§ 153A-155. Uniform provisions for room occupancy taxes. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 153A‑155.  Uniformprovisions for room occupancy taxes.

(a)        Scope. – Thissection applies only to counties the General Assembly has authorized to levyroom occupancy taxes.

(b)        Levy. – A roomoccupancy tax may be levied only by resolution, after not less than 10 days'public notice and after a public hearing held pursuant thereto. A roomoccupancy tax shall become effective on the date specified in the resolutionlevying the tax. That date must be the first day of a calendar month, however,and may not be earlier than the first day of the second month after the datethe resolution is adopted.

(c)        Collection. – Everyoperator of a business subject to a room occupancy tax shall, on and after theeffective date of the levy of the tax, collect the tax. The tax shall becollected as part of the charge for furnishing a taxable accommodation. If ataxable accommodation is furnished as part of a package, the bundledtransaction provisions in G.S. 105‑164.4D apply in determining the salesprice of the taxable accommodation. If those provisions do not address the typeof package offered, the operator may determine an allocated price for each itemin the package based on a reasonable allocation of revenue that is supported bythe operator's business records kept in the ordinary course of business andcollect tax on the allocated price of the taxable accommodation.

The tax shall be stated andcharged separately from the sales records and shall be paid by the purchaser tothe operator of the business as trustee for and on account of the taxingcounty. The tax shall be added to the sales price and shall be passed on to thepurchaser instead of being borne by the operator of the business.

The taxing county shalldesign, print, and furnish to all appropriate businesses and persons in thecounty the necessary forms for filing returns and instructions to ensure thefull collection of the tax. An operator of a business who collects a roomoccupancy tax may deduct from the amount remitted to the taxing county adiscount equal to the discount the State allows the operator for State salesand use tax.

(d)        Administration. – Thetaxing county shall administer a room occupancy tax it levies. A room occupancytax is due and payable to the county finance officer in monthly installments onor before the 20th day of the month following the month in which the taxaccrues. Every person, firm, corporation, or association liable for the taxshall, on or before the 20th day of each month, prepare and render a return ona form prescribed by the taxing county. The return shall state the total grossreceipts derived in the preceding month from rentals upon which the tax islevied. A room occupancy tax return filed with the county finance officer isnot a public record and may not be disclosed except in accordance with G.S.153A‑148.1 or G.S. 160A‑208.1.

(e)        Penalties. – Aperson, firm, corporation, or association who fails or refuses to file a roomoccupancy tax return or pay a room occupancy tax as required by law is subjectto the civil and criminal penalties set by G.S. 105‑236 for failure topay or file a return for State sales and use taxes. The governing board of thetaxing county has the same authority to waive the penalties for a roomoccupancy tax that the Secretary of Revenue has to waive the penalties forState sales and use taxes.

(f)         Repeal orReduction. – A room occupancy tax levied by a county may be repealed or reducedby a resolution adopted by the governing body of the county. Repeal orreduction of a room occupancy tax shall become effective on the first day of amonth and may not become effective until the end of the fiscal year in whichthe resolution was adopted. Repeal or reduction of a room occupancy tax doesnot affect a liability for a tax that was attached before the effective date ofthe repeal or reduction, nor does it affect a right to a refund of a tax thataccrued before the effective date of the repeal or reduction.

(f1)       Use. – The proceedsof a room occupancy tax shall not be used for development or construction of ahotel or another transient lodging facility.

(g)        This sectionapplies only to Alleghany, Anson, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Camden,Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Craven, Cumberland,Currituck, Dare, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Granville, Halifax,Haywood, Madison, Martin, McDowell, Montgomery, Nash, New Hanover, New HanoverCounty District U, Northampton, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person,Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Swain,Transylvania, Tyrrell, Vance, Washington, and Wilson Counties, to Surry CountyDistrict S, to Watauga County District U, to Yadkin County District Y, and tothe Township of Averasboro in Harnett County and the Ocracoke Township TaxingDistrict.  (1997‑102,s. 3; 1997‑255, s. 2; 1997‑342, s. 2; 1997‑364, s. 3; 1997‑410,s. 6; 1998‑14, s. 2; 1999‑155, s. 2; 1999‑205, s. 2; 1999‑286,s. 2; 2000‑103, s. 5; 2001‑162, s. 2; 2001‑305, s. 2; 2001‑321,s. 3; 2001‑381, s. 10; 2001‑434, s. 1; 2001‑439, s. 18.2;2001‑468, s. 3; 2001‑480, s. 14; 2001‑484, s. 2; 2002‑138,s. 5; 2004‑106, s. 2; 2004‑120, s. 3; 2004‑170, ss. 36(a),42(a); 2004‑199, s. 60(a); 2005‑16, s. 2; 2005‑46, s. 1.2;2005‑53, s. 2; 2005‑197, s. 6; 2005‑233, s. 6.1; 2006‑120,s. 8.1; 2006‑127, s. 2; 2006‑128, s. 6; 2006‑129, s. 2; 2006‑162,s. 20(a); 2006‑167, s. 7(e); 2006‑264, s. 81(a); 2007‑19, s.3; 2007‑63, s. 3; 2007‑223, s. 3; 2007‑224, s. 5; 2007‑265,s. 2; 2007‑315, s. 2; 2007‑318, s. 2; 2007‑337, s. 3; 2007‑340,s. 9; 2007‑527, ss. 23, 43; 2008‑33, s. 2; 2008‑134, s.12(b); 2008‑187, s. 31; 2009‑112, s. 4; 2009‑157, s. 2; 2009‑297,s. 3.)