§45-31-241.01. Levy of tax for jail maintenance, road and bridge projects, and school resource officers.

(a) This section shall only apply to Geneva County.

(b) As used in this section, state sales tax means the tax imposed by the state sales and use tax statutes, including, but not limited to, Sections 40-23-1, 40-23-2, 40-23-3, and 40-23-4.

(c)(1) The County Commission of Geneva County may levy, in addition to all other authorized taxes, a one percent sales tax.

(2) The proceeds of all sales which are presently exempt under the state sales and use tax statutes are exempt from the tax authorized by this section.

(d) The tax authorized by this section shall be collected by the State Department of Revenue or the county commission or other entity which the county commission has contracted with to collect the taxes at the same time and in the same manner as state sales taxes are collected. On or prior to the date the tax is due, each person subject to the tax shall file with the department or other entity a report in the form prescribed by the department. The report shall set forth, with respect to all sales and business transactions that are required to be used as a measure of the tax levied, items of information pertinent to the tax as the department may require. Any person subject to the tax authorized by this section may defer reporting credit sales until after their collection, and in the event the person defers reporting them, the person shall thereafter include in each monthly report all credit collections made during the preceding month, and shall pay the tax due at the time of filing the report. All reports filed with the department or other entity under this subsection shall be available for inspection by the county commission, or its designee.

(e) Each person engaging or continuing in a business subject to the tax authorized by this section, shall add to the sales price or admission fee and collect from the purchaser or the person paying the admission fee the amount due by the taxpayer because of the sale or admission. It shall be unlawful for any person subject to the tax to fail or refuse to add to the sales price or admission fee and to collect from the purchaser or person paying the admission fee the amount required to be added to the sale or admission price. It shall be unlawful for any person subject to the tax authorized by this section to refund or offer to refund all or any part of any amount collected or to absorb or advertise directly or indirectly the absorption or refund of any portion of the tax.

(f) The tax authorized by this section shall constitute a debt due Geneva County. If levied, the tax, together with any interest and penalties, shall constitute and be secured by a lien upon the property of any person from whom the tax is due or who is required to collect the tax. The department or other entity shall collect the tax, enforce this section, and have and exercise all rights and remedies that the state or the department has for collection of the state sales tax. The department or other entity may employ special counsel as is necessary to enforce collection of the tax authorized by this section and to enforce this section.

(g) All provisions of the state sales tax statutes with respect to the payment, assessment, and collection of the state sales tax, making of reports, keeping and preserving records, penalties for failure to pay the tax, promulgating rules and regulations with respect to the state sales tax, and the administration and enforcement of the state sales tax statutes which are not inconsistent with this section shall apply to the tax authorized under this section. The State Commissioner of Revenue and the department or other entity shall have and exercise the same powers, duties, and obligations with respect to any tax levied under this section that are imposed on the commissioner and department by the state sales tax statutes. All provisions of the state sales tax statutes that are made applicable by this section to any tax authorized under this section, and to the administration and enforcement of this section, are incorporated by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein.

(h) The department or other entity shall charge Geneva County for collecting any tax authorized under this section in an amount or percentage of total collections as may be agreed upon by the commissioner or the entity and the Geneva County Commission. The charge shall not exceed five percent of the total amount of the tax collected in the county or an amount as otherwise provided in the contract. The charge may be deducted each month from the gross revenues from the tax before certification of the amount of the proceeds due Geneva County for that month. The Commissioner of Revenue or other entity shall pay into the State Treasury all amounts collected under the authority of this section, as received by the department or entity on or before the first day of each successive month. The commissioner or entity shall certify to the state Comptroller the amount collected and paid into the State Treasury or otherwise for the benefit of Geneva County during the month immediately preceding the certification. The state Comptroller shall issue a warrant each month payable or the entity shall remit monthly or as otherwise agreed upon to the County Treasurer of Geneva County in an amount equal to the certified amount which shall be paid into the county general fund to be used for the construction of and for maintaining a new jail with any excess proceeds to be used for road and bridge projects and to hire resource officers for the Geneva County Schools.

(Act 2012-541, §§1-8.)