The text
Footnotes:
--- (1) --- Cross reference— Administration, ch. 2; buildings and building regulations, ch. 22; businesses, ch. 26.
State Constitution reference— Taxation and revenue, art. VIII.
State Law reference— Property taxes, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 1.01 et seq.; local occupation taxes, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 101.008; occupation taxes generally, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 191.081 et seq.; local taxation, V.T.C.A., Tax Code ch. 301 et seq.
ARTICLE I. - IN GENERAL#
Sec. 102-1. - Sales tax adopted.#
Sales taxes have been adopted as follows: (1)
A local sales tax of one percent was adopted by the voters of the city at an election held on April 4, 1970.
(2)
Additional local sales taxes totaling one percent were adopted by the voters of the city in an election held on January 16, 1993.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 7(A); Ord. No. 93-1, 1-19-93)
Sec. 102-2. - Sales and use taxes retained on use of gas and electricity.#
The city, by majority vote of the council, hereby votes to retain the taxes authorized by the Municipal Sales and Use Tax Act (V.T.C.A., Tax Code ch. 321, as amended from time to time), on the receipts from the sale, production, distribution, lease, or rental of and the use, storage, or other consumption of gas and electricity for residential use, as authorized by V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 151.317, as amended from time to time.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 7(B))
Secs. 102-3—102-25. - Reserved.#
ARTICLE II. - AD VALOREM TAX#
Sec. 102-26. - Power to levy, assess and collect.#
The council shall have the power by ordinance to levy, assess and collect such taxes as it shall determine, not to exceed for any one year, 2½ percent of the taxable property of this city, for current expenses and for the purpose of construction or the purchase of public buildings, and other permanent improvements within the city limits, and for the construction and improvement of the roads, bridges and streets within the city limits.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 8(A))
Sec. 102-27. - Rendition of property.#
All persons, firms, corporations and associations shall, on or before April 1 of each and every year, furnish the assessor and collector of taxes of the city a full and complete statement, list and schedule, verified by affidavit, of all real and personal property situated in the city; all personal property located elsewhere and subject to taxation in the City of Burnet, owned, held or controlled by them, or in their possession as agent, bailee, warehouseman or custodian on January 1 next preceding; and shall in such statement, list and schedule state the name and address of the owner of such property.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 8(B))
State Law reference— Renditions and other reports, V.T.C.A., Tax Code ch. 22.
Sec. 102-28. - Assessment.#
(a)
Authority of city assessor and collector. The assessor and collector of taxes of the city is hereby authorized to prorate the taxes against tracts of land owned by different owners, which have been taxed together as one tract, and to apportion the lien held by the city for such taxes on each of the several tracts according to its proportion to the whole assessment.
(b)
Prorating of taxes; apportioning lien; notice to owner. The assessor and collector of taxes shall, upon the request of any owner of any tract of land, divide and apportion the lien to each of the tracts and prorate the taxes of each. If deemed necessary by the assessor and collector of taxes for the enforcement of the taxes due the city, he may prorate the taxes and apportion the lien, without first being requested by the owner of the tracts of land, but in such case he shall notify the owner of such tracts of land of his intention to do so, where the owners of the same are known to him, by giving each of the owners or their agents notice in writing three days prior to the time that the assessment of their property is to be prorated; provided, however, that if the name or address of any such owner or his agent is unknown, it shall be deemed sufficient notice if the assessor and collector of taxes shall post notice of his proposed intention to prorate the taxes in three public places in the city for a period of three days prior to the prorating of such taxes.
(c)
Recordkeeping by assessor and collector. The assessor and collector of taxes shall keep a wellbound book in which the prorating of all assessments made under the terms of this article shall be noted, as well as the names of the owners of the different tracts of land, and shall show in such book whether the assessment is made upon the request of the owner of the tracts of land or by the assessor and collector of taxes without such request. Such record of such prorating by the assessor and collector of taxes shall be considered prima facie evidence that all the requirements of this Code and of this article have been complied with. The assessor and collector shall note upon the tax rolls in some suitable manner the fact of the apportionment of the taxes, as well as the apportionment of the lien.
(d)
Powers of assessor and collector. The assessor and collector of taxes shall have all the power that is conferred upon him by the laws of the state and this Code for the purpose of carrying out the authority granted in this section.
