[Adopted 11-14-1988 by Ord. No. 109; amended in its entirety 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 109A]
This article shall be known as the "Business
Privilege Tax Ordinance."
The following words and phrases, when used in
this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this article,
except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Any activity carried on for gain or profit in the Township
of Montgomery, including but not limited to the sale of merchandise
or other tangible personalty or the performance of services and the
rental of personalty and/or realty; all trades, occupations and professions
in which there is offered any service or services to the general public
or a limited number thereof, including but not limited to those enterprises
engaged in by hotel operators, motel operators, apartment and rooming
house operators, parking lot and garage operators, warehouse operators,
social workers, consultants, teachers, nurses, health services, therapists,
physicians and surgeons, osteopaths, podiatrists, chiropractors, veterinarians,
optometrists, pharmacists, lawyers, dentists, engineers, architects,
chemists, certified public accountants, public accountants, funeral
directors, promoters, factors, commission merchants, agents, brokers,
manufacturers' representatives, advertising and public relations agencies,
real estate brokers, insurance brokers and agents, cable television
operators, vending machine operators, barbershop operators and beauty
shop operators, cleaning, pressing and dyeing establishment operators,
laundry operators, shoe repair operators, tailors, upholsterers, electrical,
plastering, bricklaying, carpentry, heat, ventilating, plumbing and
painting contractors engaged in the class of heavy building or other
construction of any kind or in the alteration, maintenance or repair
thereof, repairers of electrical, electronic and automotive machinery
and equipment or other machinery and equipment and other wares and
merchandise, renters or lessors of equipment, property or real estate
and other businesses, trades, occupations and professions in which
there is offered any service or services to the general public or
a limited number thereof.
[Amended 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 109A]
The period from January 1 to December 31, inclusive.
In general, the "gross receipts" or "gross volume of business"
upon which the tax is imposed is the value of all cash, credits or
property received by a person which is attributable to the carrying
on of business in the Township, undiminished by any costs of doing
business, including both services, labor and materials entered into
or becoming component parts of the services performed within the Township.
A receipt generally will be considered attributable to the Township
if any part of the transaction or service giving rise to the receipt
takes place within the Township or is directed in any part from an
office or place of business within the Township.
[Added 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 109A]
The period from January 1 to December 31, inclusive.
Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, association,
firm or corporation. 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.
The person duly appointed by the Township Manager of the
Township of Montgomery to administer this article.
[Amended 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 109A]
A person subject to the payment of the tax imposed by this
article.
The period from January 1 to December 31, inclusive.
The Township of Montgomery.
A.
For each license year, every person desiring to engage
in business in the Township shall, on or before the 15th day of March
or prior to commencing business in any such license year, apply for
and procure a business privilege license for his place of business
or, if more than one, for each of his places of business in the Township
from the Tax Administrator, who shall issue the same upon payment
of a fee for a license for his place of business or, if more than
one, for each of his places of business in the Township for such license
year. Each application for a license shall be signed by the applicant,
if a natural person, and in the case of an association or partnership,
by a partner thereof and, in the case of a corporation, by an officer
thereof. Such license shall not be assignable and shall be conspicuously
posted at the place of business at all times. In the case of loss,
defacement or destruction of any license, the person to whom the license
was issued shall apply to the Tax Administrator for a new license
for which a fee shall be charged. The amount of such fees shall be
set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors from time to time.
[Amended 6-22-1992 by Ord. No. 92-1]
B.
Any person required to pay both a business privilege
license tax and a mercantile license tax needs only one license for
each place of business.
Every person engaged in a business, trade, occupation
or profession in the Township shall pay an annual business privilege
tax for each calendar year at the rate of 1 1/2 (1.50) mills
on each dollar of the gross volume of business transacted by him during
the license year; provided, however, that in no event shall the annual
business privilege tax herein imposed be less than $10 for each of
the places of business of every such person.
A.
