A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF ARCHDALE TO LEVY A ROOM OCCUPANCY TAX.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. Occupancy tax. – (a)	Authorization and Scope. – The Archdale City Council may levy a room occupancy tax of up to six percent (6%) of the gross receipts derived from the rental of any room, lodging, or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, or similar place within the city that is subject to sales tax imposed by the State under G.S. 105‑164.4(a)(3). This tax is in addition to any State or local sales tax. This tax does not apply to accommodations furnished by nonprofit charitable, educational, or religious organizations when furnished in furtherance of their nonprofit purpose.
SECTION 1.(b)	Administration. – A tax levied under this section shall be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 160A‑215. The penalties provided in G.S. 160A‑215 apply to a tax levied under this section.
SECTION 1.(c)	Use of Tax Revenue. – The city may use the proceeds of a tax levied under this section for any lawful purpose.
SECTION 2. City administrative provisions. – G.S. 160A‑215 reads as rewritten:
"§ 160A‑215. Uniform provisions for room occupancy taxes.
(a)	Scope. – This section applies only to municipalities the General Assembly has authorized to levy room occupancy taxes. For the purpose of this section, the term "city" means a municipality.
(b)	Levy. – A room occupancy tax may be levied only by resolution, after not less than 10 days' public notice and after a public hearing held pursuant thereto. A room occupancy tax shall become effective on the date specified in the resolution levying 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 date the resolution is adopted.
(c)	Collection. – Every operator of a business subject to a room occupancy tax shall, on and after the effective date of the levy of the tax, collect the tax. The tax shall be collected as part of the charge for furnishing a taxable accommodation. The tax shall be stated and charged separately from the sales records and shall be paid by the purchaser to the operator of the business as trustee for and on account of the taxing city. The tax shall be added to the sales price and shall be passed on to the purchaser instead of being borne by the operator of the business. The taxing city shall design, print, and furnish to all appropriate businesses and persons in the city the necessary forms for filing returns and instructions to ensure the full collection of the tax. An operator of a business who collects a room occupancy tax may deduct from the amount remitted to the taxing city a discount equal to the discount the State allows the operator for State sales and use tax.
(d)	Administration. – The taxing city shall administer a room occupancy tax it levies. A room occupancy tax is due and payable to the city finance officer in monthly installments on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the tax accrues. Every person, firm, corporation, or association liable for the tax shall, on or before the fifteenth day of each month, prepare and render a return on a form prescribed by the taxing city. The return shall state the total gross receipts derived in the preceding month from rentals upon which the tax is levied. A room occupancy tax return filed with the city finance officer is not 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. – A person, firm, corporation, or association who fails or refuses to file a room occupancy tax return or pay a room occupancy tax as required by law is subject to the civil and criminal penalties set by G.S. 105‑236 for failure to pay or file a return for State sales and use taxes. The governing board of the taxing city has the same authority to waive the penalties for a room occupancy tax that the Secretary of Revenue has to waive the penalties for State sales and use taxes.
(f)	Repeal or Reduction. – A room occupancy tax levied by a city may be repealed or reduced by a resolution adopted by the governing body of the city. Repeal or reduction of a room occupancy tax shall become effective on the first day of a month and may not become effective until the end of the fiscal year in which the resolution was adopted. Repeal or reduction of a room occupancy tax does not affect a liability for a tax that was attached before the effective date of the repeal or reduction, nor does it affect a right to a refund of a tax that accrued before the effective date of the repeal or reduction.
(g)	This section applies only to Beech Mountain District W, to the Cities of Archdale, Gastonia, Goldsboro, Greensboro, High Point, Kings Mountain, Lexington, Lincolnton, Lumberton, Monroe, Mount Airy, Shelby, Statesville, and Washington, to the Towns of Beech Mountain, Carrboro, Mooresville, North Topsail Beach, Selma, Smithfield, St. Pauls, and Wilkesboro, and to the municipalities in Avery and Brunswick Counties."
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law.