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Home My WebLink About1990-05-08; City Council; 10623; APPEAL OF TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX LATE PENALTY PAYMENT - LA COSTA HOTELAB#- TITLE: MTG. DEPT.FThl 5/8/90 APPEAL OF TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX LATE PENALTY PAYMENT - LA COSTA HOTEL DEP CITI CIT! rl (d GI a a (d al c 4J a GI .rl a .rl u G 3 0 V 5 4 .. 0 z 0 a m 1 co 1 m 6 < z 3 0 0 GI ,UP CARLSBAD - AGEN-BILL I/‘ RECOMMENDED ACTION: By minute motion, deny the La Costa Hotel appeal of a 10% late penalt; Transient Occupancy Tax for January, 1990. ITEM EXPLANATION: The Carlsbad Municipal Code (Chapter 3.12) states, “For the privilegt occupancy in any hotel, each transient ... shall pay a tax in the amounl . . . ten percent of the rent charged by the operator . . . All operators st remit monthly the full amount of taxes collected . . . Taxes remitted monl and actually received ... on or before the last day of the following mc shall be deemed timely ...; otherwise, the taxes are delinquent and sub, to penalties imposed by Section 3.12.080 ... Any operator who fails to r( any tax imposed ... within the time required shall pay a penalty of percent of the amount of the tax in addition to the amount of the tax.’ Under this code section the City staff accepts any transient occupancy (TOT) payment received with a postmark dated on or before the last da; the month as having effectively met the requirement of the code. Paymc received with a postmark later than the last day of the end of the montl which the tax is due are assessed a 10% late penalty. The La Costa Hotel January 1990 payment was one of three payments recel after February 28, 1990, the due date for these payments. In each case payment had been stamped by the internal mail system with a February 1990 date but stamped by the post office with a March 1, 1990 date. post office date is considered to be the mailing date for official purpo: The La Costa Hotel is appealing to the City Council for a dismissal of 1 penalties related to the January tax obligation on the following grounc 1. The La Costa Hotel is a long-time member of the community and has contributed a great deal to its ci ti zens . 2. Much of the City‘s TOT revenue comes from the La Costa Hotel, over $1.8 million during the past twelve months. 3. The Hotel has a long record of on-time payments. Although staff understands the La Costa Hotel’s standing in the communi the importance of the hotel to the City’s TOT revenue base, and the 1 record of on-time payments, the code is clear on the issue of the assessn of late penalties. Similar penalties have been assessed to other hotel: the past under this same section of the code. e 0 Page Two of Agenda Bill No. /a, d2-3 FISCAL IMPACT: The La Costa Hotel has been assessed a late penalty of $14,818.01 for month of January, 1990. This represents 10% of the tax due for that mon At this point the late penalty has not been paid and remains under appe The granting of the appeal will result in the loss of this amount in revenue for fiscal year 1989-90. (The TOT rate in effect as of January 1990 is 10% of the room rent). EXHIBITS : Letter from La Costa Hotel dated March 22, 1990. Letter from Finance Director dated March 30, 1990. Letter from La Costa Hotel dated April 6, 1990. e e I. r ir' ' ' - !LACOSTA March 22, 1990 r Mr. James Elliott Finance Director Ci ty of Carl sbad 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, Ca 92008-1989 Dear Mr. Elliott: La Costa Hotel E Spa was recently informed by your department of the late receipt of our January Transient Occupancy tax return. There was In fact an error on La Costa's part. We delivered the return to our mail room on February 28 but for some unknown reason the envelope went out with the first mail pick-up of March 1 rather than the last pick-up on February 28th. As we have paid the City of Carlsbad over $1.8 million in Transient Occupancy Taxes during the past twelve months and this is the first time our payment has ever been late, we would like to appeal for leniency in this case and have the penalty rescinded. Your consideration of the matter is greatly appreciated. Regards, n 4?; J L2 43 L,iL t& Colette Wengehroth Controller - Costa del Mar Road Carlsbad, California 92009 619/438-9111 e 0 1200 ELM AVENUE CARLSBAD, CA 92008-1989 situ df (htrlBbtlb FlNA N C E DE PAR TM EN T March 30, 1990 Colette Wengenroth, Controller La Costa Carlsbad, CA 92009 WAIVER OF TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX PENALTIES Thank you for your letter of March 22, 1990 dealing with the payment January Transient Occupancy Tax. Although I fully understand the circum: that led to the delayed receipt of the Transient Occupancy Tax payment, is, at this point, little than can be done at the staff level. I understand that La Costa has a long track record of high quality service tourist industry and of making a concerted effort to pay all Transient Occ Taxes when due. However, the Carlsbad Municipal Code is clear when deali the issue of late payment of Transient Occupancies Taxes. Furthermore, a La Costa has a good history of paying taxes on time, La Costa ha established a clear track record of making Transient Occupancy Taxe paym the last available date as opposed to filing tax returns early to avoid PO penalty assessments. At this point, the only option I can offer is to assist you in an appeal City Council for the waiver of the late penalty. If you would like to this avenue, I will prepare the necessary documents upon receipt of a lett you asking for such an appeal. This report will include an explanation facts surrounding this instance, a description of the code that establis penalty procedures and a staff recommendation based on the code. In either case, it is important to get the issue of the penalties settle( near fatbre. I wiJl.look forward to hearing from you on your decision. Costa del Mar Road >#/)f ~AMES F. ELL OTT - Finance Director - JFE: tlg c: Jane Page A1 Capuchin0 Y- e m ,* * 6 ~ I % . I* _I- ,? L- "LACOSTA # !' L 1 Aprll 6, 1990 \, Mr. James F. Elliott Finance Director City of Carlsbad 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, Ca 92008-1989 Dear Mr. Elliott: Thank you for your letter of March 30, 1990. La Costa would like to appeal to the City Council for the waiver of the late penalty on our February Transient Occupancy Tax. Your assistance in this matter would be appreciated. Please notify me as to the next step that I must take to initiate this appeal. Regards, // 47.9: L? &t (7- p 4 Colette Wengenroth Controller Costa del Mar Road Carlsbad, California 92009 619/438-9111