Source: https://www.ecode360.com/14031487
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 23:16:18+00:00

Document:
§ 144-41 Imposition of tax; interest.
§ 144-44 Documents relating to associations or corporations.
§ 144-46 Credits against tax.
§ 144-47 Extension of lease.
§ 144-48 Proceeds of judicial sale.
§ 144-49 Duties of Recorder of Deeds.
§ 144-50 Statement of value.
This article shall be known as the "Realty Transfer Tax Ordinance of the Township of Rochester."
A realty transfer tax for general revenue purposes is hereby imposed upon the transfer of real estate or interest in real estate situated within the Township of Rochester, regardless of where the documents making the transfer are made, executed or delivered or where the actual settlements on such transfer took place, as authorized by Article XI-D, Local Real Estate Transfer Tax, 72 P.S. § 8101-D et seq.
A partnership, limited partnership or any other form of unincorporated enterprise owned or conducted by two or more persons other than a private trust or decedent's estate.
Any deed, instrument or writing which conveys, transfers, demises, vests, confirms or evidences any transfer or demise of title to real estate, but does not include wills, mortgages, deeds of trust or other instruments of like character given as security for a debt and deeds of release thereof to the debtor, land contracts whereby the legal title does not pass to the grantee until the total consideration specified in the contract has been paid or any cancellation thereof unless the consideration is payable over a period of time exceeding 30 years, or instruments which solely grant, vest or confirm a public utility easement. "Document" shall also include a declaration of acquisition required to be presented for recording under § 144-45 of this article.
Recreational activities such as, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, camping, skiing, show competition or racing.
The raising, breeding or training of game animals or game birds, fish, cats, dogs or pets or animals intended for use in sporting or recreation activities.
Recreational activities, such as but not limited to hunting, fishing, camping, skiing, show competition or racing.
The raising, breeding or training of game animals or game birds, fish, cats, dogs or pets or animals intended for use in sporting or recreational activities.
Any trust, other than a business trust, intended as a will substitute by the settlor which becomes effective during the lifetime of the settlor but from which trust distributions cannot be made to any beneficiaries other than the settlor prior to the death of the settlor.
Any individual, such individual's brothers and sisters, the brothers and sisters of such individual's parents and grandparents, the ancestors and lineal descendants of any of the foregoing, a spouse of any of the foregoing, and the estate of any of the foregoing. Individuals related by half blood or legal adoption shall be treated as if they were related by whole blood.
Any trust, other than a business trust or a living trust, which takes effect during the lifetime of the settlor and for which the trustees of the trust take title to property primarily for the purpose of protecting, managing or conserving it until distribution to the named beneficiaries of the trust. An ordinary trust does not include a trust that has an objective to carry on business and divide gains, nor does it either expressly or implicitly have any of the following features: the treatment of beneficiaries as associates, the treatment of the interests in the trust as personal property, the free transferability of beneficial interests in the trust, centralized management by the trustee or the beneficiaries or continuity of life.
Every natural person, association, or corporation. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a fine or imprisonment, or both, the term "person," as applied to associations, shall include the responsible members or general partners thereof and, as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
All lands, tenements or hereditaments within this Township, including without limitation buildings, structures, fixtures, mines, minerals, oil, gas, quarries, spaces with or without upper or lower boundaries, trees, and other improvements, immovables or interest which by custom, usage or law pass with a conveyance of land, but excluding permanently attached machinery and equipment in an industrial plant.
Holds real estate, the value of which comprises 90% or more of the value of its entire tangible asset holdings, exclusive of tangible assets which are freely transferable and actively traded on an established market.
The actual consideration for or actual monetary worth of any executory agreement for the construction of buildings, structures or other permanent improvements to real estate between the grantor and other persons existing before the transfer and not removed thereby or between the grantor, the agent or principal of a related corporation or association or partnership and the grantee existing before or effective with the transfer.
