§45-2-244.160. Privilege license fee.

(a)(1) The Baldwin County Commission may levy a privilege license fee in an amount not to exceed five cents ($.05) per visual entertainment device on the rental of each visual entertainment device in the county. This fee is in addition to all other taxes heretofore levied.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the term "visual entertainment device" includes, but is not limited to, video cassettes, compact discs (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), or any similar device for replaying movies or other visual images, including cartoons, video games, or other visual entertainment.

(b) Each person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other business venture which rents visual entertainment devices shall report the rentals thereof each month on a form provided by the Baldwin County tax collecting official and pay the fees to the tax collecting official in the same method and manner as prescribed in Article 1 of Title 40, as last amended or otherwise provided by local act. It is intended that this levy shall be on the consumer and the individual or company renting the visual entertainment devices is acting as the agent for the county in collecting and reporting these fees.

(c) The receipts of the fees shall be deposited into the county general fund, shall be allocated for county library service, public libraries within the county, the South Baldwin Literacy Council, the Eastern Shore Literacy Council, and the North Baldwin Literacy Council according to guidelines promulgated by the county commission after consultation and input from the recipients.

(d) Anyone who fails to report or remit the fees when due shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in Sections 40-23-11, et seq.

(Act 95-680, p. 1490, §1; Act 2002-134, p. 354, §1.)