§ 12.20.031. Registered hosting platforms.

A.

Registration required. Every hosting platform that agrees to accept payment of room tax from a guest pursuant to section 12.20.020 and further agrees to remit the tax to the department on behalf of the operator shall obtain a certificate of registration prior to offering services to operators subject to this chapter.

B.

Application. Application for a certificate of registration shall be made to the chief fiscal officer on a form provided by the department containing such information as the department may require. There shall be no charge for issuing a certificate of registration.

C.

Responsibilities. An operator who uses a registered hosting platform as the sole method for renting or offering for rent a room shall not be subject to this chapter to the extent the registered hosting platform performs the responsibilities of an operator, with the exception of section 12.20.070, maintenance and inspection of records.

D.

A hosting platform applying for a certificate of registration under this chapter shall provide security for its fiduciary performance in accordance with section 12.20.035. Evidence of such security shall be submitted to the department with the application.

E.

Taxes collected by a registered hosting platform pursuant to this chapter shall vest in the municipality upon collection. The hosting platform has a fiduciary duty to the municipality for these taxes. The taxes shall be segregated from the hosting platform's funds, at least by book account, and held in trust for the exclusive benefit of the municipality until remitted to the municipality.

F.

A registered hosting platform is not required to submit informational returns in accordance with section 12.20.045.

G.

A registered hosting platform shall submit tax returns and remit tax payments in accordance with sections 12.20.050 and 12.20.053, except that the tax return shall set forth or include the aggregate amounts of all rents earned by and taxes due from the operators who use the hosting platform to rent or offer to rent rooms through the hosting platform. To the extent a hosting platform collects taxes on behalf of an operator, the operator's liability for those taxes shall be deemed satisfied.

H.

A registered hosting platform shall obtain and preserve evidence sufficient to support all room rental transactions subject to this chapter and all claimed exemptions from payment, collection, or remittance of the room taxes under this chapter in accordance with section 12.20.070. To the extent a hosting platform may assign anonymous account numbers to operators using the hosting platform, when inspecting records the department shall inspect the required records in an anonymized fashion, unless the department has obtained a release of information from the operator or an order to produce identifiable operator information issued through a binding legal process.

I.

A registered hosting platform is not subject to section 12.20.090, tax lien.

J.

Except as expressly provided for in this section, a hosting platform is subject to all other provisions of this chapter.

( AO No. 2016-66, § 2, 6-21-16 )