[For Expiration of Provisions in Subsection (a), See Subdivision (d)(2).]

(a) In addition to any other tax or fee imposed pursuant to this chapter on the occupancy of a hotel room, upon the adoption of an ordinance by the metropolitan council in a county having a metropolitan government, there is authorized an additional privilege tax of up to two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) upon the occupancy of each hotel room within the territory of that metropolitan government. The tax so imposed is a privilege tax upon each occupied room for each night of occupancy and is to be collected and distributed as provided in part 1 of this chapter.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 7-4-202

  • Convention center: means any land, improvement, structure, building or part of a building comprised of facilities for conventions, public assemblies, conferences, trade exhibitions or other business, social, cultural, scientific and public interest events, along with any associated hotel accommodations. See Tennessee Code 7-4-101
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Hotel: means any structure, or any portion of any structure, that is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any hotel, inn, tourist court, tourist camp, tourist cabin, motel, short-term rental unit or any place in which rooms, lodgings or accommodations are furnished to transients for a consideration. See Tennessee Code 7-4-101
  • Metropolitan council: means the council of a county having a metropolitan form of government that has a population in excess of five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census. See Tennessee Code 7-4-201
  • Metropolitan government: means any county having a metropolitan form of government that has a population in excess of five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census. See Tennessee Code 7-4-201
  • Occupancy: means the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room, lodgings or accommodations in a hotel for a period of less than thirty (30) continuous days. See Tennessee Code 7-4-101
  • Person: means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, business organization, receiver, trustee, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit. See Tennessee Code 7-4-201
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Short-term rental unit: means a residential dwelling that is rented wholly or partially for a fee for a period of less than thirty (30) continuous days and does not include a hotel as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 7-4-101
  • Short-term rental unit marketplace: means a person or entity, excluding a vacation lodging service, that provides a platform for compensation, through which a third party offers to rent a short-term rental unit to an occupant. See Tennessee Code 7-4-101
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) All revenues received by the metropolitan government from the privilege tax imposed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be deposited into a metropolitan government fund entitled “the convention center fund” and shall be used for the purpose of paying costs incurred in modification or construction of a publicly owned convention center in excess of four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) in costs located within the territory of the metropolitan government. The revenues may also be used for the operation, promotion, management and marketing of such a convention center. If the revenues from the surcharge or tax in any fiscal year exceed the total of the debt service requirements from that year, the surplus revenue thus accruing shall be retained by the metropolitan government as a reserve fund for future convention center debt service requirements.
(c) In the event that the total bonded indebtedness incurred for the modification or construction of the convention center facility by the metropolitan government is paid in full as to bond principal and interest, including expenses of bond sale or sales, the metropolitan government’s taxing resolution imposing taxes authorized by subsection (a) shall be repealed and this tax shall no longer be levied; provided, however, that any funds and interest remaining in the reserve fund after all obligations imposed under this part have been fulfilled shall be used by the governmental board or agency responsible for the operation of the convention center for use by it in the operation, promotion and advertisement of the convention center facilities.
(d)

(1) Upon the adoption of an ordinance by the metropolitan council in a county having a metropolitan government, all revenues received by the metropolitan government from the privilege tax imposed pursuant to subsection (a) and that exceed two dollars ($2.00) shall be deposited into a metropolitan government fund entitled the event and marketing fund. For administrative purposes, the event and marketing fund and the committee that approves expenditures shall be attached to a convention and visitors bureau in a county having a metropolitan government or a similar entity approved by the metropolitan council and the metropolitan government mayor. The fund will be governed by a six-person committee and a chair who votes only to break a tie. The committee and the chair shall be appointed by the mayor of the metropolitan government. Members of the committee shall include at least one (1) person nominated by a hotel and lodging association located in the county having a metropolitan government, one (1) person from the hospitality industry, one (1) representative from a hotel corporation that operates a single hotel in a county with a metropolitan government with an excess of two thousand nine hundred (2,900) rooms, two (2) members of the public, one (1) person who owns or operates a business within the central business improvement district, and a chair to be selected by the mayor. Expenditures from the event and marketing fund may be used for any purpose allowable under § 7-4-110(a)(1). All expenditures are subject to the approval of the finance director of the metropolitan government. An audited financial statement shall be supplied annually to the finance director and the council of the metropolitan government.
(2) The authority to charge the amount of the privilege tax imposed on hotel room occupancy by subsection (a) in excess of two dollars ($2.00) and the terms of the committee members shall expire six (6) years from May 21, 2020.
(e) Notwithstanding this part to the contrary, on or after January 1, 2021, the tax levied pursuant to this section, when levied upon the occupancy of a short-term rental unit secured through a short-term rental unit marketplace, must be collected and remitted in accordance with title 67, chapter 4, part 15.
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