Ordinance - 1919ORDINANCE NO. 1919
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
WEST COVINA AMENDING WEST COVINA MUNICIPAL CODE
SECTIONS 21-44, 21-46, 21-48, 21-49, 21-50,
21-51, 21-521 AND 21-53 RELATING TO TRANSIENT
OCCUPANCY TAX
follows: The City Council of the City of West Covina does ordain as
SECTION 1. Findings - The City Council -finds as follows:
A) That this amendment clarifies the intent of the article;
B) That the changes represent current and prudent
administrative practices;
C) Costs are the reasonable cost of services provided; and
D) This amendment does not increase taxes.
SECTION 2. Section 21-44 of the West Covina Municipal Code
shall be amended to read as follows:
Section 21-44. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, certain words and phrases are
defined and shall be construed as herein set forth unless it is
apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended.
Hotel means any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is
occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for
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, dormitory, public or private
club, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location or other
similar structure or portion thereof all for the temporary use of a
transient individual who remains as a guest of such establishment less
than thirty (30) days, but shall not include jails, hospitals,
asylums, sanitariums, orphanages, prisons, detention homes and similar
buildings where human beings are housed and detained under a legal
restraint.
Occupancy means the use or possession, or the right to the use or
possession of any room or rooms or portion thereof, in any hotel for
dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes.
Operator means the person who is proprietor of the hotel, whether in
the capacity of owner, lessee, sublessee, mortgagee in possession,
licensee, or any other capacity. Where the operator performs his or
her functions through a managing agent of any type or character other
than an employee, the managing agent shall also be deemed an operator
for the purposes of this article and shall have the same duties and
liabilities as his principal. Compliance with the provisions of the
article by either the principal or the managing agent shall, however,
be considered to be compliance by both.
Register means such records, receipts, invoices and other pertinent
papers in such forms as the tax administrator may require which
reflect the name, home street and city of each and every guest or
person renting or occupying a room therein, together with the number
of each room assigned, the time at which the room was rented, and the
time at which the room was vacated by the guest.
Rent means the consideration charged, whether or not received, for the
*occupancy of space in a hotel valued in money, goods, labor or
otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and property and
services of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom
whatsoever.
Tax Administrator means the finance officer of the city, or his or her
designee, who is charged with the administration of the tax.
Transient means any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to
occupancy by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license
or other agreement for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive
calendar days as full days. Any such person so occupying space in a
hotel shall be deemed to be a transient until the period of
twenty-nine (29) days has expired. In determining whether a person
is a transient, uninterrupted periods of time extending both prior and
subsequent to the effective date of this article may be considered.
SECTION 3. Section 21-46 (Exemptions) subsection (a) of the
West Covina Municipal Code shall be amended to read as follows:
0 No tax shall be imposed upon:
(1) Any person as to whom, or any occupancy as to which, it is beyond
the power of the.City to impose the tax herein provided:
(2) Any Federal or state officer or employee when on official
business:
(3) Any officer or employee of a foreign government who is exempt
solely by reason of express provision of federal law or
international treaty.
SECTION 4. Section 21-48 of the West Covina Municipal Code
shall be amended to read as follows:
Section 21-48. Registration of Hotels.
Before October 1, 1965, or within thirty (30) days after commencing
business, whichever is later, each operator of any hotel renting
occupancy to transients shall register such hotel with the tax
administrator and obtain a "transient occupancy registration
certificate" to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the
premises. Such certificate shall, among other things, state the
following:
(a) The name of the operator;
(b) The address of the hotel;
(c) The date upon which the certificate was issued;
(d) "This Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate signifies that
the person named on the face hereof has fulfilled the
requirements of the Uniform Occupancy Tax Ordinance by
registering with the tax administrator for the purposes of
collecting from transients the transient occupancy tax and
remitting said tax to the tax administrator. This certificate
does not authorize any person to conduct any lawful business in
an unlawful manner, nor to operate a hotel without strictly
complying with all local applicable laws, including but not
limited to those requiring a permit from any board, commission,
department or office of this city. This certificate does not
constitute a permit." (Code 1960, Section 6405)
SECTION 5. Section 21-49 (Reporting and Remitting)
subsections (a) and (e) of the West Covina Municipal Code shall be
amended and subsection (g) shall be added to read as follows:
(a) Each operator on or before the last day of the month following
the close of each calendar month, commencing January 1, 1988, or
at the close of any shorter reporting period which may be
established by the tax administrator, shall make a return to the
tax administrator, on forms provided by the City of the total
rents charged and received and the amount of tax collected for
" transient occupancies. At the time the return is filed, the full
° amount of the tax collected shall be remitted to the tax
administrator. The tax administrator may establish shorter
reporting periods for any certificate holder if deemed necessary
in order to ensure collection of the tax and the tax
administrator may require further information in the return.
