§ 12.20.022. Tax exemptions.

A.

The following rents are exempt from the tax levied by section 12.20.020:

1.

Rent paid directly by the United States or state insofar as they are immune from taxation;

2.

Rent paid directly by a guest who is an officer or employee of a foreign government or by such guest's foreign government employer which is exempt from taxation by law or treaty;

3.

Rent paid directly by an employer for a room to be used or occupied by his employee or employees on a rotating basis for 30 consecutive days or more at the operator's registered place of business;

4.

Rent paid for the use or occupancy of a room or rooms by the same person or persons for 30 or more consecutive days. As used in this subsection 4., "person" means only natural persons;

5.

Rent paid to an exempt operator, provided the operator collecting the rent has established its exemption in accordance with section 12.20.025.

6.

Fees paid for the right of a person to occupy a bed in a hostel dormitory. As used in this subsection, "person" means only natural persons.

B.

As used in this section, "rent paid directly" means payment is made by voucher, check, warrant, or other negotiable instrument made payable to the operator and issued from an account maintained by the person or entity entitled to the exemption or by a bill, invoice, purchase order, or other form of payment arrangement made directly between the operator and the person or entity entitled to the exemption. A right of reimbursement to the guest from the person or entity entitled to the exemption does not constitute a direct payment.

C.

Every third year subsequent to the year of initial adoption of the not-to-exceed bed rental rate to qualify as a hostel dormitory, on or near March 31, the department shall re-evaluate said not-to-exceed bed rental rate and recommend possible upward adjustment, rounded to the nearest whole dollar, subject to the lower of:

1.

Anchorage CPI-U growth during the three-year period, based on the most recent February release date of the semiannual report for Anchorage from the U.S. Department of Labor statistics and determined to be the percent change during the three-year period ending with the second half of the prior year; or

2.

The mean average rate of growth in the economy market for taxable room rentals within the municipality, based on a composite measure to be developed by the department.

(AO No. 96-103, § 1, 4-1-97; AO No. 2003-102, § 3, 7-15-03; AO No. 2012-105(S), § 2, 12-18-12)