Every person who makes, executes, delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document or in whose behalf any document is made, executed, delivered, accepted or presented for recording shall be subject to pay for and in respect to the transaction part thereof a tax at the rate of 1% of the value of the real estate represented by such document, which tax shall be payable at the earlier of the time the document is presented for recording or within 30 days of acceptance of such document or within 30 days of becoming an acquired company.
The payment of the tax imposed herein shall be evidenced by the affixing of an official stamp or writing by the recorder, whereon the date of the payment of the tax, amount of the tax and the signature of the collecting agent shall be set forth.
It is the intent of this article that the entire burden of the tax imposed herein on a person or transfer shall not exceed the limitations prescribed in the Local Tax Enabling Act, Act of December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, 53 P.S. § 6901 et seq., so that if any other political subdivision shall impose or hereafter shall impose such tax on the same person or transfer, then the tax levied by the Township of Rochester under the authority of that Act shall during the time such duplication of the tax exists, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, be 1/2 of the rate, and such one-half rate shall become effective without any action on the part of Township; provided, however, that the Township and any other political subdivision which imposes such tax on the same person or transfer may agree that, instead of limiting their respective rates to 1/2 of the rate herein provided, they will impose respectively different rates, the total of which shall not exceed the maximum rate permitted under the Local Tax Enabling Act.
The United States, the commonwealth or any of their instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions shall be exempt from payment of the tax imposed by this article. The exemption of such governmental bodies shall not, however, relieve any other party to a transaction from liability for the tax.
A transfer to the commonwealth or to any of its instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions by gift, dedication or deed in lieu of condemnation or deed of confirmation in connection with condemnation proceedings, or a reconveyance by the condemning body of the property condemned to the owner of record at the time of condemnation, which reconveyance may include property line adjustments provided said reconveyance is made within one year from the date of condemnation.
A document which the Township is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution or statutes of the United States.
A conveyance to a municipality, Township, school district or County pursuant to acquisition by the municipality, Township, school district or County of a tax-delinquent property at sheriff sale or tax claim bureau sale.
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration which corrects or confirms a transfer previously recorded but which does not extend or limit existing record legal title or interest.
A transfer between husband and wife, between persons who were previously husband and wife who have since been divorced, provided the property or interest therein subject to such transfer was acquired by the husband and wife or husband or wife prior to the granting of the final decree in divorce, between parent and child or the spouse of such child, between brother or sister or spouse of a brother or sister and brother or sister or the spouse of a brother or sister and between grandparent and grandchild or the spouse of such grandchild, except that a subsequent transfer by the grantee within one year shall be subject to tax as if the grantor were making such transfer.
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration to a trustee of an ordinary trust where the transfer of the same property would be exempt if the transfer was made directly from the grantor to all of the possible beneficiaries, whether or not such beneficiaries are contingent or specifically named. No such exemption shall be granted unless the recorder of deeds is presented with a copy of the trust instrument that clearly identifies the grantor and all possible beneficiaries.
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from a trustee to a beneficiary of an ordinary trust.
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration between principal and agent or straw party; or from or to an agent or straw party where, if the agent or straw party were his/her principal, no tax would be imposed under this article. Where the document by which title is acquired by a grantee or statement of value fails to set forth that the property was acquired by the grantee from, or for the benefit of, his/her principal, that is a rebuttable presumption that the property is the property of the grantee in his/her individual capacity if the grantee claims an exemption from taxation under this clause.
A transfer from a corporation or association of real estate held of record in the name of the corporation or association where the grantee owns stock of the corporation or an interest in the association in the same proportion as his/her interest in or ownership of the real estate being conveyed and where the stock of the corporation or the interest in the association has been held by the grantee for more than two years.
A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority to a grantee of property conveyed by the grantee to that agency or authority as security for a debt of the grantee or a transfer to a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority.
Any transfer between religious organizations or other bodies or persons holding title for a religious organization if such real estate is not being or has not been used by such transferor for commercial purposes.
A transfer to a conservancy which possesses a tax-exempt status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [68A Stat. 3, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)] and which has as its primary purpose preservation of land for historic, recreational, scenic, agricultural or open space opportunities or a transfer from such a conservancy to the United States, the commonwealth or to any of their instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions.