Ord. 1919 Page 2
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(e) The tax administrator, or his or her authorized designee, in the
exercise of the duties imposed upon him or her under this
article, shall have the authority to perform audits of all
relevant hotel records to ascertain whether the provisions of
this article have been complied with fully. If an audit reveals
that a hotel operator has not complied with the provisions of
this Article, the hotel operator shall reimburse the City for the
total cost of the audit as determined by the tax administrator.
(g) The auditor/tax administrator shall make one trip to obtain
information and records required by this section. The
auditor/tax administrator shall notify the hotel operator of the
records requested and the date and time he/she shall meet with
operator to obtain them. The hotel operator shall reimburse the
City for costs related to any additional return trips resulting
from failure by the hotel operator to provide all documents
requested in writing by the tax administrator.
SECTION 6. Section 21-50 (Penalties and Interest) subsection
(e) of the West Covina Municipal Code shall be amended to read as
follows:
(e) Interest. In addition to the penalties imposed, any operator who
fails to remit any tax imposed by this article shall pay interest
at the rate of 10/12% per month or the otherwise maximum
allowable by law, or fraction thereof, on the amount of the tax
and penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became
due until paid.
SECTION 7. Section 21-51 (Failure to collect and report tax;
determination of tax by Tax Administrator) subsections (a), and (b)
of the West Covina Municipal Code shall be amended to read as follows:
(a) If any operator shall fail or refuse to collect the tax imposed
by this article and to make, within the time provided in this
article any report and remittance of such tax or any portion
thereof required by this article, the tax administrator shall
proceed in such manner deemed best to obtain facts and
information on which to base an estimate of the tax due. As soon
as the tax administrator shall procure such facts and information
uipon which to base the assessment of any tax imposed by this
chapter and payable by any operator who has failed or refused to
collect the same and to make such report and remittance, the tax
administrator shall proceed to determine and assess against such
operator the tax, interest and penalties provided for by this
article.
(b) In case such determination is made, the tax administrator shall
give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally
or by depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid,
addressed to the operator so assessed at the operator's last
known place of address. Such operator may within ten (10) days
after the serving or mailing of such notice make application in
writing to the tax administrator for a hearing on the amount
assessed.
SECTION 8. Section 21-52 (Appeal) of the West Covina
Municipal Code shall be amended to read as follows:
Any operator aggrieved by any decision of the tax administrator with
respect to the amount of the tax imposed by this article, interest and
penalties, if any, may appeal to the tax administrator by filing a
notice of appeal with the tax administrator within fifteen (15) days
of the serving or mailing of the determination of tax due. The tax
administrator shall fix a time and place for hearing such appeal, and
shall give notice in writing to such operator at the operator's last
known place of address. The findings of the tax administrator shall
be final and conclusive and shall be served upon the appellant in the
manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing. Any amount
found to be due shall be immediately due and payable upon the service
of notice. °
Ord. 1919 Page 3
SECTION 9. Section 21-53 (Records) of the West Covina
Municipal Code shall be amended to read 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 article to keep and
preserve, for a period of five (5) years, all registers and other
records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he
or she may have been liable for the collection of and payment to the
City.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 2oth day of
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
April , 1993.
MAYOR
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the following Ordinance No. 1919 was duly
adopted by the City Council of the City of West Covina at a regular
meeting thereof, held on 20th day of April , 1993, by the following
vote of the Council:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS Herfert, Jennings, McFadden, Wong, Manners
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS None
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS None
-CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Q c � 0� . W2LLct 2
CITY ATTORNEY
B:TOTSTAFF
Ord. 1919 Page 4
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CERTIFICATION
I, JANET BERRY, Deputy City Clerk of the City of West Covina, State
of California, do hereby certify that a true and accurate copy of
ordinance No. 191V was published, pursuant to law, in the San
Gabriel Valley. Tribune, a newspaper of general circulation
published and circulated in the City of West Covina.
J net Berry, City aerk
City of West Covina, Califo is
DATED: �� 93