A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CREATE AN OCCUPANCY TAX DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF SEVEN DEVILS, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE SEVEN DEVILS TAX DISTRICT TO LEVY AN OCCUPANCY TAX.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  District W Created. – Seven Devils District W is created as a taxing district. Its jurisdiction consists of that part of the Town of Seven Devils that is located in Watauga County. Seven Devils District W is a body politic and corporate and has the power to carry out the provisions of this section. The Seven Devils Board of Aldermen shall serve ex officio as the governing body of the district, and the officers of the board of aldermen shall serve as the officers of the governing body of the district. A simple majority of the governing body constitutes a quorum, and approval by a majority of those present is sufficient to determine any matter before the governing body, if a quorum is present.
SECTION 1.(b)  Authorization and Scope. – The governing body of Seven Devils District W may levy a room occupancy tax of up to three percent (3%) 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 district 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 or room occupancy tax. This tax does not apply to accommodations furnished by charitable, educational, or religious institutions or nonprofit organizations when furnished in furtherance of their nonprofit purpose.
SECTION 1.(c)  Administration. – A tax levied under this section shall be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 160A‑215 as if Seven Devils District W were a town. The penalties provided in G.S. 160A‑215 apply to a tax levied under this section.
All persons, firms, corporations, and associations who rent either their own dwelling or dwellings or rooms for other persons are required to submit to the district a list of all rental properties. This list must include the owner's name, current address, and location of rental property. The list must be submitted semiannually on or before November 30 and May 30. Failure to file this list subjects the person, firm, corporation, or association to a civil penalty.
SECTION 1.(d)  Distribution and Use of Tax Revenue. – Seven Devils District W shall, on a quarterly basis, remit the net proceeds of the occupancy tax to the Seven Devils Tourism Development Authority created in accordance with Part XVI of S.L. 2001‑439. The Seven Devils Tourism Development Authority shall use the tax proceeds remitted to it under this act for the purposes provided in Part XVI of 
S.L. 2001‑439. In accordance with the North Carolina Constitution and the United States Constitution, the tax proceeds may be used only for the direct benefit of the jurisdiction of Seven Devils District W.
For the purposes of this section, "net proceeds" means gross proceeds less the cost to the district of administering and collecting the tax, as determined by the finance officer, not to exceed three percent (3%) of the first five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of gross proceeds collected each year and one percent (1%) of the remaining gross receipts collected each year.
SECTION 2.  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 and Seven Devils District W, to the Cities of 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.