Section 11-3-11.2 Collection of Local Taxes - County Commission.

(a) The county commission may, by ordinance or resolution, administer and collect, or contract for the collection of, any local sales and use taxes or other local county taxes levied or authorized to be levied by a general or local act. Where the county commission provides by ordinance or resolution for the administration and collection of the local taxes, the collection of the local sales and use taxes shall occur at the same time as state sales and use taxes are due to be paid to the Department of Revenue, unless otherwise provided by law. (b) Any county commission which elects to administer and collect, or contract for the collection of, any local sales and use taxes or other local taxes, shall have the same rights, remedies, power, and authority, including the right to adopt and implement the same procedures, as would be available to the Department of Revenue if the tax or taxes were being administered, enforced, and collected by the Department of Revenue. Any rules and regulations adopted or utilized by the county or its designee shall be consistent with the rules and regulations adopted through the provisions of the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act by the Department of Revenue for the corresponding state tax. If a specific provision of the rules and regulations of the Department of Revenue is inconsistent with a specific provision of a local act, resolution, or general law authorizing or levying a local tax, including a gross receipts tax in the nature of a sales tax, as defined in Section 40-2A-3(8), which was enacted or adopted prior to February 25, 1997, the local act, resolution, or general law provision shall prevail. Any taxpayer that possesses a direct pay permit issued by the Department of Revenue shall pay to the county the sales and use taxes and other county taxes pursuant to the direct pay permit in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Revenue. (c) In any county in which there exists on February 25, 1997, a local act which authorizes a county commission only to contract with a designee to administer and enforce any tax enacted by the county, the tax or taxes shall continue to be collected and enforced by a designee pursuant to the provisions of the local act, unless the local act is amended to provide otherwise or repealed. (d) A county commission which elects to administer and collect, or contract for collection of local taxes pursuant to subsection (a), may retain, as its fee for the cost of collection of its local taxes no more than five percent of the tax proceeds or the county’s actual cost of collection, whichever is less. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, in any county in which there exists on February 25, 1997, a local act which establishes or limits the amount which can be retained by the county for costs of collection or which limits the amount that can be paid by the county to a designee for providing collection and enforcement services, the provisions in the local act with regard to the costs and amounts shall continue to have force and effect unless the local act is amended to provide otherwise or is repealed.