[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of
the Village of Osceola 4-13-2004 by Ord. No. 04-05. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
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 5% of the
gross receipts from such retail furnishing of rooms or lodgings collected
on or after January 1, 2018. Such tax shall not be subject to the
selective sales tax imposed by § 77.52(2)(a)1, Wis. Stats.
The proceeds of such tax collected shall be deposited in a separate
nonlapsing account and appropriated by the Village of Osceola as follows:
[Amended 12-12-2017 by Ord. No. 17-06]
(1)
Seventy percent dedicated to tourism promotion and
development for the Village of Osceola. The allocation and distribution
shall be made based on an annual budget approved by the Finance Committee
and the Village Board. The Village may use either of the following
methods for administering the funds:
(a)
The Village Board will manage and award grants
for community groups who need financial assistance with marketing
or development of Village of Osceola events geared to increase overnight
stays in the Village.
(b)
The Village may contract for the development
and production of advertising efforts, promotional materials, guidebooks,
Web site and other materials and for services deemed necessary to
promote the Village of Osceola as a tourism destination.
(c)
The Village may contract for services with one
or more tourism entities as necessary to carry out its responsibilities
for tourism and development. The cost of providing staff support and
administrative oversight of said contracts shall come from the 70%
set aside for tourism promotion.
(2)
The balance of the 30% to the Village of Osceola to
underwrite the cost of maintaining the infrastructure and programs
which support the tourism industry in the Village.
(3)
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 section 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.
B.
Registration required. Every person furnishing rooms or lodging under Subsection A above shall register each business entity with the Treasurer. The registration 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.
C.
Issuance of certificate of registration. After compliance with Subsection B above by the applicant, the Treasurer shall grant and issue to each applicant a separate certificate for each business entity within the City. Such certificate is not assignable and is valid only for 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 available for inspection at the place for which issued.
The room tax imposed by § 175-1 for each calendar quarter is due and payable and must be received in the office of the Village Treasurer at the Village Hall on or before the last business day of the month next succeeding the calendar quarter for which it is imposed. The business entity collecting the tax shall be entitled to retain 2% of the amount collected as reimbursement for its costs and efforts in the collection of the tax and the report requirements of this chapter. The remainder shall be considered the "net" as used in this chapter.
A.
Quarterly room tax returns. A return shall be filed
with the Treasurer 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, illustrating and
indicating thereon any exemption from an imposed room tax, billed
to the state and/or its departments or agencies, the amount of taxes
imposed for such period, and such other information as the Treasurer
deems necessary, provided it is directly related to the tax.
B.
Annual room tax return. Every person required to file
such quarterly returns shall also file an annual calendar year return
on a form provided by the Village, which shall be due and filed as
part of the quarterly return for the fourth quarter of each calendar
year. The annual return shall summarize the quarterly returns, reconcile
and adjust for errors in the quarterly returns, and shall contain
certain such additional information as the Treasurer requires, provided
it is directly related to the tax. All annual returns shall be signed
by the persons required to file a return, or his or her duly authorized
agent. The Treasurer may, for good cause, extend the time for filing
any return, but in no event longer than one month from the filing
date.
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 any preceding
calendar quarter 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 late filing
fee of $10.
The Village Treasurer shall be responsible for
the administration and collection of the room tax. The Treasurer may,
by field audit, determine the tax required to be paid to the Village
or the refund due to any person under this section. 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 Treasurer.
The Treasurer 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, including state sales tax records, is determined
in order to verify the tax liability of that person or of another
person. Nothing herein shall prevent the Treasurer from making a determination
of tax at any time.
If any person fails to timely file a return,
as required by this chapter, the Treasurer 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 Treasurer's 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 Treasurer shall
compute and determine the amount required to be paid to the City,
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 for seven years in such form as to enable
the Treasurer to determine the tax due hereunder.
A.
All tax returns, schedules, exhibits, writings or
audit reports relating to such returns on file with the Village Treasurer
are deemed to be confidential, except the Village Treasurer 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.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
terms shall have the meaning given herein:
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, 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 and associations
inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
Has the meaning as defined in § 77.51(4)(a), (b)
and (c), Wis. Stats., insofar as applicable. Any federal and state
tax-exempt transactions shall not be included in the definition of
gross receipts.
Shall include 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.
