HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 649ORDINANCE NO. 649
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PALM
DESERT, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTIONS
3.28.020, 3.28.030, 3.28.040, 3.28.070, AND
3.28.110 OF THE PALM DESERT MUNICIPAL CODE,
RELATING TO TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXATION.
WHEREAS, the city council wishes to clarify and amend
sections 3.28.020, 3.28.030, 3.28.040, 3.28.070, and 3.28.110 of
the Palm Desert Municipal Code relating to transient occupancy
taxation.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Palm Desert,
California, DOES ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1: That subdivisions "A", "B", "D", "F", and "G" of
section 3.28.020 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code be amended to
provide as follows:
"A. "Hotel" means any structure, or any portion of any
structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for use
or occupancy by transients, including, but not limited to,
dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any
hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel,
bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment
house, time-share project facility, dormitory, public or
private club, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed
location, recreational vehicle or other similar structure or
portion thereof.
B. "Occupancy" means the use or possession of any
hotel room, rooms, or any portion thereof offered for rent
for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes regardless of
the actual purpose for which such rooms are rented or
provided."
D. "Rent" means the consideration charged or
chargeable to the tenant for the occupancy of space, whether
received in money, goods, labor or otherwise, including the
full value of receipts, cash, credits, property, or service
of any kind, including, but not limited to, roll -away beds,
cribs, meals, beverages, cleaning, employee rentals, without
any deductions therefrom whatsoever. Rent may have been
payable, in whole or in part, prior to or following the
occupancy to which it is attributable, and may have been
paid in advance on a long-term basis. It is not the intent
of this section to make the operator liable for the tax on
uncollected rent. However, uncollected rent must be
reported.
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F. "Time-share occupancy" means occupancy of a time-
share estate, as that term is defined in Business and
Professions Code section 11035.5(b), by someone other than
the owner of the time-share estate or his/her nonpaying
quests.
G. "Transient" means any person who exercises
occupancy of a hotel by reason•of concession, permit, right
of access, license, or by reason of a time-share estate
under a rental agreement with its owner or due to "bonus
use", for a period of thirty consecutive calendar days or
less. Any such person so occupying space in a hotel shall
be deemed to be a transient until the period of thirty days
has expired. Unless days of occupancy by one person are
consecutive without any break, then prior or subsequent
periods of such occupancy shall not be counted when
determining whether a period exceeds the stated thirty
consecutive days."
SECTION 2: That subdivisions "H" and "I" are hereby added
to section 3.28.020 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code:
"H. "Exchange user" means an owner of a time period in
another time-sharing program who changes occupancy periods
in his own property for time periods in projects in other
locations.
I. "Bonus use" means occupation of a time-share
estate by one of its owners beyond that owner's actual
ownership share of time, accomplished through rental of
another owner's share of time in the same time-share unit."
SECTION 3: That section 3.28.030 of the Palm Desert
Municipal Code be amended to provide as follows:
"3.28.030 Tax imposed. For the privilege of occupancy in
any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax
in the amount of eight percent (as approved by the voters of
Palm Desert at the November 8, 1988, special election) of
the rent charged by the operator or otherwise payable by the
transient. The tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient
to the city, which is extinguished only by payment to the
operator or to the city.
For purposes of this section, the rent deemed payable
on account of occupancy of a time-share estate shall be the
rent charged or otherwise payable to the time-share estate
owner by a lessee of the time-share estate. The transient
shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel at the time
the rent is paid. If the rent is paid in installments, a
proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each
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installment. The unpaid tax shall be due when the transient
ceases to occupy space in the hotel or time-share. If for
any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the
hotel or time-share, the tax administrator may require that
such tax shall be paid directly to the tax administrator.
Tax on occupancies in exchange for services of any kind is
due and payable to the city by the operator, the amount of
tax being determined on the basis of eight percent (as
approved by the voters of Palm Desert at the November 8,
1988, special election) of the current rental value of the
accommodations furnished."
SECTION 4: That section 3.28.040 of the Palm Desert
Municipal Code be amended to provide as follows:
"A. No tax shall be imposed upon:
1. Any occupancy of a time-share estate by its owner,
his/her nonpaying guest, or an exchange user;
2. Any federal or state officer or employee when on
official business, provided the room is booked and paid for
directly by the federal or state government;
3. Any person as to whom or any occupancy as to which
it is beyond the power of the city to impose the tax
provided in this chapter;
4. Any officer or employee of a foreign government
who is exempt by reason of express provision of federal law
or international treaty;
B. Any exemption claimed pursuant to subdivision "A" of
this section must be fully itemized and explained on the
return or a supporting schedule."
SECTION 5: That subdivision "B" of section 3.28.070 of the
Palm Desert Municipal Code be amended to provide as follows:
"B. Each operator shall, on or before the last day of the
month following the close of each calendar month, or shorter
reporting period which may be established by the tax
administrator, complete a monthly transient occupancy tax
form provided by the tax administrator of the total rents
charged or chargeable as provided in Section 3.28.030,
whether or not received, including any rentals charged for
occupancies exempt under the provisions of Sections 3.28.020
through 3.28.040, and the amount of tax collected for
transient occupancies. At the time the return is filed, the
tax -- fixed at the rate of eight (8) percent of the amounts
of rentals charged or chargeable which are not exempt from
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tax under Sections 3.28.020, 3.28.040 and 3.28.120 -- shall
be remitted to the tax administrator. The tax administrator
may establish shorter reporting periods and may require a
cash deposit or bond for any permit holder, if he deems it
necessary, to insure collection of the tax and he may
require further information in the return. All taxes
collected by operators pursuant -to this chapter shall be
held in trust for the account of the City until payment
thereof is made to the tax administrator."
SECTION 6: That section 3.28.110 of the Palm Desert
Municipal Code be amended to provide as follows:
It shall be the duty of every operator liable for the
collection and payment to the City of any tax imposed
by this Chapter to keep and preserve, for a period of
three years, all records necessary to determine the
amount of any such tax. The tax administrator or City
auditors shall have the right to inspect these records
at all reasonable times and may subpoena the records of
any operator who refuses to make them available for
examination. Such records shall be maintained at the
operator's premises or shall be available for delivery
to the tax administrator within one week after request.
The records shall include at least the following
information:
1. Daily summaries of room occupancies; and
2. A record of each occupancy charge for which
an exemption is claimed, including the name
of the individual occupying the room, dates
of occupancy, and reasons for exemption; and
3. Lists of bad debts claimed for exemptions,
including names and addresses of debtor and
amount of room rent unpaid."
SECTION That the city clerk shall certify as to the
passage and adoption of this ordinance and shall cause the same
to be published once in the Palm Desert Post, a newspaper of
general circulation, printed, published, and circulated within
the City of Palm Desert, and the same shall be in full force and
effect thirty (30) days after its adoption.
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PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this llth day of
July , 1991, by the City Council of the City of Palm
Desert, California, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: KELL`i , WILSON , SNYDER
NOES: NONE
ABSENT:NONE
ABSTAIN: BENSON, CRITES
WALTER SRYDER, Mayor
City of Palm Desert, Cal fornia
ATTEST:
SHEILA R. IGAN, City Clbrk
City of Pa esert, California
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