66.0615(1)(d)
(d) "Municipality" means any city, village or town.
66.0615(1)(dm)
(dm) "Sponsoring municipality" means a city, village or town that creates a district either separately or in combination with another city, village, town or county.
66.0615(1)(e)
(e) "Tourism" means travel for recreational, business or educational purposes.
66.0615(1)(f)
(f) "Tourism entity" means a nonprofit organization that came into existence before January 1, 1992, and provides staff, development or promotional services for the tourism industry in a municipality.
66.0615(1)(h)
(h) "Zone" means an area made up of 2 or more municipalities that, those municipalities agree, is a single destination as perceived by the traveling public.
66.0615(1m)(a)(a) The governing body of a municipality may enact an ordinance, and a district, under
par. (e), may adopt a resolution, imposing a tax on the privilege of furnishing, at retail, except sales for resale, rooms or lodging to transients by hotelkeepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations that are available to the public, irrespective of whether membership is required for use of the accommodations. A tax imposed under this paragraph is not subject to the selective sales tax imposed by
s. 77.52 (2) (a) 1. and may not be imposed on sales to the federal government and persons listed under
s. 77.54 (9a). A tax imposed under this paragraph by a municipality shall be paid to the municipality and may be forwarded to a commission if one is created under
par. (c), as provided in
par. (d). Except as provided in
par. (am), a tax imposed under this paragraph by a municipality may not exceed 8%. Except as provided in
par. (am), if a tax greater than 8% under this paragraph is in effect on May 13, 1994, the municipality imposing the tax shall reduce the tax to 8%, effective on June 1, 1994.
66.0615(1m)(am)
(am) A municipality that imposes a room tax under
par. (a) is not subject to the limit on the maximum amount of tax that may be imposed under that paragraph if any of the following apply:
66.0615(1m)(am)1.
1. The municipality is located in a county with a population of at least 380,000 and a convention center is being constructed or renovated within that county.
66.0615(1m)(am)2.
2. The municipality intends to use at least 60% of the revenue collected from its room tax, of any room tax that is greater than 7%, to fund all or part of the construction or renovation of a convention center that is located in a county with a population of at least 380,000.
66.0615(1m)(am)3.
3. The municipality is located in a county with a population of less than 380,000 and that county is not adjacent to a county with a population of at least 380,000, and the municipality is constructing a convention center or making improvements to an existing convention center.
66.0615(1m)(am)4.
4. The municipality has any long-term debt outstanding with which it financed any part of the construction or renovation of a convention center.
66.0615(1m)(b)1.1. If a single municipality imposes a room tax under
par. (a), the municipality may create a commission under
par. (c). The commission shall contract with another organization to perform the functions of a tourism entity if no tourism entity exists in that municipality.
66.0615(1m)(b)2.
2. If 2 or more municipalities in a zone impose a room tax under
par. (a), the municipalities shall enter into a contract under
s. 66.0301 to create a commission under
par. (c). If no tourism entity exists in any of the municipalities in the zone that have formed a commission, the commission shall contract with another organization in the zone to perform the functions of the tourism entity. Each municipality in a single zone that imposes a room tax shall levy the same percentage of tax. If the municipalities are unable to agree on the percentage of tax for the zone, the commission shall set the percentage.
66.0615(1m)(b)3.
3. A commission shall monitor the collection of room taxes from each municipality in a zone that has a room tax.
66.0615(1m)(b)4.
4. A commission shall contract with one tourism entity from the municipalities in the zone to obtain staff, support services and assistance in developing and implementing programs to promote the zone to visitors.
66.0615(1m)(c)1.1. If a commission is created by a single municipality, the commission shall consist of 4 to 6 members. One of the commission members shall represent the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry. Members shall be appointed under
subd. 3.
66.0615(1m)(c)2.a.a. If the commission is created by more than one municipality in a zone, the commission shall consist of 3 members from each municipality in which annual tax collections exceed $1,000,000, 2 members from each municipality in which annual tax collections exceed $300,000 but are not more than $1,000,000 and one member from each municipality in which annual tax collections are $300,000 or less. Except as provided in
subd. 2. b., members shall be appointed under
subd. 3.
