Sec. 1. (a) A county having a population of more than four hundred thousand (400,000) and less than seven hundred thousand (700,000) that establishes a medical center development agency pursuant to IC 16-23.5-2 may levy each year a tax on every person engaged in the business of renting or furnishing, for periods of less than thirty (30) days by the same party in the same room, any room or rooms, lodgings, or accommodations, in any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin, or any other place in which rooms, lodgings, or accommodations are regularly furnished for a consideration.

     (b) Except as provided in section 1.5 of this chapter, such tax shall be at a rate of five percent (5%) on the gross retail income derived therefrom and is in addition to the state gross retail tax imposed on the retail transaction.

     (c) The county fiscal body may adopt an ordinance to require that the tax shall be paid monthly to the county treasurer. Except as provided in section 1.5 of this chapter, if such an ordinance is adopted, the tax shall be paid to the county treasurer not more than twenty (20) days after the end of the month the tax is collected. If such an ordinance is not adopted, the tax shall be imposed, paid, and collected in exactly the same manner as the state gross retail tax is imposed, paid, and collected.

     (d) All of the provisions of the state gross retail tax (IC 6-2.5) relating to rights, duties, liabilities, procedures, penalties, definitions, exemptions, and administration shall be applicable to the imposition and administration of the tax imposed by this section except to the extent such provisions are in conflict or inconsistent with the specific provisions of this chapter or the requirements of the county treasurer. Specifically and not in limitation of the foregoing sentence, the terms “person” and “gross retail income” shall have the same meaning in this section as they have in the state gross retail tax (IC 6-2.5). If the tax is paid to the department of state revenue, the returns to be filed for the payment of the tax under this section may be either a separate return or may be combined with the return filed for the payment of the state gross retail tax as the department of state revenue may, by rule, determine.

     (e) If the tax is paid to the department of state revenue, the amounts received from the tax shall be paid by the end of the next succeeding month by the treasurer of state to the county treasurer upon warrants issued by the auditor of state. Except as provided in section 1.5(c) of this chapter, the county treasurer shall deposit the revenue received under this chapter as provided in section 2 of this chapter.

Formerly: Acts 1972, P.L.58, SEC.2; Acts 1975, P.L.69, SEC.1. As amended by Acts 1981, P.L.11, SEC.39; Acts 1982, P.L.67, SEC.1; P.L.96-1983, SEC.1; P.L.108-1987, SEC.1; P.L.12-1992, SEC.33; P.L.67-1997, SEC.2; P.L.2-2007, SEC.130; P.L.172-2011, SEC.90; P.L.175-2018, SEC.2; P.L.11-2023, SEC.27; P.L.195-2023, SEC.3.