(e)
Assessment rolls; records of real and personal property. The tax assessment rolls of the city shall be so compiled that the assessment rolls exhibit a complete record of the name of the owner of each piece of property listed and included upon the assessment rolls, so far as such owner can be ascertained. If the property be real property, the assessment roll shall give the assessed value and an adequate description of each piece of property upon the rolls, and shall give the number of acres or portion of an acre, or number of lots and blocks, or portions of such, contained in or composing the particular piece of property so listed, together with the value of any improvements that may be located thereon. If it is personal property, the rolls shall give a general description of the personal property owned, according to its class or character, and the total value of such personal property shall be shown by the assessment rolls.
(f)
Assessment rolls to show total amount of taxes assessed. The assessment rolls shall exhibit opposite the property listed for taxation, the total amount of taxes assessed against such piece of property so listed, but it shall not be necessary for the assessment roll to show what proportionate amount of the total tax levied against any particular piece of property is levied by virtue of the general ad valorem tax or special taxes assessed and levied under the authority of the city.
(g)
Article provisions not to affect makeup of original tax assessment sheets. Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect the manner and form of making up the original tax assessment sheets by the city tax assessor.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 8(C))
State Law reference— Local appraisal, V.T.C.A., Tax Code ch. 25.
Sec. 102-29. - Due date, delinquency, penalties and interest.#
The ad valorem taxes levied by the council each year shall become due on October 1 of the year for which the levy is made and may be paid up to the following January 31, without penalty, but if not so paid, such taxes shall become delinquent on the following day, February 1. Interest and penalties shall be as prescribed by V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 33.01 et seq., as amended from time to time.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 8(D))
State Law reference— Delinquency date, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 31.02.
Sec. 102-30. - Homestead exemption—Person who is disabled or sixty-five years of age or older—Limitation of taxes.#
Pursuant to the authority granted by the above referenced constitutional amendment and Sec. 11.261, Tex. Tax Code, the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed by the city on the residence homestead of a person who is disabled or 65 years of age or older may not be increased while such person or that person's spouse who is disabled or 65 years of age or older retains the residence homestead exemption on the residence.
(Ord. No. 2004-14, § 1, 8-24-04; Ord. No. 2004-20, § 1, 11-9-04)
Sec. 102-31. - Same—Same—Section 11.261 implemented.#
Sec. 11.261, Tex. Tax Code, is hereby adopted and applicable to ad valorem taxes levied and assessed by the City of Burnet on the residence homesteads of disabled persons and persons 65 years of age or older within the city. The terms, provisions, procedures and exceptions provided in Sec. 11.261, Tex. Tax Code, shall be applicable to the limitation on city ad valorem taxes on qualifying homesteads, and are incorporated herein as if set forth herein verbatim.
(Ord. No. 2004-14, § 2, 8-24-04; Ord. No. 2004-20, § 2, 11-9-04)
Editor's note— Ord. No. 2004-14, §§ 1, 2, adopted Aug. 24, 2004, amended §§ 102-30, 102-31 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former §§ 102-30, 102-31 pertained to homestead exemption—Persons under 65 years and persons 65 years of age or older, and derived from § 102-30 bore no history note and § 102-31, homestead exemption—Persons 65 years of age or older derived from Code 1979, ch. 1, § 8(E).
Sec. 102-32. - Tax certificates.#
At any time the tax assessor and collector, when requested, shall issue a tax certificate with respect to any piece or parcel of property, the correctness of such certificate shall be certified officially by him and shall show the description of the property and the amount of the delinquent tax and penalty for each year. When so compiled and certified, such certificate shall constitute a sufficient tax record of the property covered by it. A fee of $10.00 shall be charged for such certificate.
(Code 1979, ch. 1, § 8(F))
State Law reference— Tax certificate, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 31.08.
Secs. 102-33—102-55. - Reserved.#
ARTICLE III. - HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX#
Footnotes:
--- (2) --- Editor's note— Ord. No. 2000-23, adopted Sept. 28, 2000, amended Art. III, Hotel occupancy tax, in its entirety; hence, former §§ 102-56—102-64, derived from the 1979 Code, § 11, as subsequently amended, have been replaced by §§ 1—14 of Ord. No. 2000-23, designated as §§ 102-56—102-69 herein.
State Law reference— Municipal hotel occupancy taxes, V.T.C.A., Tax Code ch. 351.
