§ 17501 — Authorization of hotel tax

(a) Imposition.--The county commissioners of any county of the third class having a second class A city located therein may impose a hotel tax not to exceed 7% of the consideration received by each operator of a hotel within the county from each transaction of renting a room or rooms to transients. The tax shall be collected by the operator from the patron of the room or rooms and paid over to the county as herein provided.

(b) Records.--The county commissioners may by ordinance impose requirements for the keeping of records, the filing of tax returns and the time and manner of collection and payment of tax. The county commissioners may also impose by ordinance penalties and interest for failure to comply with recordkeeping, filing, collection and payment requirements.

(c) Collection.--The treasurer of each county that imposes the tax authorized under this section shall collect the tax and deposit the revenues received from the tax in a special fund established for that purpose. The disposition of the revenues from the special fund shall be as follows: a minimum of 40% of all revenues received per annum shall be distributed to the TPA, which shall use them for the appropriate and reasonable operational, marketing and promotional expenses of the TPA. Other tax revenues received and amounting to not more than 60% of total annual revenues shall be distributed to the county, which shall use them for reasonable expenses associated with collection and enforcement of the tax; for county-owned tourist and recreational facilities, sports facilities or visitor centers; for other tourism-related activities as determined by the county commissioners; or for other expenditures, debts or liabilities related to tourism or recreational facilities incurred by municipal authorities as determined by the county commissioners.

(d) Concurrent tax years.--The tax year for a tax imposed under this section shall run concurrently with the calendar year.

(e) Audit.--An audited report on the income and expenditures incurred by a tourist promotion agency receiving any revenues from the tax authorized under this section shall be submitted annually by the tourist promotion agency to the county commissioners.

(f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:

"Consideration."Receipts, fees, charges, rentals, leases, cash, credits, property of any kind or nature or other payment received by operators in exchange for or in consideration of the use or occupancy by a transient of a room or rooms in a hotel for any temporary period.

"Hotel."A hotel, motel, inn, guest house or other structure which holds itself out by any means, including advertising, license, registration with an innkeepers' group, convention listing association, travel publication or similar association or with a government agency, as being available to provide overnight lodging or use of facility space for consideration to persons seeking temporary accommodation; any place which advertises to the public at large or any segment thereof that it will provide beds, sanitary facilities or other space for a temporary period to members of the public at large; or any place recognized as a hostelry. The term does not include any portion of a facility that is devoted to persons who have an established permanent residence or a college or university student residence hall.

"Occupancy."The use or possession or the right to the use or possession by any person other than a permanent resident of any room in a hotel for any purpose or the right to the use or possession of the furnishings or to the services accompanying the use and possession of the room.

"Operator."An individual, partnership, nonprofit or profit-making association or corporation or other person or group of persons who maintain, operate, manage, own, have custody of or otherwise possess the right to rent or lease overnight accommodations in a hotel to the public for consideration.

"Patron."A person who pays the consideration for the occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel.

"Permanent resident."A person who has occupied or has the right to occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel as a patron or otherwise for a period exceeding 30 consecutive days.

"Room."A space in a hotel set aside for use and occupancy by patrons, or otherwise, for consideration, having at least one bed or other sleeping accommodation in a room or group of rooms.

"Tourist Promotion Agency (TPA)."An organization, agency or corporation designated to be such by the board of commissioners of the county in which the tax is imposed. The TPA shall be duly established, designated and recognized as the county's TPA in accordance with and pursuant to the act of July 4, 2008 (P.L.621, No.50), known as the Tourism Promotion Act.

"Transaction."The activity involving the obtaining by a transient or patron of the use or occupancy of a hotel room from which consideration is payable to the operator under an express or an implied contract.

"Transient."An individual who obtains accommodation in a hotel by means of registering at the facility for the temporary occupancy of a room for the personal use of the individual by paying a fee to the operator.