§ 118-31. Levied; collection and remittance; duties of county tax collector; enforcement.

(a)

There is hereby levied and imposed and set a tourist development tax throughout the county at a rate of six percent of each whole and major fraction of each dollar of the total rental charged every person who rents, leases, or lets for consideration and living quarters or accommodations in any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort hotel, apartment, apartment motel, roominghouse, tourist or trailer camp, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, timeshare accommodation, or condominium for a term of six months or less. When receipt of consideration is by way of property other than money, the tax shall be levied and imposed on the fair market value of such nonmonetary considerations. The six percent tourist development tax levied herein shall be used for the following purposes:

(1)

The levy and the imposition of the first and second percent commenced on the first day of the month following referendum approval in 1978, pursuant to Ordinance No. 78-20. The first percent is pledged to the payment of debt service on bonds issued to finance the construction, reconstruction or renovation of Tropicana Field, a professional sports franchise facility; however, as provided in subsection (3) herein, the fourth percent has been committed to the payment of Tropicana Field debt, and those sums replace the first percent on a monthly basis when received. The first and second percent shall be utilized as provided in the tourist development plan set out in section 118-32.

(2)

The levy of the third percent commenced on July 1, 1988, pursuant to Ordinance No. 88-14. The first 50 percent of the third percent is pledged to the payment of debt service on bonds issued to finance the construction, reconstruction or renovation of Tropicana Field, a professional sport franchise facility; however, as provided in subsection (3) herein, the fourth percent has been committed to the payment of Tropicana Field debt, and those sums replace the first 50 percent of the third percent on a monthly basis when received. The third percent shall be utilized as provided in the tourist development plan set out in section 118-32.

(3)

The levy and imposition of the fourth percent commenced on January 1, 1996, and expires on September 30, 2015, pursuant to Ordinance No. 95-35. The fourth percent is committed to the payment of debt service on bonds issued to finance the construction, reconstruction or renovation of Tropicana Field, a professional sports franchise facility, or payment of indebtedness issued to refund obligations issued for such purposes. The expiration date of September 30, 2015, for the levy of the fourth percent as provided in Section 3 of Ordinance No. 95-35 is hereby repealed, and the levy of the fourth percent is extended, reenacted and reestablished effective October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2021, inclusive, at which time the fourth percent levy shall expire and be of no further force and effect. The revised expiration date of September 30, 2021, for the levy of the fourth percent as previously extended in Ordinance No. 10-67, is hereby repealed, and the levy of the fourth percent is extended, reenacted, and reestablished until such time, if any, as repealed. The fourth percent shall be utilized as provided in the tourist development plan set out in section 118-32.

(4)

The levy and imposition of the fifth percent commenced on December 1, 2005, pursuant to Ordinance No. 05-47. The fifth percent shall be utilized as provided in the tourist development plan set out in section 118-32.

(5)

The sixth percent shall commence on January 1, 2016, and shall be used in accordance with F.S. § 125.0104(5), unless its use is specifically further limited by the tourist development plan.

(b)

The tourist development tax shall be in addition to any other tax imposed pursuant to F.S. ch. 212 and in addition to all other taxes, fees and considerations for rental or lease.

(c)

The tourist development tax shall be charged by the person receiving the consideration for the lease or rental; and it shall be collected from the lessee, tenant, or customer at the time of payment of the consideration for such lease or rental.

(d)

Initial collection of the tourist development tax shall be made in the same manner as the tax imposed under F.S. ch. 212, pt. I (F.S. § 212.01 et seq.). The person receiving the consideration for such rental or lease shall receive, account for, and remit the tax to the county tax collector, who shall keep appropriate records of such funds. The same duties and privileges imposed by F.S. ch. 212 upon dealers in tangible property respecting the collection and remission of tax, and making of returns, the keeping of books, records and accounts, the payment of a dealer's credit in compliance with the rules of the county tax collector in the administration of such chapter shall apply to and be binding upon all persons who are subject to the provisions of this article; provided, however, that the tax collector may authorize a quarterly return and payment when the tax remitted by the person receiving the consideration for such rental or lease for the preceding quarter did not exceed $500.00. Registered and enrolled taxpayers may file returns and pay amounts due electronically for the Tourist Development Taxes and fees. Florida Statutes §§ 213.755 and 443.163 require certain taxpayers to file and/or pay tax electronically.

(e)

The county tax collector may promulgate rules, and prescribe and publish the forms necessary to effectuate this article.

(f)

The county tax collector shall perform the enforcement and audit functions associated with the collection and remission of the tourist development tax, including, without limitation, the following:

(1)

For the purpose of enforcing the collection of the tax levied by this article, the county tax collector is hereby specifically authorized and empowered to examine at all reasonable hours the books, records, and other documents of all persons taxable under this article, or other persons charged with the duty to report or pay a tax under this article, in order to determine whether they are collecting the tax or otherwise complying with this article. In the event such person refuses to permit such examination of its books, records, or other documents by the tax collector as aforesaid, such person is guilty of a misdemeanor of violating the provisions of this article and shall be subject to the penalties provided for in section 1-8. The tax collector shall have the right to proceed in circuit court to seek a mandatory injunction or other appropriate remedy to enforce its rights against the offender, as granted by this section, to require an examination of the books and records of such dealer.