Sec. 102-56. - Definitions.#
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Words used in the present tense include the future tense. Words used in the plural number include the singular, and words in the singular include the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory. The word "herein" means in this article. The word "regulations" means the provisions of any applicable ordinance, rule, regulation or policy. The word "person" means any human being or legal entity and includes a corporation, a partnership, and an incorporated or unincorporated association. The words used or occupied, as applied to any room or building, shall be construed to include the words intended, arranged, or agreed to be used or occupied.
Consideration means the cost of a room, or the value given for the use of a room, that is ordinarily used for sleeping, and does not include the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant of such room not related to the cleaning and readying of such room for occupancy.
ETJ means the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city as established by state law and all extraterritorial jurisdiction as is otherwise established by the city and the landowners as authorized by state law.
Hotel means a building in which members of the public obtain sleeping accommodations for consideration. The term includes a hotel, motel, tourist home, tourist house, tourist court, lodging house, inn, rooming house, or bed and breakfast. The term does not include a hospital, sanitarium, nursing home, or a dormitory as defined in section 156.001, Texas Tax Code.
Occupancy means the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room in a hotel if the room is one ordinarily used for sleeping and if the occupant's uses, possession, or right to use or possession extends for a period of less than 30 consecutive calendar days.
Occupant means any person who, for consideration, uses, possesses, or has a right to use or possess, any room in a hotel if the room is one ordinarily used for sleeping.
Person means one or more human beings, individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in cases under U.S.C.A. title 11, receivers, and fiduciaries.
Quarter or quarterly period means a quarter of the calendar year. The first quarter is composed of the months of January, February, and March; the second quarter is composed of the months of April, May, and June; the third quarter is composed of the months of July, August, and September; and the fourth quarter is composed of the months of October, November and December.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 1, 9-28-00)
Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-2.
State Law reference— Definitions, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 351.001.
Sec. 102-57. - Imposition of tax.#
There is hereby levied a tax upon the cost of occupancy of sleeping rooms in hotels, located within the city or within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction ("ETJ"), for which the occupancy cost of the room is $2.00 or more per day. Such occupancy tax shall be seven percent of the consideration paid for such sleeping room. The tax shall not apply to a person who is a permanent resident of the sleeping room or who is otherwise exempt from paying the tax pursuant to chapter 156, Texas Tax Code.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 2, 9-28-00)
State Law reference— Tax rates, V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 351.003.
Sec. 102-58. - Collection of tax.#
Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel within the city or its ETJ shall collect the tax imposed and provided in this article.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 3, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-59. - Records and reporting of receipts.#
Every person owning, operating, managing or controlling any hotel within the city or its ETJ shall: (1)
Keep and maintain for such hotel good, adequate and accurate records for the hotel, sufficient to show and establish the consideration paid to and received by the hotel, the true and correct amount of taxes due and payable by the hotel pursuant to this article, and the applicable exemptions if any (the "records");
(2)
Keep and maintain the records for each calendar year, organized by calendar year, for a period of five years after the end of each such calendar year; and
(3)
On or before the last day of the month following each quarter, every person required to collect the tax imposed by this article shall file a report with the city secretary showing the consideration paid for all sleeping rooms during the preceding quarter and the amount of tax collected on such occupancies and sleeping rooms.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 4, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-60. - Payment of tax.#
On or before the last day of the month following each quarter, every person required to collect the tax imposed by this article shall pay the tax due to the city for the preceding quarterly period. If the occupancy of any sleeping room is by state law exempt from the tax established pursuant to section 102-57, it shall be the responsibility of the person required to collect the tax to document and provide records establishing the exemption.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 5, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-61. - Assessment for late report or payment.#
Every person who shall fail to file a report as required herein or who shall fail to pay the tax as imposed herein when said report or payment is due, shall forfeit an additional amount equal to five percent of the amount due as a penalty. In the event any past due tax is not paid within 30 days after the due date, the person shall forfeit an additional amount equal to five percent of such tax as an additional penalty.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 6, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-62. - Interest on taxes due and unpaid.#
Taxes remaining due and unpaid from and after the last day of the calendar month following the quarter for which such taxes are due and payable shall draw interest at the maximum rate allowable by law beginning 60 days from the last day of the quarterly period for which such taxes are payable.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 7, 9-28-00; Ord. No. 2007-20, § 2, 9-25-07)
