Township of Whitpain, PA Local Services Tax

Any corporation or joint-stock association organized under the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any other state, territory, or foreign country or dependency.

EMERGENCY SERVICES

The funding of any activities or the purchase of any equipment or services related to police, fire or emergency services, including but not limited to the purchase and maintenance of any vehicles or equipment utilized on and of the police, fire and emergency services of Whitpain Township.

EMPLOYER

An individual, partnership, association, corporation, governmental body, or unit or agency or other entity who or that employs one or more persons on a salary, wage, commission or other compensation basis.

EXEMPTION

Any individual who is on active military duty, called to active military duty at any time within the taxing year, anyone who is currently or was formerly a member of the military who is a paraplegic, double or quadruple amputee or who has any military-service-related disability and declared by the Unites States Veterans Administration to be 100% disabled, or who earns less than $12,000 in earned income in that calendar year and completes a low income exemption certificate, as prepared by the Department of Community and Economic Development, shall be exempt from the tax.

NONRESIDENT

An individual, fiduciary, partnership or other entity domiciled outside Whitpain Township.

OCCUPATION

Any enterprise, activity, profession, or undertaking of any nature conducted for profit or ordinarily conducted for profit, whether by an individual, association, or any other entity, whereby any wage, salary, commission or other remuneration is earned.

PERSON

A natural person, partnership, association, corporation or fiduciary. Whenever used in any clause prescribing or imposing a penalty, the term "person" as applied to associations shall mean the partners or members thereof and, as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.

RESIDENT

An individual, partnership, association or other entity domiciled in Whitpain Township.

SALARIES, WAGES, COMMISSIONS AND OTHER COMPENSATION

Includes salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, incentive payments, fees and tips that may accrue or be received by an individual for services rendered, whether directly or through an agent and whether in cash or in property, but shall not include periodic payments for sick or disability benefits and those commonly recognized as old-age benefits, retirement pay, or pensions paid to persons retired from service after reaching a specific age or after a stated period of employment, nor public assistance or unemployment compensation payments, nor any wages or compensation paid by the Untied States to any person for active service in the Army, Navy or Air Force of the United States nor any bonus or additional compensation paid by the United States or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any other state for such services.

TAXPAYER

A person required hereunder to file a return on earnings or net profits or to pay a tax thereon.

The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.

§ 136-3 Levy of tax.

A tax is levied at the maximum amount authorized by the state legislature which is currently $52 per year for any of the following purposes:

(1)

Police, fire or emergency services;

(2)

Road maintenance; or

(3)

Real estate tax reduction.

No less than 25% of the tax revenues generated pursuant to the terms of this article must be used for funding emergency services.

The tax levied under Subsection A(1) through (3) shall relate to and be imposed as follows:

(1)

Upon all nonresidents who carry on an occupation in Whitpain Township; and

(2)

Upon all residents who carry on an occupation in Whitpain Township.

§ 136-4 Exemption.

The following individuals shall be exempt from payment of the local services tax:

Any person who earns less than $12,000 in earned income in that calendar year and completes a low income exemption certificate as prepared by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Any person who is either on active military duty or has been called to active military duty at any time during the taxing year.

Any current or former member of the military who is paraplegic, double or quadruple amputee or has any military-service-related disability as declared by the United States Veterans Administration or its successor to be 100% disabled.

§ 136-5 Duty of employers to collect.

Every self-employed person or employer who employs one or more persons on a salary, wage, commission or other compensation basis, whose earnings are subject to the tax imposed by this article, shall deduct the amount of tax levied by this article from the salaries, wages or compensation paid to the employee prior to April 1 of each year and within 30 days from the date of hire for each employee hired subsequent to April 1 of each calendar year.

The tax shall be paid to the collector on a form furnished and shall include the employee's home address and social security number. Taxes are due by April 30 of the calendar year for all employees hired or working on or before April 1 and within 30 days of the close of the quarter in which they were hired. Quarterly due dates are April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31 of the succeeding year.

§ 136-6 Appointment of Tax Collector.

The Board of Supervisors of Whitpain Township shall designate a Tax Collector by resolution, and the compensation of such Collector for the collection of the local services tax shall be fixed by the Board by resolution. The Collector shall collect and receive all taxes imposed by this article; furnish receipts for their payment, keep records showing amounts received by him from all taxpayers and the dates of such receipts; and keep such other records as may be from time to time required by the Board of Supervisors.

§ 136-7 Powers of Collector; administration and enforcement of tax.

The Tax Collector is hereby charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this article and is authorized and empowered as follows:

To administer and enforce the provisions of this article and all rules and regulations prescribed, adopted, and promulgated by the Board of Supervisors of the Township relating to the enforcement and administration hereof and consistent with such rules and regulations shall have the power and authority to reexamine and correct any and all returns filed hereunder and to compute, settle, resettle and discharge any or all taxes hereby levied.

The Collector or any agent or employee of the Township, authorized in writing by the Collector, is hereby authorized and empowered to examine the books, papers and records of any employer or taxpayer in order to verify the accuracy of any return made, or if no return was made, to ascertain the tax imposed by this article. Every such employer or taxpayer is hereby directed and required to give to the said Collector or a duly authorized agent or employee of the Township the means, facilities and opportunity for such examinations and investigations as are hereby authorized. The Collector is hereby authorized to examine any person under oath concerning any income which was or should have been returned for taxation and, to this end, may compel the production of books, papers and records and the attendance of all persons before him, whether as parties or witnesses, who he believes to have knowledge of such income.

Any information gained by the Collector or any authorized agent or employee of the Township as a result of any returns, investigations, hearings or verification required or authorized by this article shall be confidential except for official purposes and except where disclosure of the contents thereof is required by proper judicial order or decree, or as otherwise provided by law, and any person or agent who divulges any information so obtained shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine or penalty not to exceed $600 and costs for each offense, or to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days for the nonpayment of such fine or penalty and costs.

§ 136-8 Additional regulations authorized.

The Board of Supervisors of Whitpain Township shall be empowered to adopt by resolution additional rules and regulations pertaining to this article.

§ 136-9 Interest on late payment.

All taxes imposed by this article remaining unpaid after they become due shall bear interest at the rate of 6% per year and shall be payable by the employer (the party responsible for collecting and/or paying the tax to the Collector) or by the taxpayer if he is self-employed.

§ 136-10 Recovery of tax.

All taxes imposed by this article, together with all interest accruing thereon, shall be recoverable by the Township as other debts are recoverable.

§ 136-11 Violations and penalties.

Any violator of any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $600 and costs and, in default of payment thereof, shall be subject to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 136-12 Applicability.

The tax imposed by this article shall not apply to any person as to whom it is beyond the legal power of Whitpain Township to impose the tax or duties herein provided.

§ 136-13 Severability.

If any sentence, clause or section of this article is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses or sections of this article. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Township that this article would have been adopted as if such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid sentence, clause or section had not been included herein.

§ 136-14 When effective; continuing basis.

This article and the tax herein levied shall be effective for the year 2008 and on a continuing annual basis, unless the rate of said tax is subsequently changed.

§ 136-15 (Reserved)