§ 74-182. Imposition and rate of tax.

(a)

There shall be paid a tax of three percent of the rent for every occupancy of a guestroom in a hotel in Fulton County. The tax imposed by this article shall be paid upon any occupancy on and after May 1, 1975, although such occupancy is had pursuant to a contract, lease, or other arrangement made prior to such date. Where rent is paid, or charged or billed, or falls due on either a weekly, monthly, or other term basis, the rent so paid, charged, billed, or falling due shall be subject to the tax herein imposed to the extent that it covers any portion of the period from May 1, 1975; and such payment, bill, charge, or rent due shall be apportioned on the basis of the ratio of the number of days covered thereby. Where any tax has been paid therefore, the director of finance may, by regulation, provide for credit or refund of the amount of such tax upon application therefore as provided in section 74-187 of this article.

(b)

For one continuous three-year period commencing on June 1, 1987, the tax payable under this section shall be six percent, and an amount equal to at least 60 percent of the total taxes collected under this section shall be expended for one or more of the following purposes:

(1)

Promoting tourism, conventions, and trade shows;

(2)

Supporting a facility owned or operated by a state authority for convention and trade show purposes, or any other similar or related purposes;

(3)

Supporting a facility owned or operated by a local authority or local government for convention and trade show purposes, or any other similar or related purposes, if such facility is substantially completed and in operation prior to July 1, 1987;

(4)

Supporting a facility owned or operated by a local government or local authority for convention and trade show purposes, or any other similar or related purposes, if the construction of such facility is funded or was funded in whole or in part by a grant of state funds; or

(5)

For some combination of such purposes. Amounts so expended shall be expended only through a contract or contracts with the state, a department of state government, a state authority, or a private sector nonprofit organization, or through a contract or contracts with some combination of such entities, except that amounts expended for the purposes described in subsections (b)(3) and (b)(5) of this section may be so expended in any otherwise lawful manner.

(c)

From and after June 1, 1990, the tax payable under this section shall be five percent; and an amount equal to the amount by which the total tax is collected exceeds the taxes which would be collected at a rate of three percent shall be expended for one or more of the purposes set forth in subsections (b)(1)—(5) of this section.

(d)

For purposes of this section, a "private sector nonprofit organization" may be a chamber of commerce, a convention and visitor's bureau, a regional travel association, or any other private group organized for similar purposes which is qualified as a nonprofit organization for federal income tax purposes under the Federal Internal Revenue Code.

(Code 1983, § 33-6-2; Res. No. 06-0472, 5-3-06)

State law reference

Authority to levy tax, O.C.G.A. § 48-13-51.