(a) This section shall only apply to those areas outside the corporate limits of the Cities of Auburn, Opelika, and Phenix City in Lee County.
(b) As used in this section, state sales and use tax means the tax imposed by the state sales and use tax statutes, including, but not limited to, Sections 40-23-1, 40-23-2, 40-23-3, 40-23-4, 40-23-60, 40-23-61, 40-23-62, and 40-23-63.
(c) Subject to the approval of the majority of the electors voting at a referendum held for such purposes, the Lee County Commission may levy a one percent sales and use tax against gross sales, use, storage, or other consumption subject to the state sales or use taxes levied by subdivision (1) of Section 40-23-2, subdivision (2) of Section 40-23-2, and subsection (a) of Section 40-23-61, outside the corporate limits of the Cities of Auburn, Opelika, and Phenix City. The gross proceeds of all sales and use of products or services which are presently exempt under the state sales and use tax statutes are exempt from the tax authorized by this section.
(d) The tax authorized to be levied by this section shall be collected by the State Department of Revenue or other entity as determined by the county commission at the same time and in the same manner as state sales and use taxes are collected. On or prior to the date the tax is due, each person subject to the tax shall file with the department a report in the form prescribed by the department. The report shall set forth, with respect to all sales and business transactions that are required to be used as a measure of the tax levied, a correct statement of the gross proceeds of all the sales and gross receipts of all business transactions. The report shall also include items of information pertinent to the tax as the department may require. Any person subject to the tax levied by this section may defer reporting credit sales until after their collection, and in the event the person defers reporting them, the person shall thereafter include in each monthly report all credit collections made during the preceding month, and shall pay the tax due at the time of filing the report. All reports filed with the department under this subsection shall be available for inspection by the county commission or its designee.
(e) Each person engaging or continuing in a business subject to any tax levied pursuant to the authority of this section shall add to the sales price or admission fee and collect from the purchaser or the person paying the admission fee the amount due by the taxpayer because of the sale or admission. It shall be unlawful for any person subject to the tax to fail or refuse to add to the sale price or admission fee and to collect from the purchaser or person paying the admission fee the amount required to be added to the sale or admission price. It shall be unlawful for any person subject to the tax authorized to be levied by this section to refund or offer to refund all or any part of the amount collected or to absorb or advertise directly or indirectly the absorption or refund of any portion of the tax.
(f) The tax authorized to be levied by this section shall constitute a debt due Lee County. The tax, together with any interest and penalties, shall constitute and be secured by a lien upon the property of any person from whom the tax is due or who is required to collect the tax. The department shall collect the tax, enforce this section, and have and exercise all rights and remedies that the state or the department has for collection of the state sales and use tax. The department may employ special counsel as is necessary to enforce collection of the tax levied by this section and to enforce this section. The department shall pay special counsel any fees it deems necessary and proper from the proceeds of the tax collected by it for Lee County.
(g) All provisions of the state sales and use tax statutes with respect to the payment, assessment, and collection of the state sales and use tax, making of reports, keeping and preserving records, penalties for failure to pay the tax, promulgating rules with respect to the state sales and use tax, and the administration and enforcement of the state sales and use tax statutes which are not inconsistent with this section shall apply to the tax authorized under this section. The state Commissioner of Revenue and the department shall have and exercise the same powers, duties, and obligations with respect to the tax levied under this section that are imposed on the commissioner and department by the state sales and use tax statutes. All provisions of the state sales and use tax statutes that are made applicable by this section to the tax levied under this section, and to the administration and enforcement of this section, are incorporated by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein.
(h) The department shall charge Lee County for collecting the tax authorized to be levied under this section in an amount or percentage of total collections as may be agreed upon by the commissioner and the Lee County Commission. The charge shall not exceed five percent of the total amount of the tax collected in the county. The charge may be deducted each month from the gross revenues from the tax before certification of the amount of the proceeds due Lee County for that month. The Commissioner of Revenue shall pay into the State Treasury all amounts collected under this section as the tax is received by the department on or before the first day of each successive month. The commissioner shall certify to the Comptroller the amount collected and paid into the State Treasury for the benefit of Lee County during the month immediately preceding the certification. The Comptroller shall issue a warrant each month payable to the County Treasurer of Lee County in an amount equal to the certified amount which shall be paid into the county general fund to be used as follows:
(1) Fifty percent of the proceeds shall be used to provide funding for a parks and recreation program in the county, including, but not limited to, the purchase of land for parks, construction of recreation facilities, providing support staff and maintenance equipment, and improving access to areas of recreation.
(2) Fifty percent shall be used to provide funding for additional deputy sheriffs with an emphasis on school safety in the county schools.
Last modified: May 3, 2021