Sec. 5.

(1) Upon the effective date of an assessment under section 3a, each owner of a transient facility in the assessment district shall be liable for payment of the assessment, computed by multiplying the percentage set forth in the marketing program notice by the aggregate room charges imposed by the transient facility during a calendar month. The assessment shall be paid by the owner of each transient facility to the bureau or the person designated by the bureau within 30 days after the end of each calendar month, and shall be accompanied by a statement of room charges imposed by the transient facility for that calendar month. This act does not prohibit an owner from reimbursing the transient facility by adding the assessment imposed under this act to room charges payable by transient guests. However, the owner shall disclose that the transient facility has been reimbursed for the assessment imposed under this act on the bill presented to the transient guest.

(2) A bureau or person designated by the bureau may enter into an agreement with a regional tourism marketing organization established under the regional tourism marketing act, 1989 PA 244, MCL 141.891 to 141.900, to accept from owners subject to an assessment under this act the payment of assessments that are levied by a regional marketing organization under section 6 of the regional tourism marketing act, 1989 PA 244, MCL 141.896. A bureau or the person designated by the bureau shall forward the money received in payment of an assessment levied by a regional marketing organization under the regional tourism marketing act, 1989 PA 244, MCL 141.891 to 141.900, to the person designated by the regional marketing organization to receive the payment of assessments under section 6 of the regional tourism marketing act, 1989 PA 244, MCL 141.896. The bureau may withhold the portion of an assessment received on behalf of a regional marketing organization under this subsection and section 6 of the regional tourism marketing act, 1989 PA 244, MCL 141.896, as agreed upon between the bureau and the regional marketing organization to reimburse the bureau or person designated by the bureau for reasonable administrative costs to receive and forward assessments due a regional marketing organization.

(3) Within 30 days after the close of each calendar quarter, each owner within an assessment district shall forward to the independent certified public accountants who audit the financial statements of the bureau, copies of the state use tax returns of the transient facility for the preceding quarter. The copies of the state use tax returns shall be used solely by the certified public accountants to verify and audit the payment by the owner of the assessments under this act, and shall not be disclosed to the bureau except as the director determines necessary to enforce this act.

(4) Interest shall be paid by an owner to the bureau on any assessments not paid within the time required under this act. The interest shall accrue at the rate of 1.5% per month. Owners delinquent for more than 90 days in paying assessments, in addition to the 1.5% interest, shall pay a delinquency charge of 1.5% per month or fraction of a month on the amount of the delinquent assessments and shall pay the costs of reasonable attorney fees and court costs incurred in collecting the delinquent assessments. In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the bureau may sue in its own name to collect the assessments, interest, and delinquency charges. All assessments collected but not paid to a bureau by an owner of a transient facility within an assessment district shall be considered trust funds and shall be remitted to the bureau as required by this section.

(5) The owner of a transient facility shall not be liable for payment of an assessment until a marketing program notice has been mailed to the transient facility of the owner pursuant to section 3.

History: 1980, Act 395, Imd. Eff. Jan. 7, 1981 ;-- Am. 1984, Act 59, Imd. Eff. Apr. 12, 1984 ;-- Am. 1989, Act 245, Imd. Eff. Dec. 21, 1989 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 273, Eff. Sept. 30, 2014