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Treasurer-Tax Collector Department recommending the Board provide conceptual approval, pursuant to Board Policy A-3, to amend Chapter 3.28, Transient Occupancy Tax, of Title 3 of the El Dorado County Ordinance Code to: add a provision granting the Tax Collector authority to record a Certificate of Delinquency of Transient Occupancy Tax Lien against an operator who fails to remit occupancy taxes; require appeals of tax and/or penalty amounts charged to be heard by a Hearing Officer, consistent with other appeal processes in the County; and to make minor text corrections and updates for consistency with El Dorado County Ordinance Code and the State Revenue and Taxation Code.
FUNDING: N/A
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Chapter 3.28, Transient Occupancy Tax, of Title 3 of the El Dorado County Ordinance Code gives the County authority to levy and collect a 10 percent Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) for overnight stays in hotels, motels, inns and short-term rentals (STRs) in the unincorporated area of the County. (Overnight stays in campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks are excluded from the Ordinance.) It is required under the Ordinance that hotel, motel, inn and STR operators (“operators”) register the facility with the Tax Collector and obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate.
The Tax Collector is charged with the responsibility for enforcing the TOT Ordinance. Any person who violates any provision of Chapter 3.28 can be found guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the County jail not exceeding six months or, by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or, both.
It is the opinion of the Tax Collector that civil enforcement tools would be beneficial as incentive for payment. It is recommended that the TOT Ordinance be amended to include the addition of a provision granting the Tax Collector authority to record a lien for delinquent TOT taxes against the real property of the operator. Before a non-compliant operator could sell a ...
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