[Adopted 8-6-2003 by Ord. No. 23-2003]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A building containing one or more rooms used, rented or hired out
on a transient basis to be occupied for sleeping purposes only and not containing
individual eating and cooking facilities.
A building containing one or more rooms with individual entrances
used, rented or hired out on a transient basis to be occupied for sleeping
purposes only and not containing individual eating and cooking facilities.
The Borough of Eatontown hereby imposes a tax on all hotels and motels
at a uniform percentage rate of 1% on charges of rent for every occupancy
upon the effective date of this article through June 3, 2004, and 3% on charges
of rent for every occupancy on and after July 1, 2004. This tax shall be in
addition to any other tax or fee imposed pursuant to statute or local ordinance
upon occupancy of a hotel or motel room.
All taxes imposed by this article shall be paid by the purchaser or
renter with the following conditions imposed upon the owner or vendor:
A.
Vendor or owner shall not assume or absorb any tax imposed by
this article;
B.
The vendor or owner shall not in any manner advertise or hold
out to any person or to the public in general, in any manner, directly or
indirectly, that the tax will be assumed or absorbed by the vendor, that the
tax will not be separately charged and stated to the customer or that the
tax will be refunded to the customer.
The hotel and motel tax shall be collected on behalf of the municipality
by the vendor or owner or person collecting the rent from the hotel or motel
customer. Each person required to collect a tax imposed by this article shall
be personally liable for the tax imposed, collected or required to be collected
hereunder. Any such person shall have the same right in respect to collecting
the tax from the customer as if the tax were part of the rent and payable
at the same time; provided, however that the Chief Financial Officer of the
Borough shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought to
collect the tax. A person required to collect the tax imposed by this article
shall, on or before the date required pursuant to Section 17 of P.L. 1966,
c. 30 (N.J.S.A. 54:32B-17), forward to the Director of the Division of Taxation
in the Department of the Treasury the tax collected in the preceding month
and make and file a return for the preceding month with the Director on any
form and containing any information as the Director shall prescribe as necessary
to determine liability for the tax in the preceding month during which the
person was required to collect the tax. All other requirements concerning
payment of tax to the State of New Jersey shall be pursuant to state statute
and shall be governed by the provisions of the State Uniform Tax Procedure
Law, N.J.S.A. 54:48-1 et seq.
Each assumption or absorption by a vendor/owner of the tax shall be
deemed a separate offense, and each representation or advertisement by a vendor/owner
for each day the representation or advertisement continues shall be deemed
a separate offense. Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
LLC or the like who shall violate any provision of this article shall be subject
to a fine of not more than $1,250, imprisonment for not more than 90 days
or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination
thereof in the discretion of the Judge hearing the matter.
This article shall take effect upon advertisement and final adoption
in accordance with the law. A copy of the article adopted shall be transmitted
upon adoption or amendment to the Treasurer of the State of New Jersey. The
tax provisions of the article or any amendment to the tax provisions shall
take effect on the first day of the first full month occurring 30 days after
the date of transmittal to the State Treasurer of the article adopted in the
calendar year 2003 or on the first day of the first full month occurring 90
days after the date of transmittal to the State Treasurer for the article
or amendments adopted in the calendar year 2004 and thereafter. This article
shall only be effective upon final adoption of the state law imposing a state
hotel and motel occupancy fee and tax.