66.0615(1m)(c)2.b.
b. Two additional members, who represent the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry, shall be appointed to the commission by the chairperson of the commission, shall serve for a one-year term at the pleasure of the chairperson and may be reappointed.
66.0615(1m)(c)3.
3. Members of the commission shall be appointed by the principal elected official in the municipality and shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the members of the municipality's governing body who are present when the vote is taken. Commissioners shall serve for a one-year term, at the pleasure of the appointing official, and may be reappointed.
66.0615(1m)(c)4.
4. The commission shall meet regularly, and, from among its members, it shall elect a chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary.
66.0615(1m)(c)5.
5. The commission shall report any delinquencies or inaccurate reporting to the municipality that is due the tax.
66.0615(1m)(d)1.1. A municipality that first imposes a room tax under
par. (a) after May 13, 1994, shall spend at least 70% of the amount collected on tourism promotion and development. Any amount of room tax collected that must be spent on tourism promotion and development shall either be spent directly by the municipality on tourism promotion and development or shall be forwarded to the commission for its municipality or zone if the municipality has created a commission.
66.0615(1m)(d)2.
2. If a municipality collects a room tax on May 13, 1994, it may retain not more than the same percentage of the room tax that it retains on May 13, 1994. If a municipality that collects a room tax on May 1, 1994, increases its room tax after May 1, 1994, the municipality may retain not more than the same percentage of the room tax that it retains on May 1, 1994, except that if the municipality is not exempt under
par. (am) from the maximum tax that may be imposed under
par. (a), the municipality shall spend at least 70% of the increased amount of room tax that it begins collecting after May 1, 1994, on tourism promotion and development. Any amount of room tax collected that must be spent on tourism promotion and development shall either be spent directly by the municipality on tourism promotion and development or shall be forwarded to the commission for its municipality or zone if the municipality has created a commission.
66.0615(1m)(d)3.
3. A commission shall use the room tax revenue that it receives from a municipality to promote and develop tourism, including the support of a convention center, in the zone or in the municipality.
66.0615(1m)(d)4.
4. The commission shall report annually to each municipality from which it receives room tax revenue the purposes for which the revenues were spent.
66.0615(1m)(d)5.
5. The commission may not use any of the room tax revenue to construct or develop a lodging facility.
66.0615(1m)(e)1.1. Subject to
subd. 2., a district may adopt a resolution imposing a room tax under
par. (a) in an amount not to exceed 3% of total room charges. A majority of the authorized members of the district's board may vote that, if the balance in a special debt service reserve fund of the district is less than the requirement under
s. 229.50 (5), the room tax imposed by the district under this subdivision is 3% of total room charges beginning on the next January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1 after the payment and this tax is irrepealable if any bonds issued by the district and secured by the special debt service reserve fund are outstanding. A room tax imposed by a district under this subdivision applies within the district's jurisdiction, as specified in
s. 229.43, and the proceeds of the tax may be used only for the district's debt service on its bond obligations. If a district stops imposing and collecting a room tax, the district's sponsoring municipality may impose and collect a room tax under
par. (a) on the date on which the district stops imposing and collecting its room tax.
66.0615(1m)(e)2.
2. In addition to the room tax that a district may impose under
subd. 1., if the district's only sponsoring municipality is a 1st class city, the district may adopt a resolution imposing an additional room tax. The additional percentage of room tax under this subdivision shall be equal to the percentage of room tax imposed by the sponsoring municipality on the date on which the sponsoring municipality agrees to stop imposing and collecting its room tax, as described under
s. 229.44 (15). A district shall begin collecting the additional room tax imposed under this subdivision on the date on which the sponsoring municipality stops imposing and collecting its room tax. A room tax imposed by a district under this subdivision applies only within the borders of the sponsoring municipality and may be used for any lawful purpose of the district.
66.0615(1m)(f)1.1. The department of revenue shall administer the tax that is imposed under
par. (a) by a district and may take any action, conduct any proceeding and impose interest and penalties.
