Bill Text: WV SB592 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Providing for collection of hotel occupancy tax by marketplace facilitators
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-02-26 - To House Government Organization [SB592 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2019-SB592-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2019 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 592
By Senators Blair, Cline, and Sypolt
[Introduced February
13, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §7-18-3 and §7-18-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to municipal or county taxation of hotel rooms booked through a market facilitator; defining terms; providing for collection and remittance of the tax imposed by any municipality or county; requiring the marketplace facilitator separately state the tax on all bills, invoices, accounts, books of account, and records relating to occupancy or use of a hotel room; and deeming all taxes collected be held in trust by the marketplace facilitator until remitted.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 18. HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
§7-18-3. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article:
(a) “Consideration paid” or “consideration” means the
amount received in money, credits, property or other consideration for or in
exchange for the right to occupy a hotel room as herein defined.
(b) “Consumer” means a person who pays the consideration
for the use or occupancy of a hotel room. The term “consumer” does not mean the
government of the United States of America, its agencies or instrumentalities,
or the government of the State of West Virginia or political subdivisions
thereof.
(c) “Hotel” means any facility, building or buildings,
publicly or privately owned (including a facility located in a state, county or
municipal park), in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping
accommodations. The term includes, but is not limited to, boarding houses,
hotels, motels, inns, courts, condominiums, lodges, cabins and tourist homes.
The term “hotel” includes state, county and city parks offering accommodations
as herein set forth. The term “hotel” does not mean a hospital, sanitarium,
extended care facility, nursing home or university or college housing unit, or
any facility providing fewer than three rooms in private homes, not exceeding a
total of ten days in a calendar year, nor any tent, trailer or camper
campsites: Provided, That where a university or college housing unit
provides sleeping accommodations for the general nonstudent public for a
consideration, the term “hotel” does, if otherwise applicable, apply to those
accommodations for the purposes of this tax.
(d) “Hotel operator” means the person who is proprietor
of a hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, mortgagee in possession,
licensee, trustee in possession, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, executor or
in any other capacity. Where the hotel operator performs his or her functions
through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the
managing agent is a hotel operator for the purposes of this article and has the
same duties and liabilities as his or her principal. Compliance with the
provisions of this article by either the principal or the managing agent is,
however, considered to be compliance by both.
(e) “Hotel room” means any room or suite of rooms or
other facility affording sleeping accommodations to the general public and
situated within a hotel. The term “hotel room” does not include:
(1) A banquet room, meeting room or any other room not primarily used for, or in conjunction with, sleeping accommodations; or
(2) Sleeping accommodations rented on a month-to-month basis or other rental arrangement for 30 days or longer at the inception at a boarding house, condominium, cabin, tourist home, apartment or home.
(3) Sleeping accommodations rented by a hotel operator to
those persons
directly employed by the hotel operator for the purposes of performing duties
in support of the operation of the hotel or related operations.
“Marketplace facilitator” means a person or entity that facilities the sale of goods and services by advertising goods and services for sale in a physical or electronic forum and collects payments from the purchaser on behalf of the seller either directly or indirectly.
(f) “Person” means any individual, firm, partnership,
joint venture, association, syndicate, social club, fraternal organization,
joint stock company, receiver, corporation, guardian, trust, business trust,
trustee, committee, estate, executor, administrator or any other group or
combination acting as a unit.
(g) “State park” means any state-owned facility which is
part of this state's park and recreation system established pursuant to this
code. For purposes of this article, any recreational facility otherwise qualifying
as a “hotel” and situated within a state park is considered to be solely within
the county in which the building or buildings comprising the facility are
physically situated, notwithstanding the fact that the state park within which
the facility is located may lie within the jurisdiction of more than one
county.
(h) “Tax,” “taxes” or “this tax” means the hotel
occupancy tax authorized by this article.
(i) “Taxing authority” means a municipality or county
levying or imposing the tax authorized by this article.
(j) “Taxpayer” means any person liable for the tax
authorized by this article.
§7-18-4. Consumer to pay tax; hotel or hotel operator not to represent that it will absorb tax; accounting by hotel and marketplace facilitators.
(a) The consumer shall pay to the hotel operator the amount of tax imposed by any municipality or county hereunder, which tax shall be added to and shall constitute a part of the consideration paid for the use and occupancy of the hotel room, and which tax shall be collectible as such by the hotel operator who shall account for, and remit to the taxing authority, all taxes paid by consumers. The hotel operator shall separately state the tax authorized by this article on all bills, invoices, accounts, books of account and records relating to consideration paid for occupancy or use of a hotel room. The hotel operator may commingle taxes collected hereunder with the proceeds of the rental of hotel accommodations unless the taxing authority shall, by ordinance, order, regulation or otherwise require in writing the hotel operator to segregate such taxes collected from such proceeds. The taxing authority's claim shall be enforceable against, and shall be superior to, all other claims against the moneys so commingled excepting only claims of the state for moneys held by the hotel pursuant to the provisions of article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code. All taxes collected pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be held in trust by the hotel until the same shall have been remitted to the taxing authority as hereinafter provided.
(b) Where a hotel or hotel operator contracts with a marketplace facilitator to offer the use or occupancy of a hotel room, through an electronic medium, platform, or marketplace, including, but not limited to, a website operated by the marketplace facilitator, and the marketplace facilitator collects receipts from the consumer for the transaction on behalf of the hotel or hotel operator, then such marketplace facilitator shall be responsible, on behalf of the hotel or hotel operator, for the collection and remittance of the tax imposed by any municipality or county hereunder. The marketplace facilitator shall separately state the tax authorized by this article on all bills, invoices, accounts, books of account and records relating to consideration paid for the occupancy or use of a hotel room. All taxes collected pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be held in trust by the marketplace facilitator, on behalf of the hotel or hotel operator, until the same has remitted by the marketplace facilitator to the taxing authority as hereinafter provided.
(b) (c) A hotel or hotel operator shall not
represent to the public in any manner, directly or indirectly, that it will
absorb all or any part of the tax or that the tax is not to be considered an
element in the price to be collected from the consumer.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the collection the hotel occupancy tax by marketplace facilitators.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
