40:54D-9 Forwarding of tax assessment collected, filing returns; vendor liability.

9. a. (1) A vendor required to collect the tax upon predominantly tourism related retail receipts or tourism assessment imposed pursuant to this act shall on or before the dates required pursuant to section 17 of P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-17), forward to the director the tax and assessments collected in the preceding month and make and file a return for the preceding month with the director on any form and containing any information as the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury shall prescribe by rule or regulation as necessary to determine liability for the tax and assessment in the preceding month during which the person was required to collect the tax.

(2) A vendor required to collect the tax upon predominantly tourism related retail receipts and the tourism assessment shall be personally liable for the tax or assessment imposed, collected, or required to be paid, collected, or remitted under section 4 of P.L.1992, c.165 (C.40:54D-4). Any such vendor shall have the same right in respect to collecting the tax or assessment from that vendor's customer or in respect to non-payment of the tax or assessment by the customer as if the tax or assessment were a part of the purchase price of the property or service, amusement charge or rent, as the case may be, and payable at the same time; provided however, that the director shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought to collect the tax or assessment.

For purposes of this paragraph, "vendor" includes: an individual, partnership, corporation, or an officer, director, stockholder, or employee of a corporation, or a member or employee of a partnership, who as such officer, director, stockholder, employee, or member is under the duty to perform the act in respect of which the violation occurs.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or administrative action to the contrary, transient space marketplaces shall be required to collect and pay on behalf of persons engaged in the business of providing transient accommodations located in this State the tax for transactions obtained through the transient space marketplace. For not less than four years following the end of the calendar year in which the transaction occurred, the transient space marketplace shall maintain the following data for those transactions consummated through the transient space marketplace:

(1) The name of the person who provided the transient accommodation;

(2) The name of the customer who procured occupancy of the transient accommodation;

(3) The address, including any unit designation, of the transient accommodation;

(4) The dates and nightly rates for which the consumer procured occupancy of the transient accommodation;

(5) The municipal transient accommodation registration number, if applicable;

(6) A statement as to whether such booking services will be provided in connection with (i) short-term rental of the entirety of such unit, (ii) short-term rental of part of such unit, but not the entirety of such unit, and/or (iii) short-term rental of the entirety of such unit, or part thereof, in which a non-short-term occupant will continue to occupy such unit for the duration of such short-term rental;

(7) The individualized name or number of each such advertisement or listing connected to such unit and the uniform resource locator (URL) for each such listing or advertisement, where applicable; and

(8) Such other information as the Division of Taxation may by rule require.

The Division of Taxation may audit transient space marketplaces as necessary to ensure data accuracy and enforce tax compliance.

b. The director may permit or require returns to be made covering other periods and upon any dates as the director may specify. In addition, the director may require payments of tax and assessment liability at any intervals and based upon any classifications as the director may designate. In prescribing any other periods to be covered by the return or intervals or classifications for payment of tax and assessment liability, the director may take into account the dollar volume of tax and assessment involved as well as the need for ensuring the prompt and orderly collection of the tax imposed.

c. The director may require amended returns to be filed within 20 days after notice and to contain the information specified in the notice.

d. The director shall inform the authority for each month in which this tax and assessment is collected and returns made of the amount so collected in each month.

L.1992, c.165, s.9; amended 2002, c.72, s.6; 2007, c.102, s.1; 2018, c.49, s.18; 2019, c.235, s.12.