MONROE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR TOURIST DEVELOPMENT MONROE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR

HISTORY Let’s take a brief look into the history of the tourist development department…

History The Tax Collector acquired the Audit and Enforcement function from the Clerk of Court in 2015. We hit the ground running! What we did: We developed relationships with Code Enforcement We implemented a transient rental hotline We implemented an online advertising identification, tracking and investigation program 3

Building Relationships We built relationships with the Administration and Code Enforcement Departments of local government Unincorporated Monroe County City of Key West City of Marathon City of Key Colony Beach City of Layton Islamorada, Village of Islands The benefits of reaching out: List of vacation rental code violations Code Enforcement case findings List of vacation rental licenses 4

Code Enforcement Cases 1,245 Code Enforcement cases were referred to our office Did they have a TDT? Are they advertising on the internet If so, do they have reviews? We only mailed out letters to the properties that did not have a Tourist Development Tax Account

As a Result of the Municipality Referrals We were able to close 1,066 cases (out of 1,245) We either created an account or no rental proof was able to be determined The remaining 179 properties are currently pending due to active communication from property owners We were able to collect $325,634.29

ACCOUNTS A look at the different types of transient accounts… 9

Accounts *As of July 3, 2018* BILLING CYCLE TOTAL ACCOUNTS TOTAL PROPERTIES Annual Summer 12 Annual Winter 126 127 Monthly 2,008 5,240 Quarterly 91 Semi-Annual 73 Total 2,310 5,543

DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC How do we inform the public on vacation rental regulations? 11

Mail Notices On November 1 of each year, our office includes a bright, orange flyer with the tax notices that are mailed out to all property owners. This flyer details who requires a tourist development tax, the penalty for not obtaining one, and how to pay the tax online.

TRANSIENT RENTAL HOTLINE How can you anonymously report a transient rental? 13

Vacation Rental Hotline Give us a call! We have a transient rental hotline where anyone can make an anonymous report. If you are aware of any property being advertised as a vacation rental and may not have a tourist development tax, you can call our hotline and remain completely anonymous. 1-800-422-4540 14

Vacation Rental Hotline (Continued) Our hotline has received 394 tips since its implementation in January 2015. If we cannot match the tip with an existing account, then we send the following letter: 15

Expanded Efforts We were looking to find ways to better track vacation rentals in Monroe County We had limited resources and limited knowledge of what programs or software was needed We contacted a couple of companies that shared their tracking programs and soon realized how costly this could be Tax Collector decided to develop our own in-house tracking system

Advertising Letter Once an advertisement has been found and we cannot match an existing account with it, we send the following letter:

Advertising Letter (Continued) We want an account opened and the gross amounts for past rentals from the rental start date or 36 months prior depending on the proof in the advertisement We give the property owner 10 business days to return the application Our application requires a rental start date When the property owner returns the application, we verify that the rental start date is the same as what is reflected in the advertisement If we don’t receive an application or response, then we send the letter again but Certified Return Receipt

Then one of two things occur: 1) The certified receipt is delivered and signed for OR 2) The certified receipt is NOT delivered and signed for

If the Certified Receipt is Delivered and Signed for: If we don’t receive the application back within 10 days, then we proceed to open an “In-House” account and create an assessment for the past 36 months based on the amounts stated in the advertisement We then send the assessment/enforcement billing certified mail allowing the owner 20 days to file an appeal or pay the bill If no action is taken by the property owner, then we will proceed to file a Tax Warrant & Bank Levy, if necessary

If the Certified Receipt is NOT Delivered and Signed for: We open an “In-House” account and create an assessment for the past 36 months based on the amounts stated in the advertisement We have a field deputy go out to the physical location and post a “Red Tag” and the Assessment If no action is taken by the property owner, then we will proceed to file a Tax Warrant & Bank Levy, if necessary

Since implementation of the online advertising, identification, tracking & investigation program in June 2017, we have opened 170 cases and collected $245.609.99. As you can see, these programs can be very successful.

Questions?

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