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 Anderson
 Code of Ordinances
 Chapter 74. TAXATION
 Article II. HOSPITALITY FEE

§ 74-51. Findings.  

Latest version.

  • It is hereby found and declared by the mayor and council of the City of Anderson (city council), the governing body of the City of Anderson, South Carolina (the city):

    (1)

    Tourism is becoming a major industry in the city. The city supports this major industry and has undertaken the creation and development of a tax increment financing district in the downtown area of the city in order to revitalize and redevelop the city and to further attract tourists to the community.

    (2)

    Moreover, as the tourism industry grows and expands, the city must make provision to increase certain municipal services in order to accommodate the needs of tourists who visit from time to time in addition to the residents of Anderson.

    (3)

    The cost of providing the special services required by the tourism industry should be apportioned equitably between the city's residents and those who visit the city and enjoy the special benefits the city provides to them. It is necessary for the promotion of the common interests of the residents of the city as well as those who are visitors to the city to provide a method to alleviate the added financial burden on city resources in providing the services and improvements needed to support tourism and the resulting transient population.

    (4)

    In order to raise the necessary sums to defray a portion of those added costs, it is appropriate to impose a charge, the receipts of which will pay costs related to: (1) the provision of municipal services which serve such visitors or tourists; and (2) capital projects which not only enrich the city's residents but also contribute to the tourism industry.

    (5)

    Cognizant of the need for municipalities to be given direct statutory authorization to raise money earmarked to defray such costs related to tourism, recreation, cultural and historic facilities, the South Carolina General Assembly adopted Act No. 138 during its 1997 Session, now codified, in part, as S.C. §§ 6-1-700 through 6-1-770 (the Enabling Act) of the South Carolina Code of Laws of 1976, as amended (the S.C. Code). While the general assembly utilized the words hospitality tax as a means by which to designate the charge authorized to be imposed upon resident and transients, as such term is defined in the Enabling Act, it is the intent of the city council to impose such charge as a hospitality fee pursuant to the provisions of this article.

    (6)

    It is a well-established principle of South Carolina law that the use of a particular word is not determinative of its characterization. See Jackson v. Breeland, 88 SE 128, 103 SC 184 (1915). As set forth in Brown v. County of Horry, 417 SE2d 565, 308 SC 180 (1992), the factors that are of paramount importance to the analysis of whether a charge constitutes a tax or a fee are the following: (1) the purpose behind its imposition; (2) the intended portion of the community that will be charged; and (3) the dedication of the sums so collected to the purpose for which it is charged.

    (7)

    City council finds that its actions in: (1) imposing a two percent hospitality fee upon prepared food and beverages sold for immediate consumption or take out from establishments within the corporate limits of the city; and (2) segregating the collections received from such fees in order that such sums be utilized according to the Enabling Act meet the test enunciated in Brown such that the charges imposed pursuant to the provisions of this article constitute fees.

(Ord. No. 01-23, § 1, 12-10-2001)