Source: https://ecode360.com/13136718
Timestamp: 2018-11-13 02:46:32
Document Index: 623600800

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169', '§ 169']

Borough of Rosslyn Farms, PA Local Services Tax
Ch 169 Art IV Local Services Tax
§ 169-31 Title.
§ 169-32 Definitions.
§ 169-33 Imposition and rate of tax; exemption and purpose.
§ 169-34 Collection through employers.
§ 169-35 Direct payment by taxpayers.
§ 169-36 Resident and nonresident tax payers.
§ 169-37 Administration and enforcement; examination of records.
§ 169-38 Collection; interest and penalties; payment under protest.
§ 169-39 Priority of claim for local services tax.
§ 169-40 Applicability.
§ 169-41 Exemption; refund.
§ 169-42 Authority; severability.
§ 169-43 Violations and penalties.
§ 169-44 Effective date.
[Adopted 11-12-2007 by Ord. No. 356[1]]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. IV, Emergency and Municipal Services Tax, adopted 1-10-1972 by Ord. No. 225.
Chapter 169: Taxation Article IV Local Services Tax
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Local Services Tax."
As used in this article, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
The Borough of Rosslyn Farms.
Salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, fees, tips, gross receipts and any other earned income.
A person, partnership, association, corporation, institution, governmental body or any other entity employing one or more persons for a salary, wage, commission or other compensation. "Employer" does not include persons who hire domestic servants.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which compensation is received.
The person appointed by the Borough for the collection of the tax imposed by this article.
A natural person liable for the tax imposed by this article.
There is hereby imposed, for the purposes hereinafter enumerated in § 169-33A, a tax upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation or profession in the Borough. Each natural person, unless exempted hereunder, who exercises such privilege for more than five days in the Borough, shall pay a tax of $52 per annum in accordance with this article.
In accordance with Act 197,[1] any funds derived from the local services tax may be used only as follows:
No less than 25% of the funds derived from the local services tax shall be used for emergency services, including medical, police and fire services;
Property tax relief through implementation of a homestead and Farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 85, Subchapter F.
Any natural person whose total earned income from all sources is less than $12,000 per annum shall be exempt from the local services tax of $52 per annum.
No employer shall be required to withhold from a taxpayer nor shall any self-employed person be required to pay the local services tax of $52 unless such taxpayer's anticipated earned income from all sources within the Borough is reasonably expected to be $12,000 or more for the tax year in question. In the event it is anticipated that such taxpayer's earned income will be less than $12,000, then the taxpayer shall be exempt unless the taxpayer who first claimed the exemption later becomes subject to the tax. In that event, § 169-33C(2) and (3) herein shall apply.
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Borough and with such person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed.
The exemption certificate to be submitted, must be that form developed by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and have attached to it all of the person's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Borough for the year prior to the year for which the exemption is claimed.
Each employer must make such DCED exemption forms readily available to employees at all times and provide new employees with the forms at the time of hiring.
Upon receipt of the upfront exemption form set forth in Subsection C(1)(a) and (b) above, and until otherwise instructed by the Borough, the withholding of the local services tax for the calendar year in which the exemption is claimed shall stop.
With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the Borough that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year or that the person is otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year, or upon an employer's payment to the person of earned income within the Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, such person's employer shall withhold the local services tax from the said person as set forth in Subsection C(3) below.
If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection C(2) above, the employer shall withhold the entire tax during the remainder of the calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under Subsection C(2) above, a lump sum equal to the amount of the tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person under this subsection, plus the per payroll amount due for that first payroll period. The amount of tax withheld per payroll period for the remaining payroll periods in that calendar year shall be the same amount withheld for other employees. In the event the employment of a person subject to withholding of the tax under this section is subsequently severed in that calendar year, said person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due and the Borough may pursue collection under this article.
Except as set forth in Subsection C(2) above, employers shall not be responsible for investigating exemption certificates, monitoring tax exemption eligibility or exempting any employee from the local services tax.
The following persons shall be exempt from the local services tax:
Any person who served in any war or armed conflict in which the Unites States was engaged and is honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service if, as a result of military service, the person is blind, paraplegic or a double or quadruple amputee or has a service-connected disability declared by the United States Veterans' Administration or its successor to be a total one-hundred-percent-permanent disability.
Any person who serves as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces and is called to active duty at any time during the taxable year. For purposes of this subsection, "reserve component of the armed forces" shall mean the United States Army Reserve, United States Navy Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Coast Guard Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard or the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.
Every employer not registered under the provisions of this article shall, within 15 days after the effective date of this article, or within 15 days after first becoming an employer in the Borough, register with the Tax Collector his or her name and address, each employee's name and address and such other information as the Tax Collector may require.
For each taxpayer subject to the local services tax at the rate of $52 per annum, the local services tax shall be assessed and collected on a pro rata basis determined by the number of payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on each taxpayer for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the combined rates of the local services tax by the number of payroll periods set by the employer for the calendar year, with the requirement that employers round down to the nearest 1/100 of a dollar, with the right of the employer to withhold from the first payroll period after employment a lump sum equal to the amount of the tax that was not withheld prior to commencement of employment.
