§ 12.45.090. Prohibited acts.

A.

In addition to other acts and omissions prohibited by this chapter:

1.

No person shall fail or refuse to pay the tax imposed by this chapter when it is due and payable to a rental agency authorized to collect the tax.

2.

A rental agency or responsible party shall not advertise or state to the public or to any person renting a motor vehicle, directly or indirectly, that the tax or any part of it will be assumed or absorbed by the rental agency. A rental agency or responsible party shall not advertise or state to the public or to any person renting a motor vehicle, directly or indirectly, that the tax will not be added to the rental contract or that it will be refunded except as provided in this chapter. A rental agency or responsible party shall not absorb or fail to add the tax or any part of it or fail to state the tax separately to the person renting the motor vehicle.

3.

No person, rental agency, or responsible party shall charge in excess of the proper amount of tax due under this chapter.

B.

No person shall engage in business as a rental agency without obtaining a certificate of registration under this chapter.

C.

No rental agency or responsible party shall deny the chief fiscal officer, subsequent to identification during normal business hours, access to the rental agency's required records for purposes of inspection under this chapter.

D.

No rental agency or responsible party shall fail to make a required remittance to the department of funds collected and to be held in trust for the municipality.

E.

A person shall not divert or otherwise appropriate for business or personal use funds required to be held in a fiduciary capacity under this chapter. Use of funds held in a fiduciary capacity under this chapter for any purpose other than the one for which the funds are being held is prohibited. Prohibited purposes under this section include, but are not limited to, using funds held or received in a fiduciary capacity to:

1.

Pledge as collateral to secure an amount owing;

2.

Guarantee a contract of surety; or

3.

Assign.

F.

A person shall not factor a rental agency's accounts receivable, or transact any type of asset-financing arrangement in which a rental agency uses its accounts receivable as collateral in a financing agreement, when the accounts receivable contain charges for motor vehicle rental taxes, without first notifying the department and remitting to the department a payment equal to the total charges for motor vehicle rental taxes being factored or collateralized.

G.

A person shall not prepare and submit to the department a false tax return with the intent to fail to remit taxes due pursuant to this chapter.

H.

A person shall not knowingly use, allow or permit the use of real property in the municipality by a rental agency for use in conducting its business as a rental agency, unless the rental agency is properly registered with the department under this chapter. Providing such real property after notice from the department that such provision of real property violates this section is prima facie evidence of the violation.

I.

A person shall not knowingly provide advertising, web hosting, or other marketing services to a rental agency in the municipality that is not properly registered under this chapter. Providing such services after notice from the department that such provision of services violates this section is prima facie evidence of the violation.

(AO No. 2000-116(S), § 3, 7-18-00; AO No. 2015-48, § 10, 5-14-15 )