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During a recent meeting, the Harlan City Council discussed an amendment to the ordinance aimed at collecting the city of Harlan’s transient tax. The tax is generally applied to temporary accommodations such as hotel rooms.

The panel approved a first reading of the ordinance amending the city’s current ordinance regarding collecting the city’s special transient tax.

According to the ordinance, before January 2023, the city imposed and levied a special transient room tax.

“There is hereby further imposed and levied a special transient room tax of 3 percent of the rent for every occupancy of a suite, room, or rooms, charges to all persons, companies, corporations, or other like or similar persons, groups, or organizations doing business as the motor courts, motels, hotels, inns, or other like similar accommodations business, for a consecutive period of 30 days or less,” reads the ordinance.

The amended ordinance applies the tax to additional types of temporary lodging, such as campsites and RV parks.

“Effective January 1, 2023, there is hereby further imposes and levied a special transient room tax of 3 percent of the rent for every occupancy of a suite, room, rooms, cabins, lodgings, campsites or other accommodations charged by any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks or any other place in which accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for consideration or by any person that facilitates the rental of the accommodations by brokering, coordinating, or in any other way arranging for the rental of the accommodations,” states the ordinance.

The ordinance states the tax is in addition to other general taxes and occupational or business license fees payable to the city.

The ordinance also clarifies the tax is not intended to apply to residential apartments.

“Transient room taxes shall not apply to the rental or leasing of an apartment supplied by an individual or business that regularly holds itself out as exclusively providing apartments,” states the ordinance. “Apartment means a room or set of rooms, in an apartment building, fitted especially with a kitchen and usually leased as a dwelling for a minimum period of 30 days or more.”

The ordinance must pass a second reading at a future meeting of the Harlan City Council before taking effect.