[Adopted 11-19-2007 by Ord. No. 1585 (Ch. 890 of the 1982
Code)]
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 Borough of Green Tree.
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 tax imposed by this article.
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 Subsection A, a tax upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation
or profession in the Borough. Each natural person, unless exempted
by Subsection B 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.
A.
In accordance with Act 197, any funds derived from the local services
tax may be used only as follows:
(1)
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;
(2)
Road construction and/or maintenance;
(3)
Reduction of property taxes; or
(4)
Property tax relief through implementation of a homestead and farmstead
exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 85 Subch. F.
B.
Any natural person whose total earned income from all sources is
less than $12,000 per annum shall be required to pay to the Borough
only an annual local services tax of $5 per annum and not a local
services tax of $52 per annum. In the event the Keystone School District
shall ever repeal its current assessment of an occupational privilege
tax/emergency and municipal services tax or local services tax of
$5 per annum, then the Borough's local services tax shall be
deemed increased to the amount of $10 per annum with no further action
required by the Borough. It is the intent of this article that any
taxpayer subject to the exemption from paying the $52 annual local
services tax shall pay a minimum combined/total local services tax
to the Borough and the Keystone Oaks School District of $10, or a
local services tax to the Borough alone in the amount of $10 per annum.
C.
No employer shall be required to withhold from a taxpayer nor shall any self-employed person be required to pay the full 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 income earned while in the Borough will be less than $12,000, then the tax to be paid or withheld shall be as set forth in Subsection B above.
(1)
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.
(a)
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.
(b)
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.
(2)
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.
(3)
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.
D.
The following persons shall be exempt from the local services tax:
(1)
Any person who served in any war or armed conflict in which the United
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.
(2)
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.
A.
Every employer 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.
B.
For each taxpayer subject to the local services tax at the rate of
$10 per annum, the employer shall deduct the tax from compensation
payable to the taxpayer during the first payroll period of the calendar
year in which the tax is due or within the first payroll period following
the taxpayer's engaging in an occupation for which the tax is
due to the Borough.
C.
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.
D.
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.
E.
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.
F.
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.
G.
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.
In the event the taxpayer is self-employed, the local service
tax, if imposed on that taxpayer at the rate of $10, shall be paid
in a lump sum. If the local services tax is imposed on that taxpayer
at the rate of $52 per annum, the 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.
A.
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.
B.
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:
A.
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.
B.
With respect to a person subject to the local services tax at a rate
of $10, the situs of the tax shall be the place of employment determined
as of the day the person first becomes subject to the tax during the
calendar year.
C.
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:
(1)
First: The political subdivision where the person maintains his or
her principal office or is principally employed.
(2)
Second: The political subdivision where the person resides and works,
if the tax is levied by that political subdivision.
(3)
Third: The political subdivision where the person is employed and
which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's home.
D.
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,[1] 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
though specifically incorporated so that this article shall at all
times be in compliance with the Local Tax Enabling Act.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6901 et seq. and 53
P.S. § 6924.101 to 6924.312.
This article shall become effective on January 1, 2008.