Except as otherwise provided in § 144-43, documents which make, confirm or evidence any transfer or demise of title to real estate between associations or corporations and the members, partners, shareholders or stockholders thereof are fully taxable. For the purposes of this article, corporations and associations are entities separate from their members, partners, stockholders or shareholders.
A real estate company is an acquired company upon a change in the ownership interest in the company, however affected, if the change does not affect the continuity of the company and of itself or together with prior changes has the effect of transferring, directly or indirectly, 90% or more of the total ownership interest in the company within a period of three years.
Where there is a transfer of a residential property by a licensed real estate broker, which property was transferred to him/her within the preceding year as consideration for the purchase of other residential property, a credit for the amount of the tax paid at the time of the transfer to him/her shall be given to him/her toward the amount of the tax due upon the transfer.
Where there is a transfer by a builder of residential property which was transferred to the builder within the preceding year as consideration for the purchase of new, previously unoccupied residential property, a credit for the amount of the tax paid at the time of the transfer to him/her shall be given to him/her toward the amount of the tax due upon the transfer.
If the tax due upon the transfer is greater than the credit given under this section, the difference shall be paid. If the credit allowed is greater than the amount of tax due, no refund or carry-over credit shall be allowed.
The tax herein imposed shall be fully paid and have priority out of the proceeds of any judicial sale of real estate before any other obligation, claim, lien, judgment, estate or costs of the sale and of the writ upon which the sale is made, except the state realty transfer tax, and the sheriff or other officer conducting said sale shall pay the tax herein imposed out of the first moneys paid to him/her in connection therewith. If the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to pay the entire tax herein imposed, the purchaser shall be liable for the remaining tax.
As provided in 16 P.S. § 11011-6, as amended by Act of July 7, 1983 (P.L. 40, No. 21), the Recorder of Deeds shall be the collection agent for the local realty transfer tax, including any amount payable to the Township of Rochester based on a redetermination of the amount of tax due by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of the Pennsylvania realty transfer tax, without compensation from the Township.
On or before the 10th of each month, the Recorder shall pay over to the Township all local realty transfer taxes collected, less 2% for use of the County, together with a report containing the information as is required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in reporting collections of the Pennsylvania realty transfer tax. The two-percent commission shall be paid to the County.
Upon a redetermination of the amount of realty transfer tax due by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Recorder shall record the deed or record the additional realty transfer tax form only when both the state and local amounts and a rerecording or recording fee have been tendered.
Every document lodged with or presented to the Recorder of Deeds for recording shall set forth therein and as a part of such document the true, full and complete value thereof or shall be accompanied by a statement of value executed by a responsible person connected with the transaction showing such connection and setting forth the true, full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such document is not subject to tax under this article. A copy of the Pennsylvania Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value may be submitted for this purpose. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any excludable real estate transfers which are exempt from taxation based on family relationships. Other documents presented for the affixation of stamps shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the document and statement of value executed by a responsible person connected with the transaction showing such connection and setting forth the true, full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such document is not subject to tax under this article.
The tax imposed by this article shall become a lien upon the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or any interest therein, lying or being situated, wholly or in part, within the boundaries of the Township, which lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or interest therein, are described in or conveyed by or transferred by the deed which is the subject of the tax imposed, assessed and levied by this article, said lien to begin at the time when the tax under this article is due and payable and continue until discharge by payment, or in accordance with the law, and the Solicitor is authorized to file a municipal or tax claim in the Court of Common Pleas of Beaver County in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Claims and Liens Act of 1923, 53 P.S. § 7101 et seq., its supplements and amendments.
The Secretary of the Township is charged with enforcement and collection of tax and is empowered to promulgate and enforce reasonable regulations for enforcement and collection of the tax. The regulations which have been promulgated by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue under 72 P.S. § 8101-C et seq. are incorporated into and made a part of this article.

References: § 144

§ 144

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§ 144
 § 8101
 § 144
 § 6901
 § 501
 § 144
 § 11011
 § 7101
 § 8101