[Adopted 11-6-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-748[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article also repealed
former Art. III, Emergency and Municipal Services Tax, adopted 1-4-2005
by Ord. No. 04-730, and any ordinance or part of ordinance that imposed
what was known as the "occupational privilege tax."
This article and any supplements and amendments
hereto shall be known as and may be cited as the "Local Services Tax
Ordinance."
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A partnership, limited partnership, or any other unincorporated
group of two or more persons.
The area within the limits of the Borough of Clarion, Clarion
County, Pennsylvania.
An enterprise, activity, profession or any other undertaking
conducted for profit or ordinarily conducted for profit whether by
a person, partnership, association, corporation or any other entity.
The three-month period ending March 31, June 30, September
30 and December 31 in each calendar year.
Calendar year shall mean the twelve-month period commencing
January 1 and ending December 31, inclusive.
Any corporation or joint-stock association organized and
existing under the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania or any other state, territory or foreign country.
The Council of the Borough of Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.
The calendar year for which the tax is being levied.
The place where one lives and has his permanent home and
to which he has the intention of returning whenever he is absent.
Actual residence is not necessarily domicile; domicile is a fixed
place of abode which, in the intention of the taxpayer, is permanent
rather than transitory. Domicile is the place in which an individual
voluntarily fixes the habitation of self and immediate family, not
for a limited purpose, but with the present intention of making a
permanent home until some event occurs to induce them to adopt some
other permanent home. In the case of a business, the domicile is that
place considered as the center of business affairs and the place where
functions are discharged.
"Compensation," as this term is defined in the Local Tax
Enabling Act, the Act of Dec. 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, as amended.
[Amended 12-20-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-798]
Any individual, partnership, association or corporation,
regardless of type, governmental body, agency or other entity employing
one or more persons on a salary, wage, commission or other remunerated
basis, including a self-employed individual.
The tax levied pursuant to this article.
A person, partnership, association, corporation or other
entity domiciled outside the incorporated boundaries of the Borough
of Clarion.
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type,
kind or character, including services, domestic or other, carried
on or performed within the boundaries of the Borough of Clarion, for
which compensation is charged or received, whether by means of salary,
wages, commissions or fee for services rendered.
A natural person.
The calendar year before the current calendar year.
A person, partnership, association, corporation or other
entity domiciled in the Borough of Clarion.
The calendar year following the current year.
The local services tax levied pursuant to this article.
The person, public employee or private agency designated
by Clarion Borough Council to collect and administer the tax levied
herein.
A person required to pay the tax levied hereunder.
A.
For the purposes of police, fire and/or emergency
services, road construction and/or maintenance, or reduction of property
taxes, the Borough of Clarion hereby levies annually a tax upon the
privilege of engaging in an occupation within the Borough during each
calendar year.
B.
Each individual who exercises such privilege, dependent
upon the amount of time spent employed in the Borough, will be assessed
an amount not to exceed $52, assessed on a pro rata basis, in accordance
with the provisions of this article. This tax is in addition to all
other taxes of any kind heretofore levied by the Borough.
A.
Each employer within the Borough of Clarion, as well
as those employers situated outside the Borough of Clarion but who
engage in business within the Borough of Clarion, is hereby charged
with the duty of collecting the tax from each of his employees engaged
by him or performing for him within the Borough of Clarion and making
a return and payment thereof to the collector. Further, each employer
is hereby authorized to deduct this tax from each employee in his
or her employ, whether said employee is paid by salary, wage or commission
and whether or not all such services are performed within the Borough
of Clarion.
B.
A person subject to the tax shall be assessed by the employer a pro rata share of the tax for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the person for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the combined rate of the tax levied for the calendar year by the number of payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year. For purposes of determining the pro rata share, an employer shall round down the amount of the tax collected each payroll period to the nearest 1/100 of a dollar. Collection of the tax shall be made on a payroll-period basis for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation, except as provided in Subsection D of this section. For purposes of this Subsection B, "combined rate" shall mean the aggregate annual rate of the tax levied by the school district and the Borough.
C.
No person shall be subject to the payment of the local
services tax by more than one political subdivision during each payroll
period.
D.
The tax shall be no more than $52 on each person for
each calendar year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions
within which a person may be employed. The Borough shall provide a
taxpayer with a receipt of payment upon request by the taxpayer.
A.
Pursuant to 53 P.S. § 6924.301.1(c)(1), each political
subdivision levying the local services tax shall exempt the following
persons from the tax:
[Amended 12-20-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-798]
(1)
Any
person who has 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; 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.
(2)
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.
B.
As authorized by the Local Tax Enabling Act, individuals earning less than $12,000 per year may be exempted by a taxing authority from this tax. A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax based on the exemption for individuals earning less than $12,000 a year shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Borough and with the 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. In the event the Borough utilizes a tax collection officer, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that officer. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all the employee's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Borough for the year prior to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted from the tax. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate and until otherwise instructed by the Borough or except as required by Subsection B, the employer shall not withhold the tax from the person during the calendar year or the remainder of the calendar year for which the exemption certificate applies. Employers shall ensure that the exemption certificate forms are readily available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee with a form at the time of hiring.
[Amended 12-20-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-798]
C.
With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the 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, an employer shall withhold the local services tax from the person under § 195-14.
D.
If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection B hereof, the employer shall withhold the tax for 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 B, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person under the 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 clause is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the Borough may pursue collection under this article.
All self-employed individuals who perform services
of any type or kind or engage in any occupation within the Borough
during any part of any calendar quarter must prorate and pay any tax
due on a quarterly basis, as if their payroll period is a calendar
quarter. The tax shall be paid to the Tax Officer on or before the
30th day following the end of such calendar quarter.
