HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3829        FILED ON: 6/15/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3560

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Eleven

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An Act approving the application of the local option room occupancy excise to seasonal rental and timeshare rental properties in the Town of Falmouth.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1.  Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, in addition to the authority to impose a local excise tax upon any transfer  of occupancy of any room or rooms as may be set forth in and authorized by general laws chapter 64G, section 3A, or other law, as the same may be amended from time to time, the town of Falmouth shall, commencing on the first day of the fiscal year that begins after the effective date of this Act, be authorized to impose a local excise tax upon the transfer of occupancy of any room or rooms in a seasonal  rental property or other transient accommodation located within said town by any operator at the rate of up to but not exceeding six (6) percent of the total amount of rent of each such occupancy.

Section 2.  For the purposes of this chapter, all terms used herein shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the same meaning as set forth in generals law chapter 64G, section 1 and as follows:  “Occupancy”, the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room or rooms in a bed and breakfast establishment, bed and breakfast home, hotel, lodging house, motel, seasonal rental property or other transient accommodation designed and normally used for sleeping and living purposes, or the right to the use or possession of the furnishings or the services and accommodations, including breakfast in a bed and breakfast establishment or bed and breakfast home, accompanying the use and possession of such room or rooms, for a period of ninety consecutive calendar days or less, regardless of whether such use and possession is as a lessee, tenant, guest or licensee.  “Seasonal rental property or other transient accommodations” shall mean any bed and breakfast home, as defined by general law chapter 64G, section 1 and any residential or commercial dwelling, dwelling unit or part thereof, unit of a condominium as defined by general law chapter 183A, or time share as defined by general law chapter 183B, used for the lodging of guests or invitees in exchange for rent.

Section 3.  No excise shall be imposed upon the transfer of occupancy of any room in a seasonal rental property or other transient accommodation if the total amount of the rent is less than fifteen dollars per day or its equivalent or of the accommodation, other that a bed and breakfast home, is exempt under the provisions of chapter 64G, section 2. 

Section 4.  All operators of seasonal rental property or other transient accommodations shall be responsible for the assessing, collecting, reporting and paying of such local excise tax as set forth in general law chapter 64G, sections 3,4,5,6 and 7A and shall be liable in the same manner as operators in general laws chapter 64G, section 7B.

Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.