An employer who discontinues his or her business or ceases operation before December 31 of any year in which the tax is in effect shall, within 15 days after discontinuing such business or ceasing such operation, file the return required in this section and pay the tax to the Tax Collector.
The failure of an employer to deduct the tax shall not relieve the employee from the duty to file a return and pay the tax. An employer who fails to deduct the tax, as required by this section, or who fails to pay such tax to the Tax Collector, shall be liable for such tax in full, as though the tax had originally been imposed on such employer. If the failure to withhold the tax or to pay the withheld tax to the Borough arises from incorrect information submitted by the employee as to the employee's place or places of employment, the employee's principal office or where the employee is principally employed, the employer shall not be liable.
For employees who present official receipts evidencing prior payment of the tax, either directly or by collection through other employers, the employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain adequate records concerning such payment by the employees.
Each employer may deduct and retain a fee equal to 2% of the total amount of the tax collected through the employer pursuant to this section.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed or whose tax for any other reason is not collected in accordance with § 169-34 shall file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and shall pay the tax directly to the Tax Collector. The local services tax shall be prorated and paid on a quarterly basis as if the payroll period for the said self-employed taxpayer is a calendar quarter. The tax shall be due and payable 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Such tax as is due and payable shall be filed directly with the Tax Collector on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall, by virtue of engaging in an occupation or profession in the Borough, be subject to this article.
The Tax Collector, on behalf of the Borough, shall collect and receive the taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed by this article and shall maintain records showing the amounts received and the dates such amounts were received. The Tax Collector shall prescribe and issue all forms necessary for the administration of the tax and may, with the approval of Council, adopt and enforce regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration of this article, including, but not limited to, requirements for collection through employers, deductions, evidence and records and provisions for the examination and correction of returns. The Tax Collector and any agent designated by the Tax Collector may examine the records of any employer or supposed employer or of any taxpayer or supposed taxpayer in order to ascertain the tax due or to verify the accuracy of a return. Every employer or supposed employer and every taxpayer or supposed taxpayer shall give the Tax Collector and any designated agent of the Tax Collector all means, facilities and the opportunity for the examinations authorized by this section.
The Tax Collector shall collect, by suit or otherwise, all taxes, interest, fines and penalties due under this article and unpaid. If, for any reason, any tax is not paid when due, interest at the rate of 6% per year on the amount of unpaid tax, and an additional penalty of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of unpaid tax for each month or fraction of a month during which the tax remains unpaid, shall be added and collected. Whenever suit is brought for the recovery of such unpaid tax, the taxpayer shall, in addition, be liable for the costs of collection as well as for such interest and penalty as may be due and owing.
The Tax Collector may accept payment under protest of the tax claimed by the Borough in any case where a person disputes the claim of the Borough for the tax. If a court of competent jurisdiction thereafter decides that there has been an overpayment to the Tax Collector, the Tax Collector shall refund the amount of the overpayment to the person who paid under protest. All refunds shall be made in conformity with procedures prescribed by Council.
The situs of the tax shall be determined as follows:
With respect to a person subject to the local services tax of $52, the situs of the tax shall be the place of employment on the first day the person becomes subject to the tax during each payroll period.
In the event a person is engaged in more than one occupation, that is, concurrent employment, or in an occupation which requires the person working in more than one political subdivision during a payroll period, the priority of claim to collect the local services tax shall be in the following order:
The political subdivision where the person maintains his/her principal office or is principally employed.
The political subdivision where the person resides and works, if the tax is levied by that political subdivision.
The political subdivision where the person is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's home.
The place of employment shall be determined as of the day the taxpayer first becomes subject to the tax during the calendar year.
The tax imposed by this article shall not apply to any subject of tax or person not within the taxing power of the Borough under the Constitution of the United States and the laws and Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
If the tax levied by this article has been paid and the person who has paid the tax is able to establish to the satisfaction of the Tax Collector by submitting true and correct copies of IRS W-2 forms, IRS and state income tax forms, or by affidavit verified under oath where necessary, that his or her income earned during the previous tax year from all sources was less than $12,000, the tax so paid or withheld and determined not to be due shall be refunded by the Tax Collector, upon the submission to the Tax Collector of the applicable refund form together with all required supporting documents. Refunds made within 75 days of a refund request or 75 days after the last day the employer is required to remit the local services tax for the last quarter of the calendar year shall not be subject to the payment of interest. A refund shall only be payable where the refund amount exceeds $1 in a calendar year.
This article and the tax imposed hereunder is adopted under and by virtue of the authority contained in the Local Tax Enabling Act, Act 511 of December 31, 1965 as amended, the provisions of which are hereby accepted and adopted by Council. Where a court of competent jurisdiction may determine that the interpretation, terms or provisions of this article are not in accordance with or in compliance with the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act are intended to be adopted and resolved by this article as full and as through specifically incorporated so that this article shall at all times be in compliance with the Local Tax Enabling Act.
Any person who violates any provision of this article or any regulation adopted pursuant to it shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not mere than $600 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense.
This article shall become effective on January 1, 2008.