66.0615(1m)(f)2.
2. Sections 77.51 (14) (c),
(f) and
(j) and
(14g),
77.52 (3),
(4),
(6) and
(18),
77.58 (1) to
(5) and
(7),
77.59,
77.60,
77.61 (2),
(5),
(8),
(9) and
(12) to
(14) and
77.62, as they apply to the taxes under
subch. III of ch. 77, apply to the tax described under
subd. 1.
66.0615(1m)(f)3.
3. From the appropriation under
s. 20.835 (4) (gg), the department of revenue shall distribute 97.45% of the taxes collected under this paragraph for each district to that district, no later than the end of the month following the end of the calendar quarter in which the amounts were collected. The taxes distributed shall be increased or decreased to reflect subsequent refunds, audit adjustments and all other adjustments. Interest paid on refunds of the tax under this paragraph shall be paid from the appropriation under
s. 20.835 (4) (gg) at the rate under
s. 77.60 (1) (a). Any district that receives a report along with a payment under this subdivision or
subd. 2. is subject to the duties of confidentiality to which the department of revenue is subject under
s. 77.61 (5).
66.0615(1m)(f)4.
4. Hotels and motels and the department of revenue may not collect taxes under this paragraph for any district after the calendar quarter during which all bonds issued by the district under
subch. II of ch. 229 during the first 60 months after April 26, 1994, and any bonds issued to fund or refund those bonds, are retired or for more than 2 years if bonds have not been issued during that time, except that the department may collect from hotels and motels taxes that accrued before that calendar quarter, or before the end of that 2-year period, and interest and penalties that relate to those taxes. If taxes are collected and no bonds are issued, the district may use the revenue for any lawful purpose.
66.0615(1m)(f)5.
5. Persons who are subject to the tax under this subsection, if that tax is administered by the department of revenue, shall register with the department. Any person who is required to register, including any person authorized to act on behalf of a person who is required to register, who fails to do so is guilty of a misdemeanor.
66.0615(2)
(2) As a means of enforcing the collection of any room tax imposed by a municipality or a district under
sub. (1m), the municipality or district may exchange audit and other information with the department of revenue and may do any of the following:
66.0615(2)(a)
(a) If a municipality or district has probable cause to believe that the correct amount of room tax has not been assessed or that the tax return is not correct, inspect and audit the financial records of any person subject to
sub. (1m) pertaining to the furnishing of accommodations to determine whether the correct amount of room tax is assessed and whether any room tax return is correct.
66.0615(2)(b)
(b) Enact a schedule of forfeitures, not to exceed 5% of the tax under
sub. (1m) or
par. (c), to be imposed on any person subject to
sub. (1m) who fails to comply with a request to inspect and audit the person's financial records under
par. (a).
66.0615(2)(c)
(c) Determine the tax under
sub. (1m) according to its best judgment if a person required to make a return fails, neglects or refuses to do so for the amount, in the manner and form and within the time prescribed by the municipality or district.
66.0615(2)(d)
(d) Require each person who is subject to
par. (c) to pay an amount of taxes that the municipality or district determines to be due under
par. (c) plus interest at the rate of 1% per month on the unpaid balance. No refund or modification of the payment determined may be granted until the person files a correct room tax return and permits the municipality or district to inspect and audit his or her financial records under
par. (a).
66.0615(2)(e)
(e) Enact a schedule of forfeitures, not to exceed 25% of the room tax due for the previous year under
sub. (1m) or
par. (c) or $5,000, whichever is less, to be imposed for failure to pay the tax under
sub. (1m).
66.0615(3)
(3) The municipality shall provide by ordinance and the district shall provide by resolution for the confidentiality of information obtained under
sub. (2) but shall provide exceptions for persons using the information in the discharge of duties imposed by law or of the duties of their office or by order of a court. The municipality or district may provide for the publishing of statistics classified so as not to disclose the identity of particular returns. The municipality or district shall provide that persons violating ordinances or resolutions enacted under this subsection may be required to forfeit not less than $100 nor more than $500.
