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609 Lodging Excise Tax CITY OF YELM ORDINANCE NO. 609 AN ORDINANCE of the City of Yelm, Washington, levying a special excise tax of two percent on the sale or charge made for the furnishing of lodging by any hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel or trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property; establishing a special fund for the tax; and providing penalties for nonpayment of the tax or violation of the requirements of the tax. WHEREAS, SSB 5867, enacted as Ch. 452, Laws of 1997 provides that cities are authorized to levy and collect a special excise tax not to exceed four percent on the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging that is subject to tax under Chapter 82.08 RCW; and WHEREAS, SSB 5867, enacted as Ch. 452, Laws of 1997, provides that such tax shall be levied only to pay all or any part of the cost of tourism promotion, acquisition of tourism-related facilities, or operation of a tourism-related facility; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to establish and levy such tax for the purposes provided by statue; NOW THEREFORE, The City Council of the City of Yelm, Washington, do ordain as follows: Section 1. There is levied a special excise tax of two percent on the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging that is subject to tax under Chapter 82.08 RCW. The tax imposed under Chapter 82.08 RCW applies to the sale of or charge made for the furnishing of lodging by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel, or trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property. It shall be presumed that the occupancy of real property for a continuous period of one month or more constitutes a rental or lease of real property and not a mere license to use or enjoy the same. Section 2. The definitions of "selling price," "seller," "buyer," "consumer," and all other definitions as are now contained in RCW 82.08.010, and subsequent amendments thereto, are adopted as the definitions for the tax levied in this chapter. Page 1 Section 3. The tax levied in this chapter shall be in addition to any license fee or any other tax imposed or levied under any law or any other ordinance of the city; provided,the first two percent of the tax shall be deducted from the amount of tax the seller would otherwise be required to collect and pay to the Department of Revenue under Chapter 82.08 RCW. Section 4. There is created a special fund in the treasury of the city and all taxes collected under this chapter shall be placed in this special fund to be used solely for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of tourist promotion, acquisition of tourism-related facilities, or operation of tourism-related facilities or to pay for any other uses as authorized in Chapter 67.28 RCW, as now or hereafter amended. Section 5. For the purposes of the tax levied in this chapter: A. The Department of Revenue is designated as the agent of the city for the purposes of collection and administration of the tax. B. The administrative provisions contained in RCW 82.08.050 through 82.08.070 and in Chapter 82.32 RCW shall apply to administration and collection of the tax by the Department of Revenue. C. All rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Revenue for the administration of Chapter 82.08 RCW are adopted by reference. D. The Department of Revenue is authorized to prescribe and utilize such forms and reporting procedures as the Department may deem necessary and appropriate. Section 6. It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of the chapter. Every person convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter shall be punished by a fine in a sum not to exceed $500.00. Each day of violation shall be considered a separate offense. Section 7. The invalidity of any article, subsection, provision, clause, or portion of this ordinance or of the statutes adopted by reference herein, or the invalidity of the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances, and all other articles, sections, subsections, provisions, clauses, or portions of this ordinance or the statutes adopted by reference herein not expressly held to be invalid, shall continue in full force and effect. Page 2 Section 8. The following is hereby repealed: Ordinance No. 488, enacted January 12, 1994. Section 9. The effective date of the tax imposed by this ordinance shall be five days following publication. G/~ Ka hry M. Wolf, Ma or Authenticated: %I~1G Agn P. Bennick, City Clerk PASSED and APPROVED: November 12, 1997 PUBLISHED: Nisqually Valley News, November 20, 1997 Page 3