A.
Each individual who shall have more than one occupation
within the Borough of Clarion during the same payroll period shall
be subject to the payment of this tax levied on only the privilege
of engaging in his principal occupation within said Borough. An employer
is not required to withhold the local services tax if the employee
provides a pay stub from his principal employer accompanied by an
employee statement that identifies his principal employment; the pay
stub attached is from the taxpayer's principal employer; and that
the taxpayer will notify the employer of any change in employment.
When presented to any other employer, said form shall be authority
for said employer not to deduct this tax from said employee's compensation
and not to pay over same to the Tax Officer(s). However, said employer
shall nevertheless include said employee in his return, to be filed
in accordance herewith, by setting forth thereon the employee's name
and account number of the employer who issued the evidence of deduction
aforesaid.
B.
Employers are relieved of liability for the tax if
they fail to withhold the tax due to incorrect information provided
by the taxpayer regarding the taxpayer's principal employer or if
the employer complies with the provisions of this article establishing
collection of the tax on a payroll-period basis.
C.
In the event that an individual is engaged in more
than one occupation or any occupation which requires his working during
any calendar year in more than one political subdivision imposing
a local services tax during that year, under the above-mentioned Act
of Assembly, the priority of claim to collect such tax shall be in
the following order: first, where the taxpayer maintains his principal
office or is principally employed; second, where the taxpayer resides
and works, if such tax is levied by this political subdivision; and
third, where the taxpayer is employed that is nearest to the taxpayer's
home. The place of employment shall be determined as of the day the
individual first becomes subject to the tax during each pay period.
All employers and self-employed individuals
residing or having their place of business outside the Borough, but
who perform services of any type or kind, or engage in any occupation
or profession within the Borough, do by virtue thereof agree to be
bound by and subject themselves to the provisions, penalties and regulations
promulgated under this article with the same force and effect as though
they were residents of the Borough of Clarion, and an employee of
a nonresident employer may, for the purpose of this article, be considered
a self-employed person, and in the event this tax is not paid, the
Borough shall have the option of proceeding against either the employer
or employee for the collection of this tax as hereinafter provided.
Employers must remit the withheld tax to the
Tax Officer(s) 30 days following the end of each calendar quarter.
Each calendar year, the employer shall prepare
and file a return showing a computation of the tax on forms to be
supplied to him by the Tax Officer of the Borough. If the employer
fails to file said return and pay said tax for any nonexempt employee,
whether or not collection thereof is made from the salary, wages or
commissions paid by such employer to the employee, the employer shall
be responsible for the payment in full as though the tax had been
originally levied against such employer.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Tax Officer(s) to accept
and receive payments of this tax and to keep a record thereof showing
the amount received by him for each employer or self-employed person,
together with the date the tax was received.
B.
The Council of the Borough is hereby charged with
the administration and enforcement of this article and is hereby charged
and empowered to prescribe, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations
relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement
of this article, including provisions for the examination of the payroll
records of any employer subject to this article and any payment alleged
or found to be incorrect, or as to which overpayment is claimed or
found to have occurred. Any person aggrieved by any decision of Council
shall have the right to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion
County.
C.
The Tax Officer(s) is hereby authorized to examine
the books and payroll records of any employer in order to verify the
accuracy of any return made by an employer or, if no return was made,
to ascertain the tax due. Each employer is hereby directed and required
to give the Tax Officer(s) the means, facilities and opportunity for
such examination.
A.
In the event that any tax imposed under this article
remains due or unpaid 30 days after the due dates set forth herein,
the Tax Officer(s) may sue for the recovery of any such tax due or
unpaid, together with interest, penalty and cost of suit.
B.
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due, interest
at the rate of 10%, beginning with the due date of the tax, shall
be added to the flat rate of said tax for nonpayment thereof. Where
suit is brought for the recovery of the tax, the individual liable
therefor shall, in addition, be responsible and liable for the costs
of collection and interest and penalties herein imposed.
[Amended 12-20-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-798]
Refunds of the tax for taxpayers that overpaid
the tax will be made in accordance with applicable law. Refunds are
not subject to interest if made within 75 days of either the date
of a refund request or January 30 of the year after the tax is paid.
Refunds in the amount of $1 or less will not be made.
[Amended 12-20-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-798]
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement
on any return required by this article, or who refuses inspection
of his books, records or accounts in his custody and control setting
forth the number of employees subject to this tax who are in his employment,
or whoever fails or refuses to file any return required by this article
shall, upon conviction by a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $600 plus costs of prosecution for
each offense and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, be
imprisoned in the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days for
each offense. It is further provided that any action to enforce the
fine and penalty herein imposed may be instituted against any officer
of any corporate employer or against any person in charge of any place
of business of any employer.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower the Borough of Clarion to levy and collect the tax hereby
imposed on any occupational privilege not within the taxing power
of the Borough under the Constitution of the United States and/or
the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
If the tax hereby imposed under the provisions of
the article shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction to
be in violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as
to any individual, the decision of the court shall not affect or impair
the right to impose or collect said tax or the validity of the tax
so imposed on other persons or individuals as herein provided.
Section headings are provided for convenience
only and do not constitute part of this article.
References to the masculine are intended to
include the feminine, and references to the feminine are intended
to include the masculine.
This article is enacted under the authority
of the Act of Assembly approved December 31, 1965, No. 511, known
as "The Local Tax Enabling Act," and its amendments and supplements,
and shall be effective in accordance therewith for the calendar year
of 2008 and shall thereafter continue in force without annual reenactment
until the rate of tax is subsequently changed or until repeal.