All persons required to pay a business privilege tax
under the provisions of this article shall be exempted from paying
such tax upon the same subject matter of taxation upon which such
persons are required to pay a mercantile license tax under the Mercantile
License Tax Ordinance.[1] Any person required to pay both a business privilege tax
and a mercantile tax may file one joint return. In addition, any portion
of a taxpayer's gross receipts which is subject to a gross receipts
tax under any other Township ordinance may not be taxed under this
article.
B.
Persons employed for a wage or salary, nonprofit corporations
or associations organized for religious, charitable or educational
purposes, agencies of the government of the United States, the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, the County of Montgomery and the North Penn School
District and the business of any political subdivision or any authority
created or organized under and pursuant to any act of Assembly are
exempt from the provisions of this article.
C.
No such tax shall be assessed and collected on the
gross receipts from utility service to any person or company whose
rates of service are fixed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission or on any privilege or transaction involving the
rendering of any such public utility service.
D.
No such tax shall be assessed and collected on goods
and articles manufactured in the Township or the by-products of manufacture
or on minerals, timber, natural resources and farm products produced
in the Township or on the preparation or processing thereof for use
or market or on any privilege, act or transaction related to the business
of manufacturing or the production, preparation or processing of minerals,
timber and natural resources or farm products by manufacturers, by
producers and by farmers with respect to the goods, articles and products
of their own manufacture, production or growth or on any privilege,
act or transaction relating to the business of processing by-products
of manufacture or on the transportation, loading, unloading or dumping
or storage of such goods, articles, products or by-products.
E.
Refunds, credits or allowances given by a person to
a customer on account of defects in services rendered or in goods,
wares and merchandise sold or returned may be deducted from the amount
of the gross receipts of the person.
F.
Adjustments allowed to customers may be deducted from
gross receipts if they are deducted on the face of the invoice as
a medium of adjusting the price or fee for the service and if they
are not reimbursed to the person by his supplier or some other person.
G.
Federal, state and local taxes are not included in
gross receipts if they are collected from the customer and are separately
stated on the evidence of charge or sale or the customer produces
satisfactory proof of payment of the federal, state or local taxes.
H.
This article excludes from the definition of gross
receipts the receipts from services performed from a place of business
regularly maintained outside the Township by the taxpayer to a place
of business regularly maintained outside the Township by the customer,
provided that such performance is not made for the purpose of evading
the tax. Services or deliveries of services to a residence or place
of business located outside the Township do not qualify for this exclusion.
I.
Where the gross receipts of the taxpayer cannot in
their entirety be subjected to the tax imposed by this article by
reason of provisions of the Constitution of the United States, the
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any other provision
of law, the Tax Administrator shall establish rules and regulations
and methods of allocation and evaluation so that only that part of
the gross receipts which is properly attributable to doing business
in the Township shall be taxed by this article.
A.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed, who has commenced business at least a full year prior to
the tax year, shall compute the gross volume of business upon the
actual gross amount of business transacted by him during the 12 months
preceding the tax year.
B.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed, who has commenced business less than one full year prior
to the tax year, shall compute the gross volume of business by multiplying
by 12 the monthly average of the actual gross amount of business transacted
by him during the months while he was in business prior to the tax
year.
C.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed, who commences business subsequent to such January 1 of the
tax year, shall compute the gross volume of business by multiplying
the actual gross volume of business transacted by him during the first
month of his engaging in business by the number of months remaining
in the tax year.
D.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed, who engages in business which is temporary, seasonal or itinerant
by its nature, except for any person licensed to engage in a temporary
retail business under Ordinance No. 83, as amended,[1] shall compute the gross volume of business upon the actual
gross amount of business transacted by him during the tax year.
On or before March 15 of the year following
the end of the tax year, every person subject to the tax hereby imposed
shall make a return to the Tax Administrator of the Township of the
actual gross receipts of the taxpayer during the period for which
the taxpayer is subject to the tax. Such final return shall state
the amount of tax paid at the time of filing the estimated return
and the amount of tax due upon the final computation.