Sec. 102-63. - Attorney fees and costs.#
If the matter of a report not being filed, or taxes not being paid, when due, is forwarded to the city attorney for action, an amount equal to 15 percent of the taxes, penalties and interest finally determined to be owing and payable shall be added to such amount as attorney fees and costs of collection. In the event that any action is required to be filed in any state court to obtain the required report or to collect delinquent taxes, the person(s) responsible for collecting the taxes and filing the report shall be liable to the city for its reasonable attorney fees and costs, provided that such attorney fees shall in no event be less than 15 percent of the total amount of taxes, penalties and interest due and payable.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 8, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-64. - Collection of delinquent taxes.#
The city manager is authorized to notify the city attorney as to any hotel occupancy tax for which a report is not timely filed, or for which the tax is not timely paid, as required by this article. Upon the city administrator referring the delinquent report or delinquent tax to the city attorney, an additional amount equal to 15 percent of the taxes, penalties and interest due shall be added to the amount due and payable. Upon the receipt of such notification from the city administrator, the city attorney: (1)
Is directed to promptly give written notice to the person owning, operating, managing or controlling the hotel for which such report has not been received, or for which the taxes have not been paid, demanding the report be promptly filed and that the taxes be promptly paid, as applicable;
(2)
Is directed to pursue the demand for performance and compliance with this article, including the payment and collection of all applicable penalties, interest, late charges, attorney fees and charges; and
(3)
In the event the report is not filed or, as applicable, all amounts due and payable are not paid, within 30 days after the date of the demand by the city attorney, the city attorney is authorized and directed to file suit to:
a.
Obtain the filing of any report required by this article;
b.
Obtain the payment of all taxes, penalties, interest and fees due and payable pursuant to this article;
c.
Obtain an injunction prohibiting the continued operation of the hotel for which the report has not been filed, or for which the taxes have not been paid; and
d.
To obtain such other and further relief that may be available at law or in equity.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 9, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-65. - Audits.#
The state has authority to audit any hotel for compliance with the Tex. Tax Code, and the city shall have the authority to audit any hotel for the purpose of determining, verifying and requiring compliance by such hotel with the requirements of this article. The city manager is authorized to request the comptroller of public accounts, or any other appropriate state agency, to audit any hotel, and the city may audit the records of any hotel, or cause such records to be audited by the city, to determine and verify the taxes payable, paid and owed by such hotel pursuant to this article. If a city audit finds the hotel has underpaid taxes imposed by this article the hotel shall promptly pay the additional taxes due plus the penalties and interest thereon as provided in this article. If the city council finds from the city audit and any other evidence that the hotel underpaid by more than 15 percent the taxes due for any calendar year, or that the hotel has failed in a material respect to maintain the records, then, in that event, the hotel shall pay to the city the reasonable cost and expense incurred by the city for the audit.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 10, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-66. - Deposits and uses.#
Subject to the legislative discretion of the city council a percentage of all hotel occupancy taxes received by the city may be deposited into an escrow account to be held and maintained by the city. The funds and balances of the escrow account shall be managed and invested in compliance with the city's investment policy and all earnings of such escrow account shall be deposited in and remain in such account. The escrow account shall be reserved, held and increased for any purpose allowed by chapter 351, subchapter B. Texas Tax Code, as amended.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 11, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-67. - Books and accounts.#
The city shall maintain books and accounts that accurately identify the receipt and expenditure of all revenue derived from the tax imposed by this article.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 12, 9-28-00)
Sec. 102-68. - Uses of funds.#
Subject to the exercise of legislative discretion and appropriations by the city council, the hotel occupancy tax receipts may be set aside, budgeted and appropriated for use and expenditure by the city for the purposes authorized by chapter 351, subchapter B, Texas Tax Code, as amended.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 13, 9-28-00)
State Law reference— Use of tax revenue, V.T.C.A., Tax Code, § 351-101 et seq.
Sec. 102-69. - Criminal penalty.#
Each person required by this article to collect the tax imposed herein, to pay the tax to the city, to make reports as required herein, or to maintain the records, who fails to collect the tax, pay the tax, file the report, or maintain the records, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00 for each offense. The failure to collect the tax, to file the required report, and to pay the tax collected prior to such payment becoming past due, and the failure to maintain the records, shall each constitute and be a separate offense punishable by fine. Each day the violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Such penalty shall be in addition to all other remedies provided herein.
(Ord. No. 2000-23, § 14, 9-28-00; Ord. No. 2007-20, § 3, 9-25-07)