing of such notice.
It shall be the duty of every person responsible for the collection and payment to the County of any tax imposed by this article to keep and to preserve for a period of four years such suitable records as may be necessary to determine and show accurately the amount of such tax as he/she may have been responsible for collecting and paying to the County. The Commissioner and any duly authorized agent of the County may inspect and copy such records at all reasonable times.
Whenever any person required to collect and remit the tax imposed and levied by this article shall go out of business, dispose of his/her business, or otherwise cease to operate, all such taxes collected shall thereupon be reported and remitted to the Commissioner of the Revenue and remitted to the Treasurer.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Each violation or failure shall constitute a separate offense. Such conviction shall not relieve any such person from the payment, collection or remittance of the tax as provided in this article.
If any provision of this article, or any application of such provision to any person or under any circumstances, shall be invalid, the remainder of this article, or the application of such provisions to persons or under circumstances other than those to which it shall have been held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.