66.0615 History
History: 1983 a. 189,
514;
1993 a. 263,
467,
491;
1999 a. 9;
1999 a. 150 ss.
565 to
567; Stats. 1999 s. 66.0615.
66.0615 Annotation
A city was authorized to enact a room tax; the gross receipts method was a fair and reasonable way of calculating the tax. Blue Top Motel, Inc. v. City of Stevens Point,
107 Wis. 2d 392,
320 N.W.2d 172 (1982).
66.0617(1)(a)
(a) "Capital costs" means the capital costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities, including the cost of land, and including legal, engineering and design costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities, except that not more than 10% of capital costs may consist of legal, engineering and design costs unless the political subdivision can demonstrate that its legal, engineering and design costs which relate directly to the public improvement for which the impact fees were imposed exceed 10% of capital costs. "Capital costs" does not include other noncapital costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities or the costs of equipment to construct, expand or improve public facilities.
66.0617(1)(b)
(b) "Developer" means a person that constructs or creates a land development.
66.0617(1)(c)
(c) "Impact fees" means cash contributions, contributions of land or interests in land or any other items of value that are imposed on a developer by a political subdivision under this section.
66.0617(1)(d)
(d) "Land development" means the construction or modification of improvements to real property that creates additional residential dwelling units within a political subdivision or that results in nonresidential uses that create a need for new, expanded or improved public facilities within a political subdivision.
66.0617(1)(e)
(e) "Political subdivision" means a city, village, town or county.
66.0617(1)(f)
(f) "Public facilities" means highways, as defined in
s. 340.01 (22), and other transportation facilities, traffic control devices, facilities for collecting and treating sewage, facilities for collecting and treating storm and surface waters, facilities for pumping, storing and distributing water, parks, playgrounds and other recreational facilities, solid waste and recycling facilities, fire protection facilities, law enforcement facilities, emergency medical facilities and libraries except that, with regard to counties, "public facilities" does not include highways, as defined in
s. 340.01 (22), other transportation facilities or traffic control devices. "Public facilities" does not include facilities owned by a school district.
66.0617(1)(g)
(g) "Service area" means a geographic area delineated by a political subdivision within which there are public facilities.
66.0617(1)(h)
(h) "Service standard" means a certain quantity or quality of public facilities relative to a certain number of persons, parcels of land or other appropriate measure, as specified by the political subdivision.
66.0617(2)(a)(a) Subject to
par. (am), a political subdivision may enact an ordinance under this section that imposes impact fees on developers to pay for the capital costs that are necessary to accommodate land development.
66.0617(2)(am)
(am) No county may impose an impact fee under this section to recover costs related to transportation projects.
66.0617(2)(b)
(b) Subject to
par. (c), this section does not prohibit or limit the authority of a political subdivision to finance public facilities by any other means authorized by law, except that the amount of an impact fee imposed by a political subdivision shall be reduced, under
sub. (6) (d), to compensate for any other costs of public facilities imposed by the political subdivision on developers to provide or pay for capital costs.
66.0617(2)(c)
(c) Beginning on May 1, 1995, a political subdivision may impose and collect impact fees only under this section.
66.0617(3)
(3) Public hearing; notice. Before enacting an ordinance that imposes impact fees, or amending an existing ordinance that imposes impact fees, a political subdivision shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance or amendment. Notice of the public hearing shall be published as a class 1 notice under
ch. 985, and shall specify where a copy of the proposed ordinance or amendment and the public facilities needs assessment may be obtained.
66.0617(4)
(4) Public facilities needs assessment. 66.0617(4)(a)(a) Before enacting an ordinance that imposes impact fees or amending an ordinance that imposes impact fees by revising the amount of the fee or altering the public facilities for which impact fees may be imposed, a political subdivision shall prepare a needs assessment for the public facilities for which it is anticipated that impact fees may be imposed. The public facilities needs assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
66.0617(4)(a)1.
