[Added 12-12-1994 by Ord. No. 526]
Pursuant to the authority granted by the Local
Tax Enabling Act (53 P.S. § 6901 et seq.), the City Council of the City of Pottsville hereby imposes
a mechanical amusement device tax for general revenue purposes, to
be levied and assessed as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 10-10-1994 by Ord. No. 524]
A. Unless otherwise herein expressly stated, the following
terms shall have, for the purpose of this article, the meanings hereby
respectively indicated:
DEVICE
Any mechanical amusement device, for the use of which for
profit a tax is levied under this article.
MECHANICAL AMUSEMENT DEVICE
Any device, which, upon the insertion of a coin, slug or
token, may be operated for use as a game, entertainment or amusement,
whether or not registering a score and whether or not a prize is offered.
Such term does not include any gambling device or any mechanism that
has been judicially determined to be a gambling device.
PERSON
Any natural person, association, copartnership, firm or corporation.
B. In this article, the singular includes the plural
and the masculine includes the feminine and the neuter.
[Amended 12-30-1982 by Ord. No. 312; 1-9-2023 by Ord. No. 906]
There is hereby imposed, for the calendar year
1983 and thereafter, a tax for general City purposes, under the Local
Tax Enabling Act and its amendments, upon the privilege of using for profit, within the City,
any mechanical amusement device, as herein defined. Such tax shall
be payable by the person owning and/or operating the establishment
in which such device is installed for use. Such tax shall be payable
at the following rate: on each mechanical amusement device, $75 for
the calendar year or any portion thereof.
[Amended 12-12-1994 by Ord. No. 526]
The tax imposed under this article shall be
payable to the City Treasurer on or before February 15 of each year.
No deduction or refund of any tax payable under this article shall
be granted in the case of any tax payable for less than a full calendar
year or in case of any device destroyed, stolen, sold or otherwise
disposed of or transferred after the payment of such tax. However,
in the case of the substitution of any device by another device in
the same class, the use of which is taxable under this article, no
additional tax shall be paid, provided that the total number of devices
of the same class in use upon the premises remains no greater than
that upon which such tax was paid.
If any tax levied in pursuance of this article
shall not be paid when due, a penalty of 10% of the amount of tax
due and unpaid shall be added thereto.
Any information gained by the City Treasurer
or any other official or agent of the City as a result of any returns,
investigations or verifications required or authorized by this article
shall be confidential except for official purposes and except in accordance
with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law. Any disclosure
of any information contrary to the provisions of this section shall
constitute a violation of this article.
All taxes imposed by this article, together
with all penalties, interest and costs, shall be recoverable by the
City Solicitor as debts of like amount are by law recoverable.
All taxes, interest and penalties collected
or recovered by the City Treasurer or any other City officer or person
for or in behalf of the City shall be paid into the City Treasury
as general revenue to be used for general revenue purposes.
All expenses incurred in the administration
of this article shall be paid by the City.
[Amended 6-9-1992 by Ord. No. 470]
This Article shall not apply to any duly organized
volunteer fire department of the City of Pottsville, nor shall it
apply to any person or property beyond the lawful authority of City
Council to impose the tax or duties herein described.
Any person who shall be convicted before any
Alderman or any Justice of the Peace of the City for violating or
failing to carry out any of the provisions or requirements of this
article or of neglecting, failing or refusing to furnish complete
and correct returns or to pay over any tax levied by this article
at the time required or of knowingly making any incomplete, false
or fraudulent return or of doing or attempting to do anything whatever
to avoid the payment of the whole or any part of the tax imposed under
this article shall be fined not more than $600 for each and every
offense and the costs of prosecution thereof and, in default of payment
of such fine and costs, be imprisoned in the county jail for not more
than 90 days. Such fine or penalty shall be in addition to any other
penalty imposed by any other section of this article.
This Article shall continue in effect from year
to year until repealed, without annual reenactment.