Section 5739.08 - Municipal or township excise lodging taxes(A) A municipal corporation or township may levy an excise tax for any lawful purpose not to exceed three per cent on transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests in addition to the tax levied by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code. If a municipal corporation or township repeals a tax imposed under division (A) of this section, and a county in which the municipal corporation or township has territory has a tax imposed under division (M) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code in effect, the municipal corporation or township may not reimpose its tax as long as that county tax remains in effect. A municipal corporation or township in which a tax is levied under division (B)(2) of section 351.021 of the Revised Code may not increase the rate of its tax levied under division (A) of this section to any rate that would cause the total taxes levied under both of those divisions to exceed three per cent on any lodging transaction within the municipal corporation or township.(B) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation or the board of trustees of a township that is not wholly or partly located in a county that has in effect a resolution levying an excise tax pursuant to division (A) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code may, by ordinance or resolution, levy an additional excise tax not to exceed three per cent on transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests. The legislative authority of the municipal corporation or the board of trustees of the township shall deposit at least fifty per cent of the revenue from the tax levied pursuant to this division into a separate fund, which shall be spent solely to make contributions to convention and visitors' bureaus operating within the county in which the municipal corporation or township is wholly or partly located, and the balance of that revenue shall be deposited in the general fund. The municipal corporation or township shall establish all regulations necessary to provide for the administration and allocation of the tax. The regulations may prescribe the time for payment of the tax, and may provide for the imposition of a penalty or interest, or both, for late payments, provided that the penalty does not exceed ten per cent of the amount of tax due, and the rate at which interest accrues does not exceed the rate per annum prescribed pursuant to section 5703.47 of the Revised Code. The levy of a tax under this division is in addition to any tax imposed on the same transaction by a municipal corporation or a township under division (A) of this section.(C)(1) As used in division (C) of this section, "cost" has the same meaning as in section 351.01 of the Revised Code, and "convention center" has the same meaning as in section 307.695 of the Revised Code.(2) The legislative authority of the most populous municipal corporation located wholly or partly in a county in which the board of county commissioners has levied a tax under division (D) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code may amend, on or before September 30, 2002, that municipal corporation's ordinance or resolution that levies an excise tax on transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests, to provide for all of the following:(a) That the rate of the tax shall be increased by not more than an additional one per cent on each transaction;(b) That all of the revenue from the increase in rate shall be pledged and contributed to a convention facilities authority established by the board of county commissioners under Chapter 351. of the Revised Code on or before May 15, 2002, and be used to pay costs of constructing, expanding, maintaining, operating, or promoting a convention center in the county, including paying bonds, or notes issued in anticipation of bonds, as provided by that chapter;(c) That the increase in rate shall not be subject to diminution by initiative or referendum or by law while any bonds, or notes in anticipation of bonds, issued by the authority under Chapter 351. of the Revised Code to which the revenue is pledged, remain outstanding in accordance with their terms, unless provision is made by law, by the board of county commissioners, or by the legislative authority, for an adequate substitute therefor that is satisfactory to the trustee if a trust agreement secures the bonds.(3) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation that, pursuant to division (C)(2) of this section, has amended its ordinance or resolution to increase the rate of the tax authorized by division (B) of this section may further amend the ordinance or resolution to provide that the revenue referred to in division (C)(2)(b) of this section shall be pledged and contributed both to a convention facilities authority to pay the costs of constructing, expanding, maintaining, or operating one or more convention centers in the county, including paying bonds, or notes issued in anticipation of bonds, as provided in Chapter 351. of the Revised Code, and to a convention and visitors' bureau to pay the costs of promoting one or more convention centers in the county.(D) As used in division (D) of this section, "eligible municipal corporation" means a municipal corporation that, on September 29, 2017, levied a tax under division (B) of this section at a rate of three per cent and that is located in a county that, on that date, levied a tax under division (A) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code at a rate of three per cent and that has, according to the most recent federal decennial census, a population exceeding three hundred thousand but not greater than three hundred fifty thousand. The legislative authority of an eligible municipal corporation may amend, on or before December 31, 2017, that municipal corporation's ordinance or resolution that levies an excise tax on transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests, to provide for the following:
(1) That the rate of the tax shall be increased by not more than an additional three per cent on each transaction;(2) That all of the revenue from the increase in rate shall be used by the municipal corporation for economic development and tourism-related purposes.(E)(1) As used in division (E) of this section, "cost" and "facility" have the same meanings as in section 351.01 of the Revised Code, except that "facility" does not include a "sports facility," as that term is defined in that section, other than a facility intended to house a major league soccer team.(2) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation that has a population exceeding three hundred thousand but less than three hundred fifty thousand and that has adopted a resolution or ordinance levying a tax authorized by division (A) of this section may amend the resolution or ordinance to provide that all or a portion of the revenue referred to in division (A) of this section may be pledged and contributed to a convention facilities authority or a port authority to pay the costs of acquiring, constructing, renovating, expanding, maintaining, or operating one or more facilities in the county, including paying bonds, or notes issued in anticipation of bonds, or paying the expenses of maintaining, operating, or promoting one or more facilities.(3) The legislative authority of any municipal corporation that, pursuant to division (C)(2) of this section, has amended a resolution or ordinance levying the tax authorized by division (D) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code may further amend the resolution or ordinance to provide that all or a portion of the revenue referred to in division (C)(2)(b) of this section may be pledged and contributed to an issuing authority, as defined in section 5739.093 of the Revised Code, to pay the costs of acquiring, constructing, renovating, expanding, maintaining, or operating one or more facilities in the county, including paying bonds, or notes issued in anticipation of bonds, or paying the expenses of maintaining, operating, or promoting one or more facilities.Amended by 135th General Assembly, HB 33,§101.01, eff. 10/3/2023.Amended by 133rd General Assembly, HB 197,§1, eff. 3/27/2020.Effective Date: 6/21/2002; 6/30/2005 .