A.
Every return as required by this article shall be
made upon a form furnished by the Tax Administrator. Every person
making such return shall certify the correctness thereof under the
penalties of perjury.
B.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article
shall be required to file two tax returns each year, an estimated
return and a final return, unless otherwise provided for in this article.
Each time an estimated return is required to be filed, the final return
shall be filed the following calendar year. If it is determined that
the amount of tax paid in the estimated return was greater than required
by the final return, the taxpayer shall be entitled to apply the overpayment
to the estimated return in the same calendar year in which the final
return in question is being filed. In the event that the estimated
tax was less than the amount finally determined to be owed in the
final return, the taxpayer shall be liable to pay said tax upon the
filing of the final return. In the event that the amount paid at the
time of the filing of the estimated return is less than 80% of the
amount due in the final return, the penalty shall also be paid by
the taxpayer in the amount of 10% of the difference between the final
tax due and the estimated tax paid.
C.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article,
who has commenced business at least one full year prior to the beginning
of the tax year, shall, on or before the 15th day of March following,
file with the Tax Administrator a return setting forth such person's
name, business and business address and such other information as
may be necessary to compute the actual gross receipts of such person
during the preceding year and the amount of tax estimated to be due.
D.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article,
who has commenced business less than one full year prior to the beginning
of the tax year, shall, on or before the 15th day of March following,
file with the Tax Administrator a return setting forth such person's
name, business and business address and such other information as
may be necessary to compute the actual gross receipts of such person
during the preceding year and the amount of tax estimated to be due.
E.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article,
who has commenced business subsequent to the beginning of the tax
year, shall, within 60 days from the date of commencing such business,
file with the Tax Administrator a return setting forth such person's
name, business and business address and such other information as
may be necessary to compute the actual gross receipts of such person
during the first month of business and the amount of tax estimated
to be due.
F.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax imposed
by this article, who is engaged in a business which is temporary,
seasonal or itinerant by its nature, except for any person licensed
to engage in a temporary retail business under Ordinance No. 83, as
amended,[1] shall, within seven days from the date of completion of
such business, file with the Tax Administrator a return setting forth
such person's name, business and business address and such other information
as may be necessary in arriving at the actual gross receipts of such
person during such period and the amount of the tax due.
G.
Any person going out of or ceasing to do business
shall, within seven days from the date of ceasing to do business,
file a return showing the actual gross volume of business conducted
and done by such person during the tax year in which said person ceased
doing business and pay the tax due as computed thereon at the rate
herein provided for at the time of filing said return. If such tax
has been previously paid based upon estimated gross receipts, the
taxpayer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of any excess
tax paid for the tax year in which business was terminated.
H.
Receipt. The Tax Administrator, upon request to him,
will provide a receipt of payment of the tax.
A.
At the time of filing the first return, the person
making the same shall pay the amount of the tax estimated to be due.
B.
At the time of filing the final return, if the full
amount of the tax due by the taxpayer for the tax year has not been
paid, the taxpayer shall pay the remaining balance of the tax, which
shall be the difference between the amount of the tax paid at the
time of making the estimated return on the estimated computation and
the amount of the tax finally shown to be due. If the balance shall
be a credit, the amount of the credit shall be applied towards the
current year's estimated tax.
A.
The Tax Administrator is charged with the duties of
collecting and receiving the taxes, fines and penalties imposed by
this article. It shall be his duty to keep a record showing the amount
received by him from each person paying the tax and the date of such
receipt.
B.
The Board of Supervisors of Montgomery Township, by
resolution, may prescribe, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations
relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement
of this article and charging the Tax Administrator with the responsibility
for enforcing the provisions of the article and any rules and/or regulations
promulgated pursuant hereto.
C.
