[Adopted 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 659[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. III,
Local Services Tax, adopted 12-30-2004 by Ord. No. 547, amended in
its entirety 11-12-2007 by Ord. No. 574.
All terms defined in the Local Tax Enabling Act shall have the
meanings set forth therein. The following terms shall have the meanings
set forth herein:
The Lancaster County Tax Collection Bureau.
Salary, wages, commission, tip, bonus, fee, or any other
payment or income.
Shall have the meanings as set forth in the LTEA, 53 P.S.
§ 6924.501.
January 1, 2020.
This article.
The Council of the Borough of Denver, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The Local Tax Enabling Act, as set forth in 53 P.S. § 6924.101
et seq., and as amended in the future.
Any work, job, activity, livelihood, trade, profession, business,
or enterprise of any kind, including, but not limited to, services,
domestic or other, for which any compensation is received. An individual
may have more than one occupation.
The tax imposed by this enactment.
A form prescribed by the collector for reporting the amount
of tax or other amount owed or required to be withheld, remitted,
or reported under this enactment or the LTEA.
The period from January 1 to December 31.
The Borough of Denver, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
A.
Local services tax. The taxing authority hereby imposes a tax to
provide for local services at a flat rate of $52 per annum equally
levied on all individuals whose place of employment is within the
jurisdiction of the taxing authority. For purposes of this enactment,
an individual's place of employment will be determined in accordance
with 53 P.S. § 6924.301.1(f)(9)(iv). The tax imposed by
this article shall be in addition to other taxes levied by the taxing
authority.
B.
Resident and nonresident. Both resident and nonresident individuals
are subject to the tax by virtue of engaging in an occupation within
the jurisdiction of the taxing authority.
C.
Ongoing tax. The tax is imposed for the tax year starting on the
effective date and continuing each tax year thereafter, without annual
reenactment, until this enactment is repealed or the rate is changed.
D.
Applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. The tax is
imposed under authority of the LTEA, and all provisions thereof that
relate to a local services tax are incorporated into this enactment.
If there is any discrepancy between this enactment and the LTEA, the
provisions of the LTEA shall control. The tax shall be collected and
administered in accordance with the LTEA and all applicable regulations
and all policies and procedures adopted by the collector. Any future
amendments to the LTEA, the applicable regulations, or any policy
or procedure adopted by the collector and any new regulation, policy,
or procedure adopted in the future will automatically become part
of this enactment upon the effective date of such amendment or enactment,
without the need for formal amendment of this enactment, to the maximum
extent allowed by 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1937.
The following individuals are exempt from the tax:
A.
Any individual 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 individual 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.
B.
Any individual who serves as a member of a reserve component of the
armed forces [as defined by the LTEA, 53 P.S. § 6924.301.1(c)(2)]
and is called to active duty at any time during the tax year is exempt
from the tax for that tax year.
Any individual whose total earned income and net profits is
less than $12,000 from all sources within the taxing authority in
any tax year is exempt from the tax for that tax year.
A.
Refund. If an individual pays the tax during the tax year and has
total earned income and net profits of less than $12,000 from all
sources within the taxing authority at the end of any tax year, or
otherwise qualifies for an exemption, the collector will, on request,
refund the tax paid during the tax year to the individual.
B.
Exemption certificate. A individual seeking to claim a prospective
exemption from the tax may annually file an exemption certificate
with the collector and with the individual's employer affirming
that the individual reasonably expects to receive total earned income
and net profits of less than $12,000 from all sources within the taxing
authority in the tax year for which the exemption certificate is filed.
The individual shall attach to the exemption certificate a copy of
all the individual's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment
within the taxing authority for the tax year prior to the tax year
for which the individual is requesting to be exempted from the tax.
C.
Procedure upon receipt of exemption certificate. Upon receipt of
an exemption certificate and required attachments, an employer shall
not withhold the Tax from the individual during the tax year or the
remainder of the tax year for which the exemption certificate applies,
until otherwise instructed by the taxing authority or the collector
or except as required by this enactment or the LTEA.
D.
Receipt of earned income and net profits in excess of $12,000.
(1)
If an individual files an exemption certificate for a given tax year
and thereafter receives total earned income and net profits equal
to or in excess of $12,000 from all sources within the taxing authority
in the tax year for which the exemption was claimed, or the individual
is otherwise ineligible for an exemption for that tax year, the individual
shall immediately be subject to the tax.
(2)
For the first payroll period after an individual who claimed an exemption
from the tax for a given tax year becomes subject to the tax for that
tax year, the employer shall withhold from the individual a lump sum
equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the individual
during all prior payroll periods during the tax year 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 tax year
shall be the same amount withheld for other employees. In the event
the employment of an individual subject to withholding of the tax
is subsequently severed in that tax year, the individual shall be
liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the taxing authority
or the collector may pursue collection under the Local Tax Enabling
Act.
Every employer shall register, withhold, and remit tax, and
file tax returns in accordance with this enactment and the LTEA.
A.
Withholding. Tax amounts withheld from compensation by an employer
shall at all times be the property of the taxing authority and shall
constitute a trust fund held by the employer until remitted to the
collector. Withholding the tax from compensation shall, as between
the individual subject to the tax and the taxing authority, constitute
payment of the tax by the employee, regardless of any insolvency or
failure to remit by the employer.
B.
Tax returns and remittance. Employers shall file tax returns with
the collector and remit the tax that was withheld from the compensation
of individuals subject to the tax to the collector on a quarterly
basis before the deadlines specified in the LTEA. Every employer shall
follow this same procedure every tax year.
C.
Liability. Any employer who fails to withhold the tax or who fails
to pay the tax to the collector shall be liable for the tax and applicable
interest and penalties in full as though the tax had originally been
imposed against such employer. If the employer is a partnership, the
partners thereof, and if the employer is a corporation, limited liability
company, or other organization or entity, all officers thereof, and
any other individual responsible for the payment of taxes, shall have
the same liability as the employer.
Every individual engaged in an occupation within the taxing
authority at any time after the effective date who is self-employed
or whose tax for any other reason is not withheld by an employer shall
file a tax return and pay the tax directly to the collector on a quarterly
basis before the deadlines specified in the LTEA. Every such individual
shall follow this same procedure every tax year.
The tax will be collected from individuals and employers by
the collector in accordance with the LTEA.
Individuals and employers are subject to interest, penalties,
costs, and fines in accordance with the LTEA, including costs imposed
by the collector in accordance with the LTEA.
The provisions of this enactment are severable and if any of
its provisions are ruled by a court invalid or unconstitutional, such
decision shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions
of this enactment. It is declared to be the intention of the governing
body that this enactment would have been adopted if such invalid or
unconstitutional provision had not been included.
Any prior enactment or part of any prior enactment conflicting
with the provisions of this enactment is rescinded insofar as the
conflict exists. To the extent this enactment is the same as any enactment
in force immediately prior to the adoption of this enactment, the
provisions of this enactment are intended as a continuation of such
prior enactment and not as a new enactment. If this enactment is declared
invalid, any prior enactment levying a similar tax shall remain in
full force and effect and shall not be affected in any manner by adoption
of this enactment. The provisions of this enactment shall not affect
any act done or liability incurred, nor shall they affect any suit
or prosecution pending or to be initiated to enforce any right or
penalty or to punish an offense under the authority of any enactment
in force prior to the adoption of this enactment. Subject to the foregoing
provisions of this section, this enactment shall supersede and repeal
on the effective date any enactment levying an occupation privilege
tax in force immediately prior to the effective date.
This enactment is adopted and enacted November 25, 2019.