(2)

Each person taxable under this article shall secure, maintain, and keep for a period of three years a complete record of rooms or other lodging leased or rented by such person, together with gross receipts from such sales, and other pertinent records and papers as may be required by the tax collector for the reasonable administration of this article; and all such records which are located or maintained in this state shall be open for inspection by the tax collector at all reasonable hours at such person's place of business located in the county. Any person who maintains such books and records at a point outside this county must make such books and records available for inspection by the tax collector in the county. Any person subject to the provisions of this article who violates these provisions is guilty of violating the provisions of this article and shall be subject to the penalties provided for in section 1-8.

(3)

Notification by tax collector; acceptable materials.

a.

The tax collector shall send written notification, at least 60 days prior to the date an auditor is scheduled to begin an audit, informing the taxpayer of the audit. The tax collector is not required to give 60 days' prior notification of a forthcoming audit in any instance in which the taxpayer requests an emergency audit.

b.

Such written notification shall contain:

1.

The approximate date on which the auditor is scheduled to begin the audit.

2.

A reminder that all of the records, receipts, invoices, and related documentation of the taxpayer must be made available to the auditor.

3.

Any other requests or suggestions the tax collector may deem necessary.

c.

Only records, receipts, invoices, and related documentation which are available to the auditor when such audit begins shall be deemed acceptable for the purposes of conducting such audit.

(4)

All taxes collected under this article shall be remitted to the tax collector. In addition to any other powers under this article, the tax collector is empowered, and it shall be his or her duty, when any tax becomes delinquent or is otherwise in jeopardy under this article, to issue a warrant for the full amount of the tax due or estimated to be due, with the interest, penalties, and cost of collection, directed to all and singular the sheriffs of the state, and shall record the warrant in the public records of the county; and thereupon the amount of the warrant shall become a lien on any real or personal property of the taxpayer in the same manner as a recorded judgment. The tax collector may issue a tax execution to enforce the collection of taxes imposed by this article and deliver it to the sheriff. The sheriff shall thereupon proceed in the same manner as prescribed by law for executions and shall be entitled to the same fees for his services in executing the warrant to be collected. The tax collector may also have a writ of garnishment to subject any indebtedness due to the delinquent dealer by a third person in any goods, money, chattels, or effects of the delinquent dealer in the hands, possession, or control of the third person in the manner provided by law for the payment of the tax due. Upon payment of the execution, warrant, judgment or garnishment, the tax collector shall satisfy the lien of record within 30 days.

(5)

The tax collector is authorized to impose and retain a dishonor fee as an additional cost of collection of any check, draft, or other order for payment of the taxes collected under this article (an "instrument"), if such instrument is dishonored in accordance with the provisions of F.S. §§ 125.0104 and 125.0105. The amount of the dishonor fee shall be pursuant to F.S. §§ 125.0105 and 832.08(5): Twenty-five dollars if the face value of the instrument does not exceed $50.00, $30.00 if the face value of the instrument is more than $50.00 but does not exceed $300.00, $40.00 if the face value is more than $300.00 but does not exceed $800.00, and $50.00 if the face value is more than $800.00.

(g)

Tax revenues under this article may be used only in accordance with the provisions of F.S. § 125.0104.

(h)

A portion of the tax collected shall be retained for the costs incurred for administration, but such portion shall not exceed three percent of collections. Beginning with the 2010/2011 county fiscal year, the county tax collector shall annually notify the county tourist development council of the estimated cost of administration for the ensuing fiscal year by the date established for submittal of the tax collector's tentative budget as provided in F.S. §129.03(2). The remainder of the tax collected shall be submitted to the county on a monthly basis.

(i)

The county assumes responsibility for auditing the records and accounts of dealers and assessing, collecting, and enforcing payment of delinquent tourist development taxes. The county adopts any and all powers and authority granted to the state in F.S. § 125.0104 and F.S. ch. 212, to determine the amount of the tax, penalties and interest to be paid by each person subject to the tax under this article and to enforce payment of such tax, penalties and interest by, but not limited to, distress warrants, writs of garnishment and criminal penalties as provided in F.S. ch. 212.

(j)

Refunds. A refund is limited to three years from the date the tax was paid. Once a refund application is submitted with appropriate documentation to substantiate the validity of the claim, the refund will be processed within 90 days. If the refund claim is not processed within 90 days, and it was properly submitted to substantiate the validity of the claim, interest will be paid on the claim based upon the statutory floating interest rate as determined by the department of revenue.

(Ord. No. 78-20, § 1, 8-29-78; Ord. No. 88-14, § 1, 5-10-88; Ord. No. 90-50, § 1, 7-3-90; Ord. No. 95-35, § 1, 5-9-95; Ord. No. 04-62, §§ 2, 3, 9-7-04; Ord. No. 05-47, § 1, 7-26-05; Ord. No. 10-11, § 1, 3-16-10; Ord. No. 10-64, §§ 1, 2, 11-16-10; Ord. No. 10-67, § 1, 11-30-10; Ord. No. 14-55, § 1, 12-16-14; Ord. No. 15-31, § 1, 8-4-15)