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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16. 20-314 JUNE 23, 2020 JULY 14, 2020 20-285 20-314 ORDINANCE FIRST READING SECOND READING (CARRIED 7-0 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: AMEND ROOM TAX AND SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCES INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING PORTIONS OF SECTION 8-1.1 OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO ROOM TAX AND PERMIT REGULATIONS AND SECTION 8-1.2 OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO SHORT TERM RENTALS WHEREAS,there is need to update certain provisions to comply with current state statutes and to clarify language within the existing ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh do ordain as follows: SECTION 1. That subsection of section 8-1.1(D)(2)of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Room Tax and Permit Regulations is hereby amended to read as follows: (D)(2) Filingthrough hrough a Lodging Marketplace registered with the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue. If a short term rental is rented through a lodging marketplace that is registered with the State Department of Revenue, the lodging marketplace may collect the room tax as provided in Section 66.0615(5) of the Wisconsin Statutes and pay the required room tax directly to the City. The owner of the short term rental shall submit a monthly return which shall indicate which rentals have been made and that room taxes have been collected through the registered lodging marketplace. Room taxes shall be submitted for any rentals where room tax is not collected and submitted through the lodging marketplace. Subject to the provisions of Section 66.0615 of the Wisconsin Statutes, Owner shall remain responsible for any room tax payments not submitted through the Lodging Marketplace. JUNE 23, 2020 JULY 14, 2020 20-285 20-314 ORDINANCE FIRST READING SECOND READING CONT'D SECTION 2. That subsection of section 8-1.1(F) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Room Tax and Permit Regulations is hereby amended to read as follows: (F) Records and Audits. Every person liable for the tax imposed by this section shall keep or cause to be kept such records, receipts, invoices and other pertinent papers in such form as the City Treasurer requires. Subject to the provisions of Section 66.0615 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the City Treasurer may,by office or field audit, determine the tax required to be paid to the City or the refund due to any person under this section. This determination may be made upon the basis of the facts contained in the return being audited or on the basis of any other information within the City Treasurer's possession. The City Treasurer is authorized to examine and inspect the books, records, memoranda, and property of any person in order to verify the tax liability of that person or another person. The permit of any person who is subject to the tax imposed by this section who fails or refuses to permit the inspection of his records by the City Treasurer after such inspection has been duly requested by the City Treasurer may be revoked as provided under paragraph (G)(6)below. SECTION 3. That subsection of section 8-1.1(G) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Room Tax and Permit Regulations is hereby amended to insert the following introductory sentence prior to subsection (1) thereof: Subject to the provisions of Section 66.0615 of the Wisconsin Statutes,the following Remedies and Penalties shall apply to violations of this Article: SECTION 4. That subsection of section 8-1.2(C)(2)(b) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Short Term Rentals is hereby amended to read as follows: (b) A Seller's Permit, if required by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue; JUNE 23, 2020 JULY 14, 2020 20-285 20-314 ORDINANCE FIRST READING SECOND READING CONT'D SECTION 5. That subsection of section 8-1.2(C)(3)(h) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Short Term Rentals is hereby amended to read as follows: (h) All rentals of the short-term rental shall be subject to payment of the City of Oshkosh room tax at the current applicable rate. Permit holders are responsible for complying with the City's Room Tax and Permit Regulations. SECTION 6. That subsection of section 8-1.2(E)(2)(d) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Short Term Rentals is hereby amended to read as follows: (d) A Seller's Permit, if required by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue; SECTION 7. That subsection of section 8-1.2(K)(2)(a) and (b) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Short Term Rentals is hereby amended to read as follows: (a) For non-payment of taxes or other charges as provided under Section 8-88 of this code; (b) Failure to comply with the City of Oshkosh Room Tax and Permit Ordinance; SECTION 8. That subsection of section 8-1.2(D)(2)of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Manager's Licenses for Short Term Rentals is hereby deleted. SECTION 9. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, and publication. SECTION 10. Publication Notice. Please take notice that the City of Oshkosh enacted ordinance #20-314 AMEND ROOM TAX AND SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCES(A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AMENDING PORTIONS OF SECTION 8-1.1 OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO ROOM TAX AND PERMIT REGULATIONS AND SECTION 8-1.2 OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO SHORT TERM RENTALS on July 14, 2020. The ordinance revises the City's Room Tax Ordinance to comply with Wisconsin Statutes with regard to compliance with audits and penalties for violations. The ordinance also revises the Short Term Rental Ordinance to recognize changes to the Wisconsin Statutes which may limit the requirement to obtain a seller's permit, to clarify language pertaining to revocation for non-compliance with the City's JUNE 23, 2020 JULY 14, 2020 20-285 20-314 ORDINANCE FIRST READING SECOND READING CONT'D Room Tax Ordinance or failure to pay taxes or other amounts owed to the City and to delete a reference to manager licensing which the City does not currently require. The full text of the ordinance may be obtained at the Office of the City Clerk, 215 Church Avenue and through the City's website at www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us. Clerk's phone: 920/236-5011. dry of Oshkosh TO. Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM. Lynn A. Lorenson, City Attorney DATE. June 18, 2020 RE: Amend Room Tax and Short Term Rental Ordinances BACKGROUND The City reviewed and updated the Room Tax and created a Short Term Rental Ordinances in January 2019. Later in 2019, the State of Wisconsin amended the state statutes modifying some of the provisions related to short term rentals in relation to room tax and the requirement for persons to obtain a Wisconsin Seller's permit. The proposed amendments coming before Council will bring the City's ordinances into compliance with state statutes and eliminate an unnecessary reference to a manager's license which is not currently used. ANALYSIS At the time the City passed its ordinances creating provisions specifically dealing with short term rentals, Wisconsin Statutes required all of these types of rentals to obtain a Wisconsin Seller's Permit and to comply with all provisions of room tax laws where room taxes were imposed by municipalities. After the City passed its ordinances, the Legislature passed several modifications to state law which now require amendments to the City ordinances. 2019 Wisconsin Act 10 now requires lodging marketplaces to collect and remit local room tax on behalf of owners using their services and removed liability from owners if the lodging marketplace failed to collect and remit the taxes on their behalf. The statute also limits municipalities' abilities to individually audit owners who rely solely on lodging marketplaces for their rentals. While the city ordinance recognized that lodging marketplaces may collect and remit taxes, the city ordinance provided that it was the owner's responsibility to assure that room taxes were paid. The proposed amendment removes the owner responsibility to collect and remit the taxes when using a lodging marketplace to comply with the new state law and will allow audits only as permitted and in accordance with statutory requirements and City Hall,215 Church Avenue P.O.Box 1130 Oshkosh,WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us Cty or Oshkosh limitations. It is important to note that owners will still be required to obtain a room tax permit (at no fee) and report rentals to allow the City to monitor in some fashion the payment of taxes due from lodging marketplaces. With regard to the Short Term Rental Ordinance, the proposed changes make clear that the obligation to provide a seller's permit will apply only if a seller's permit is required by state law for the rental and we are proposing to delete a provision pertaining to property manager's licenses which was inadvertently not removed from the final ordinance presented to Council. City staff had discussed but determined not to move forward with a proposal for managers licenses and all other references to managers licenses had been removed. Finally, the ordinance clarifies some language related to suspension or revocation of short term rental licenses for failure to comply with room tax requirements. FISCAL IMPACT There is no anticipated financial impact associated with this code revision. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of the amendments to the Room Tax and Short Term Rental Ordinances. Respectfully Submitted, Approved. 1"ynsi A. Lorenson Mark A. Rohloff City Attorney City Manager City Hall,215 Church Avenue P.O Box 1130 Oshkosh,WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us SECTION 8-1.1 ROOM TAX AND PERMIT REGULATIONS (D)(2) Filingthrough hrough a Lodging Marketplace registered with the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue. If a short term rental is rented through a lodging marketplace that is registered with the State Department of Revenue, the lodging marketplace may collect the room tax as provided in Section 66.86-140615(5) of the Wisconsin Statutes and pay the required room tax directly to the City. The owner of the short term rental shall submit a monthly return which shall indicate which rentals have been made and that room taxes have been collected through the registered lodging marketplace. Room taxes shall be submitted for any rentals where room tax is not collected and submitted through the lodging marketplace. Subject to the provisions of Section 66.0615 of the Wisconsin Statutes,Owner shall remain responsible for any room tax payments not submitted through the Lodging Marketplace. (F) Records and Audits. Every person liable for the tax imposed by this section shall keep or cause to be kept such records, receipts, invoices and other pertinent papers in such form as the City Treasurer requires. Subject to the provisions of Section 66.0615 of the Wisconsin Statutes, Tke-the City Treasurer may, by office or field audit, determine the tax required to be paid to the City or the refund due to any person under this section. This determination may be made upon the basis of the facts contained in the return being audited or on the basis of any other information within the City Treasurer's possession. The City Treasurer is authorized to examine and inspect the books, records, memoranda, and property of any person in order to verify the tax liability of that person or another person. The permit of any person who is subject to the tax imposed by this section who fails or refuses to permit the inspection of his records by the City Treasurer after such inspection has been duly requested by the City Treasurer may be revoked as provided under paragraph (G)(6) below. LQ_Remedies and Penalties for Failure to Obtain Required Permits, for Delinquent Filing or Failure to File Returns. Subject to the provisions of Section 66.0615 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the following Remedies and Penalties shall apply to violations of this Article: SECTION 8-1.2 SHORT TERM RENTALS (C)(2) Each short-term rental is required to have the following licenses and permits: (b) A seller's Seller's per-mitPermit, issued if required by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue; (C)(3)(h) All rentals of the short-term rental shall be subject to payment of the City of Oshkosh room tax at the current applicable rate. Permit holders are responsible for complying with al r-egu atio s of the Cites rown Room# Tax and Permit Regulations. (D)(2) all ,a..,,,,ments and r r.,-,aS e under- this A,-fiE (E)(2) Each application shall include the following information and documentation for each short-term rental unit: { }(d) A Seller's Permit, if required by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue;Se4er .71 (K) Appeal and License Revocation. (2) A license may be revoked for one or more of the following reasons: (a) For non-paw of taxes or other charges as provided under Section 8-88 of this code; (b) Failure to comply the City of Oshkosh room Room ta*Tax and Permit Ordinance; (c) Three (3) or more calls for police service, building inspection or the health department for nuisance activities or other law violations in a twelve (12) month period as defined in Sec. 17-38.1, Chronic Nuisance Premises; (d) Failure to obtain all necessary county and state permits and licenses within twelve (12) months of obtaining the City license; (e) Failure to maintain all required local,county,and state licensing requirements; (f) Failure to use the property as a short-term rental within twelve(12)months of obtaining the City license; (g) Any violation of local, county, or state laws that substantially harm or adversely impact the predominantly residential uses and nature of the surrounding neighborhood.