In the event that the person to be assessed neglects
or refuses to make a return, then in such case the Tax Administrator
or his duly appointed deputies shall assess said person or persons
on such an amount of whole or gross volume of business as said Tax
Administrator or his deputies deem reasonable and appropriate. In
all cases of such assessment, the Tax Administrator or his duly appointed
deputies shall give the parties assessed a notice in which shall be
stated the trade, business, occupation or class and the amount of
the business privilege tax imposed or levied.
D.
The taxpayer shall maintain such records and books
of account as will enable him to make a true and accurate return in
accordance with the provisions of this article. Such accounts and
records must disclose in detail the gross receipts and other data
pertaining to the taxpayer's gross volume of business and must be
sufficiently complete to enable the Tax Administrator or his deputies
to verify all transactions. The Tax Administrator or his deputies
are hereby authorized to examine the books, papers and records of
any person or persons subject to or supposed to be subject to the
tax imposed by this article in order to verify the accuracy of the
return made or, if no return was made, ascertain the tax due.
E.
The burden is hereby imposed upon any person, firm
or corporation claiming an exemption from the payment of the tax hereby
imposed to convince the Tax Administrator of his legal right to such
exemption.
F.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Tax Administrator
shall have the right to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas, as in
other cases.
G.
Any information gained by the Tax Administrator or
any other official agent or member of the Board of Supervisors of
the Township of Montgomery as a result of any returns, investigations,
hearings or verifications required or authorized by this article shall
be confidential except in accordance with a proper judicial order
or as otherwise provided by law.
H.
If the final return of the taxpayer shows an overpayment
of the tax by reason of the fact that the taxpayer did not continue
to engage in business throughout the year, the Administrator shall
refund to the taxpayer the amount of such overpayment, without interest,
which shall be the difference between the amount of tax paid upon
the filing of the first return and the amount of the tax finally shown
to be due.
A.
All taxes due and unpaid under this article shall
be recoverable by the Township Solicitor as other debts due the Township
are now by law recoverable.
B.
The Tax Administrator or his duly appointed deputies
shall have the power in the name of the Board of Supervisors of Montgomery
Township to institute proceedings against any and all persons who
violate the provisions of this article.
C.
If and for any reason the tax is not paid when due
and suit is brought for the recovery of any such tax, the person liable
therefor shall, in addition, be liable for the costs of collection,
interest and penalties herein imposed.
A.
The business privilege tax levied pursuant to this
article shall be due and payable on the date on which the taxpayer
is required to file a return as set forth above, and if the same is
not filed and paid on said date, 10% shall be added thereto, plus
an additional 1% per month or fractional part of a month until paid.
All taxes, interest and penalties received,
collected or recovered under the provisions of this article shall
be paid into the general fund of the Township of Montgomery for the
use and benefit of the Township of Montgomery.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower the Board of Supervisors of Montgomery Township to levy
and collect the taxes hereby imposed on any person or any business
or any portion of any business not within the taxing power of the
Township under the Constitution of the United States and the Laws
and Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
If the tax or any portion thereof imposed upon any
person under the provisions of this article shall be held by any court
of competent power or jurisdiction to be in violation of the Constitution
of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any
other provision of the law, the decisions of the court shall not affect
or impair the right to impose the taxes or the validity of the taxes
so imposed upon other persons as herein provided.
A.
Any person, as defined in this article, or any officer,
agent, servant or employee thereof who shall fail, neglect or refuse
to comply with any of the terms or provisions of this article shall
be guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof before
a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $300
nor more than $600 and costs of prosecution for each offense. Upon
judgment by summary conviction or by proceedings by summons on default
of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and costs, the defendant
may be sentenced and committed to the Township lockup for a period
not exceeding five days or to the county jail or workhouse for a period
not exceeding 30 days. The fine imposed by this article shall be in
addition to any other penalty imposed by any other section of this
article.
B.
Each day on which such person violates this article
may be considered as a separate offense and punishable as hereinabove
provided.
It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors
that any ordinance now in effect which imposes a special license fee
or tax on specific types or kinds of business not covered by the provisions
of this article, as amended, shall be and remain in full force and
effect.
