Section 45-39-245.06 - Collection and enforcement(a) Unless otherwise authorized and directed by the governing body of Lauderdale County as provided in subsection (b), the taxes herein levied shall be collected by and paid to the Judge of Probate of Lauderdale County in his or her official capacity. All reports required to be made to the Commissioner of Revenue of the State of Alabama as to state sales and use taxes under the aforesaid Act 100 of the 1959 Second Special Session of the Legislature and Articles 11, 11A, and 11B of Chapter 20 of Title 51 of the Code of Alabama of 1940 and amendments thereto, as to such taxes herein levied shall also be made to the Judge of Probate of Lauderdale County, Alabama, and as to the taxes herein levied the Judge of Probate of Lauderdale County, Alabama, shall have and exercise the same powers, duties, and obligations as are imposed on the Commissioner of Revenue of the State of Alabama by the aforesaid Act 100 of the 1959 Second Special Session of the Legislature and Articles 11, 11A, and 11B of Chapter 20 of Title 51 of the Code of Alabama of 1940, and amendments thereto, as to state taxes therein levied. The Judge of Probate of Lauderdale County shall be reimbursed out of the taxes for all clerk hire and other expense incurred by him or her in the collection, handling, and disbursing of monies, and shall also be entitled to reasonable compensation for his or her services in connection therewith, to be paid out of the tax monies, not to exceed one percent of such collection. And each person or party paying any tax under this subpart to the judge of probate shall be authorized to deduct from the remittance three percent of the amount of such tax for reimbursement for the expense of collecting and reporting such tax.(b) If authorized and directed by resolution of the governing body of Lauderdale County, all taxes herein levied shall be collected by and paid to the State Department of Revenue at the same time and along with the collection by the department of taxes levied and collected for the State of Alabama under Act 100 adopted at the 1959 Second Special Session of the Legislature of Alabama, as amended, and acts supplemental thereto, and Articles 11, 11A, and 11B of Chapter 20 of Title 51 of the Code of Alabama of 1940, as amended, and acts supplemental thereto, and amendatory thereof. In the event of such authorization and direction the provisions hereinafter set out in this subsection shall apply to the payment and collection of the taxes herein levied. The duties hereby imposed upon the Commissioner of Revenue, the Department of Revenue, and the Comptroller shall be assumed and discharged by them after the making and filing with the State Department of Revenue of a certified copy of the authorizing resolution of the governing body be imposed upon the Department of Revenue until the 1st day of the month next following the expiration of 30 days from the date of the filing with it of such certified copy of the authorizing resolution which shall be the beginning period for the collection of such taxes as shall be due on and after the 1st day of the month. This subpart shall be enforced by the Commissioner of Revenue and the State Department of Revenue in the same way, and subject to the same rules and regulations, including discounts to licensees, as the state sales tax and the state use tax are enforced as provided in Act 100 adopted at the 1959 Second Special Session of the Legislature of Alabama, as amended, and in Articles 11, 11A, and 11B of Chapter 20 of Title 51, Code of Alabama, 1940, as amended, respectively, and acts supplemental thereto and amendatory thereof, except where inapplicable or where herein otherwise expressly provided. The State Department of Revenue shall prepare and distribute such reports, forms, and other information as may be necessary for the collection of the taxes herein levied. On and prior to the due dates of the taxes herein levied each person subject to the taxes shall file with the State Department of Revenue a report or return in such form as may be prescribed by the department, setting forth with respect to all sales and business that are required to be used as a measurement of the taxes herein levied, a correct statement of the gross proceeds of all such sales and the gross receipts of all such business, and setting forth with respect to the use taxes herein levied, the total sales price of all property the use, storage, or other consumption of which became subject to the tax during the then preceding quarterly period. Such reports shall include also such other items of information pertinent to the taxes and the amounts thereof as the State Department of Revenue may require. Any person subject to the taxes levied herein may defer reporting credit sales until after their collection, and in the event he or she so defers reporting them, he or she shall thereafter include in each monthly report all credit collections made during the month preceding and shall pay the taxes due thereon at the time of filing such report. All reports and returns filed with the State Department of Revenue under this subsection shall be available for inspection by the governing body of Lauderdale County, or its designated agent, at reasonable times during business hours. The State Department of Revenue shall have full right, power, and authority for the use and benefit of Lauderdale County and the City of Florence, as the case may be, to collect the taxes herein levied and enforce this subpart and shall have and exercise for such collection and enforcement all rights and remedies that this state or the department has for collection of the state sales and use tax. The State Department of Revenue shall have full authority to employ such special counsel as it deems necessary from time to time to enforce collection of the taxes levied by this subpart and otherwise to enforce this subpart, including any litigation involving this subpart; and the department shall pay such special counsel such fees as it deems necessary and proper from the proceeds of the taxes collected by it hereunder. The State Department of Revenue shall charge Lauderdale County and the City of Florence, respectively, for collecting the respective special county and city taxes herein levied such amount or percentage of total collections as may be agreed upon by the Commissioner of Revenue and the governing body of Lauderdale County, but such charge shall not in any event exceed five percent of the total amount of the special city and county taxes collected hereunder. Such charge for collecting the taxes may be deducted each month from the special sales and special use taxes collected before certifying the amount of the proceeds thereof due the designated recipients of such taxes for that month. The Commissioner of Revenue shall pay into the State Treasury all taxes collected under this subpart as such taxes are received by the Department of Revenue. On or before the fifth day of each successive month, commencing with the month following the month in which the department makes the first collections hereunder, the commissioner shall certify to the Comptroller the amount of taxes collected under this subpart and paid by him or her into the State Treasury for the benefit of Lauderdale County and the City of Florence respectively during the month immediately preceding the making of such certificate. Provided, however, that before certifying the amount of the taxes paid into the State Treasury during each month for the benefit of Lauderdale County and the City of Florence respectively, the commissioner may deduct from the taxes collected in the month the charges due the department for such collection.(c) If the governing body of Lauderdale County elects to invoke the provisions of subsection (b) for the collection of the taxes herein levied it shall adopt a resolution so declaring and availing itself of the alternative methods prescribed by subsection (b) for the collection of the taxes herein levied it shall adopt a resolution so declaring and file a certified copy thereof with the Department of Revenue, whereupon the duties imposed upon the Commissioner of Revenue, the State Department of Revenue, and the Comptroller hereby shall terminate as of the 1st day of the month next following the expiration of 30 days from the date of the filing with the State Department of Revenue of such certified copy and thereupon the provisions of subsection (a) shall be automatically effective.Ala. Code § 45-39-245.06 (1975)
Acts 1949, No. 296, p. 426, §7; Acts 1959, No. 470, p. 1165, §5; Acts 1975, No. 548, p. 1204, §5.