COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio townships have broad authority to impose and administer local lodging taxes under state law, and it is enforceable even if the township does not “provide for the administration and allocation of the tax.”
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson issued his opinion on July 24 in response to questions from Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William L. Archer Jr. regarding actions taken by Brown Township. The opinion provides guidance for local governments on the adoption, enforcement and administration of lodging taxes across Ohio.
The opinion addresses a series of lodging-tax resolutions adopted by Brown Township starting in 2001. Township trustees increased an existing 3% lodging tax to 6% and later expanded the definition of a hotel to include establishments with fewer than five guest rooms.
Wilson concluded that a township resolution levying a lodging tax is not required to cite the specific statute authorizing the tax. He also found that a resolution remains valid even if it references a particular establishment that may be affected by the tax.
The opinion further concludes that a township may increase an existing lodging tax under Ohio law and that the tax remains enforceable even if the township does not adopt written regulations governing its administration. In addition, Wilson concluded that townships may broaden the definition of a hotel for lodging-tax purposes to include smaller lodging establishments.
Under Ohio law, “the resolution or ordinance may apply to an existing excise lodging tax, provided that it expressly states so, but it may not impose that tax retroactively on lodging transactions involving lodging that was not previously covered,” Wilson concluded. “The Brown Township Trustees therefore had ample statutory authority to revise the definition of ‘hotel’ for purposes of its lodging tax, specifically from an establishment having five or more rooms for guests to include an establishment with one or more guest rooms.”
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