R5M-Resort Tax Ordinance -Weithorn-COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
Condensed Title:
An Ordinance Of The Mayor And City Commission Of The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, Amending The Code Of
The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, By Amending Chapter 102 Entitled "Taxation," By Amending Article Iv Entitled
"Resort Tax," By Amending Division 4 Entitled "Tax," By Amending Section 102-314 Entitled "Penalties And
Interest," By Amending Subsection F Thereof Regarding The Establishment Of A Fixed Late Reporting Penalty
For Annual Returns Filed Late Where No Tax Is Due ...
Ke Intended Outcome Sup orted:
Make City more business friendly.
Supportin Data Surve s, Environmental Scan, etc. :
87% of businesses rated Miami Beach as one of the best, above avera
Item Summary/Recommendation:
The Administration recommends that the City Commission approve the item.
The City of Miami Beach levies a three percent resort tax on the rent of every occupancy of a room or rooms in
any hotel, motel, rooming-house, or apartment house in the city. Operators of the aforementioned establishments
are responsible for the collection and reporting of taxes collected at their premises.
This tax is imposed on any rents, paid by a lessee or occupant, for rental periods shorter than six months. All
taxes collected by operators are required to be held in trust for the account of the city until payment thereof is
made to the city. Each operator is required to file a return for each tax period even though no tax may be due.
Operators that do not traditionally have rental periods shorter than six months are required to file on an annual
basis as opposed to filing a monthly return. Annual returns are due May 20th of each year for the preceding tax
period of May 1st through April 30th.
The City currently assesses a late reporting penalty of $25 per month for annual resort tax returns that are filed
late and where no tax is due to the City. These penalties are capped at $500.00 per return.
Operators that have no resort tax to report and fail to file an annual return for several tax periods, may be
penalized up to $500 for each annual report that is not filed timely.
Advisory Board Recommendation:
I N/A
Financial Information:
Source of Amount
Funds: 1
L~ 2
3
4
OBPI Total
Financial Impact Summary:
City Clerk's Office Le islative Tracking:
Patricia D. Walker, ext. 6461
Si n-Offs:
Financial Officer
GPE POW
T:IAGENDA\2014\Februa
MIAMI BEACH
706
Account Approved
City Man
JLM
AGENDA ITEM ___.R~S ........ /'-1__,__
DATE z~ /2~/lf
MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beoch, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeochfl.gov
TO:
FROM:
Mayor Philip Levine and Member
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
of the ct;;mission
DATE: February 12, 2014
SUBJECT: Resort Tax FIRST READING
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 102 ENTITLED
"TAXATION," BY AMENDING ARTICLE IV ENTITLED "RESORT TAX," BY
AMENDING DIVISION 4 ENTITLED uTAX,'' BY AMENDING SECTION 102-
314 ENTITLED "PENALTIES AND INTEREST," BY AMENDING
SUBSECTION F THEREOF REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A
FIXED LATE REPORTING PENAL TY FOR ANNUAL RETURNS FILED LATE
WHERE NO TAX IS DUE; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; REPEALER;
SEVERABILITY; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Ordinance at First Reading and schedule a Second Reading Public Hearing
for March, 2014.
BACKGROUND
The City of Miami Beach levies a three percent resort tax on the rent of every occupancy
of a room or rooms in any hotel, motel, rooming-house, or apartment house in the city.
Operators of the aforementioned establishments are responsible for the collection and
reporting of taxes collected at their premises.
This tax is imposed on any rents, paid by a lessee or occupant, for rental periods shorter
than six months. All taxes collected by operators are required to be held in trust for the
account of the city until payment thereof is made to the city. Each operator is required to
file a return for each tax period even though no tax may be due.
Operators that do not traditionally have rental periods shorter than six months are
required to file on an annual basis as opposed to filing a monthly return. Annual returns
are due May 201h of each year for the preceding tax period of May 1st through April 30th.
The City currently assesses a late reporting penalty of $25 per month for annual resort
tax returns that are filed late and where no tax is due to the City. These penalties are
capped at $500.00 per return.
Operators that have no resort tax to report and fail to file an annual return for several tax
periods, may be penallzed up to $500 for each annual report that is not filed timely.
707
Commission Memorandum
Resort Tax
February 12, 2014 Page 2 of 2
Resort tax penalties are in place to encourage operators to file on a timely basis.
Penalties and interest charges are in effect to penalize operators that collect resort
taxes, but fail to remit payment to the City in a timely manner.
An unintended consequence of the penalties in place for operators is the large penalty
for annual filers with zero taxes to report. The Administration is recommending the City
Commission review the penalties in place and levy a more appropriate penalty for
offenses, and accordingly update Appendix A of the City Code. Administration is
recommending the late reporting penalty be set at $50 for each annual resort tax return
that is filed late and where no tax is due to the City.
FISCAL IMPACT
In accordance with Charter section 5.02, which requires that the "City of Miami Beach
shall consider the long-term economic impact (at least 5 years) of proposed legislative
actions," this shall confirm that the City Administration evaluated the long-term economic
impact (at least 5 years) of this proposed legislative action, and determined that there
will be no measurable impact on the City's budget.
There are currently 1,062 operators that report on annual basis. Penalties collected
from annual filers for the calendar year 2013 totaled $9,250.
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends that the City Commission:
1. Approve the subject Ordinance at First Reading, and set a Second Reading Public
Hearing for March, 2014;
JLMIPDW/GPE/MM
T:IAGENDA\2014\February\Resort Tax Annual Returns Penalty-MEMO 1st Read.docx
708
ORDINANCE TO BE SUBMITTED
709