1. An inventory of existing public facilities, including an identification of any existing deficiencies in the quantity or quality of those public facilities, for which it is anticipated that an impact fee may be imposed.
66.0617(4)(a)2.
2. An identification of the new public facilities, or improvements or expansions of existing public facilities, that will be required because of land development for which it is anticipated that impact fees may be imposed. This identification shall be based on explicitly identified service areas and service standards.
66.0617(4)(a)3.
3. A detailed estimate of the capital costs of providing the new public facilities or the improvements or expansions in existing public facilities identified in
subd. 2., including an estimate of the effect of recovering these capital costs through impact fees on the availability of affordable housing within the political subdivision.
66.0617(4)(b)
(b) A public facilities needs assessment or revised public facilities needs assessment that is prepared under this subsection shall be available for public inspection and copying in the office of the clerk of the political subdivision at least 20 days before the hearing under
sub. (3).
66.0617(5)
(5) Differential fees, impact fee zones. 66.0617(5)(a)(a) An ordinance enacted under this section may impose different impact fees on different types of land development.
66.0617(5)(b)
(b) An ordinance enacted under this section may delineate geographically defined zones within the political subdivision and may impose impact fees on land development in a zone that differ from impact fees imposed on land development in other zones within the political subdivision. The public facilities needs assessment that is required under
sub. (4) shall explicitly identify the differences, such as land development or the need for those public facilities, which justify the differences between zones in the amount of impact fees imposed.
66.0617(6)
(6) Standards for impact fees. Impact fees imposed by an ordinance enacted under this section:
66.0617(6)(a)
(a) Shall bear a rational relationship to the need for new, expanded or improved public facilities that are required to serve land development.
66.0617(6)(b)
(b) May not exceed the proportionate share of the capital costs that are required to serve land development, as compared to existing uses of land within the political subdivision.
66.0617(6)(c)
(c) Shall be based upon actual capital costs or reasonable estimates of capital costs for new, expanded or improved public facilities.
66.0617(6)(d)
(d) Shall be reduced to compensate for other capital costs imposed by the political subdivision with respect to land development to provide or pay for public facilities, including special assessments, special charges, land dedications or fees in lieu of land dedications under
ch. 236 or any other items of value.
66.0617(6)(e)
(e) Shall be reduced to compensate for moneys received from the federal or state government specifically to provide or pay for the public facilities for which the impact fees are imposed.
66.0617(6)(f)
(f) May not include amounts necessary to address existing deficiencies in public facilities.
66.0617(6)(g)
(g) Shall be payable by the developer to the political subdivision, either in full or in installment payments that are approved by the political subdivision, before a building permit may be issued or other required approval may be given by the political subdivision.
66.0617(7)
(7) Low-cost housing. An ordinance enacted under this section may provide for an exemption from, or a reduction in the amount of, impact fees on land development that provides low-cost housing, except that no amount of an impact fee for which an exemption or reduction is provided under this subsection may be shifted to any other development in the land development in which the low-cost housing is located or to any other land development in the political subdivision.
66.0617(8)
(8) Requirements for impact fee revenues. Revenues from impact fees shall be placed in a segregated, interest-bearing account and shall be accounted for separately from the other funds of the political subdivision. Impact fee revenues and interest earned on impact fee revenues may be expended only for capital costs for which the impact fees were imposed.
66.0617(9)
(9) Refund of impact fees. An ordinance enacted under this section shall specify that impact fees that are imposed and collected by a political subdivision but are not used within a reasonable period of time after they are collected to pay the capital costs for which they were imposed shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fees were imposed. The ordinance shall specify, by type of public facility, reasonable time periods within which impact fees must be spent or refunded under this subsection. In determining the length of the time periods under the ordinance, a political subdivision shall consider what are appropriate planning and financing periods for the particular types of public facilities for which the impact fees are imposed.
66.0617(10)
(10) Appeal. A political subdivision that enacts an impact fee ordinance under this section shall, by ordinance, specify a procedure under which a developer upon whom an impact fee is imposed has the right to contest the amount, collection or use of the impact fee to the governing body of the political subdivision.
