[Adopted by Ord. No. 147-1986 (Ch. 30, Art. VIII, of the 1979
Code]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Business Privilege Tax Ordinance."
As used in this article, unless the context
indicates clearly a different meaning, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings set forth below:
- A. The amount of any allowance made for goods, wares or merchandise taken by a dealer as a trade-in or as part-payment for other goods, wares and merchandise in the usual and ordinary course of his business.
- B. In the case of financial business, the cost of securities and other property sold, exchanged, paid at maturity or redeemed and moneys or credits received in repayment of advances, credits and loans, but not to exceed the principal amount of such advances, credits and loans, and shall also exclude deposit.
- C. In the case of a broker, commissions paid by him to another broker on account of a purchase or sales contract initiated, executed or cleared in conjunction with such other broker.
- D. Receipts by dealers from sales to other dealers in the same line where the dealer transfers title or possession at the same price for which he acquired the goods, wares or merchandise, as long as said dealers, are not the parent or subsidiary organization of the vendor or have no other affiliation or cooperative arrangement with the vendor.
- E. Receipts or that portion thereof attributable to interstate or foreign commerce or to an office or place of business regularly maintained by the taxpayer, outside the limits of the City and not for the purpose of evading payment of this tax and those receipts which the City is prohibited from taxing by law. Such receipts shall be segregated as set forth in § 428-63 of this article.
[Amended by Ord. Nos. 5-1990; 9-1993; 23-1993; 1-15-1997 by Ord. No.
6-1997; 1-14-1998 by Ord. No. 4-1998; 2-1-1999 by Ord. No.
5-1999; 2-7-2000 by Ord. No. 7-2000; 1-29-2001 by Ord. No.
2-2001; 2-4-2002 by Ord. No. 8-2002; 1-27-2003 by Ord. No.
106-2003; 1-29-2004 by Ord. No. 3-2004; 1-20-2005 by Ord. No.
94-2005; 1-26-2006 by Ord. No. 1-2006; 1-18-2007 by Ord. No.
74-2007; 1-29-2008 by Ord. No. 7-2008; 1-20-2009 by Ord. No.
52-2009; 1-26-2010 by Ord. No. 3-2010; 1-18-2011 by Ord. No.
4-2011; 1-12-2012 by Ord. No. 5-2012; 11-15-2012 by Ord. No.
67-2012; 1-30-2014 by Ord. No. 3-2014; 1-29-2015 by Ord. No. 76-2015; 1-14-2016 by Ord. No. 4-2016; 1-5-2017 by Ord. No. 76-2017; 12-7-2017 by Ord. No. 130-2017; 12-3-2018 by Ord. No.
41-2018]
Beginning with the tax year 2019, and annually thereafter, every
person engaging in any business in the City of Scranton shall pay
an annual tax at the rate of one mill (0.001) on each dollar of volume
of the gross annual receipts thereof.
A.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed who has commenced his business at least one full year prior
to the beginning of any tax year shall compute his annual gross receipts
upon the actual receipts received by him during the preceding calendar
year.
B.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed, who has commenced or who commences his business less than
one full year prior to the beginning of any tax year shall compute
his annual gross receipts for such tax year upon the gross receipts
generated by the business transacted within the City during the first
month he engages in such activity multiplied by 12.
C.
Where a receipt in its entirety cannot be subjected
to the tax imposed by this article by reason of the provisions of
the Constitution of the United States, or any other provisions of
law, including the exemptions within this article, the tax collector
shall establish rules and regulations and methods of allocation and
evaluation so that only that part of such receipt which is attributable
and allocable to the doing of business in the City of Scranton shall
be taxed hereunder. The tax collector may make such allocation with
due regard to the nature of the business concerned on the basis of
millage division of the receipt according to the number of jurisdictions
in which it may be taxed; the ratio of the value of the property or
assets of the taxpayer owned and situated in the City of Scranton
to the total property or assets of the taxpayer wherever owed and
situated or any other method or methods of calculation other than
the foregoing, calculated to effect a fair and proper allocation.
D.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby
imposed who engages in business, temporary seasonal or itinerant by
its nature, shall compute his annual gross receipts upon the actual
gross receipts received by him during such tax year.
E.
Every person who ceases to carry on business during
any tax year after having paid the business privilege tax for the
entire year shall, upon making proper application to the treasure,
be entitled to receive a refund of the pro rata amount of the tax
paid based upon the period of time he was not in business during the
license year. In the event that a person who discontinues business
during any tax year does so before payment of his tax becomes due
for such year, he shall be permitted to apportion his tax for such
tax year and shall pay an amount to be computed by multiplying his
gross receipts for the preceding full calendar year by a fraction
whose numerator shall be the number of months such person was in business
during the tax year and whose denominator shall be 12.
F.
Every individual subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed and who is also subject to and has paid the emergency municipal services tax levied by § 428-20 of this chapter may deduct said emergency municipal services tax payment from the amount of tax due and owing under the provisions of this article.
[Amended 2-26-2006 by Ord. No. 10-2006]
A.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article
shall forthwith register with the tax collector and set forth his
name, address, business address and the nature of the business activity
in which he is engaged.
B.
Every return shall be made upon a form furnished by
the tax collector. Every person making a return shall certify the
correctness thereof.
C.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article,
who has commenced his business at least one full year prior to the
beginning of any tax year shall, on or before the 15th day of April
following, and annually thereafter, file with the tax collector a
return setting forth his name, his business and business address and
such other information as may be necessary in arriving at the annual
gross volume of business transacted by him during the preceding year
and the amount of the tax due.
D.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article,
who has commenced his business less than one full year prior to the
beginning of the tax year shall, on or before the 15th day of April
following, file with the tax collector a return setting forth his
name, his residence, his business, business address and such other
information as may be necessary in arriving at the actual volume of
business transacted by him during the period of operation prior to
January 1 of that tax year and the amount of the tax due.
E.
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article,
who commences business subsequent to the beginning of the tax year,
shall, within 40 days from the date of commencing such business, file
a return with the tax collector setting forth his name, his business,
business address and such other information as may be necessary in
arriving at the actual volume of business transacted by him during
his first month of business and the amount of business and the amount
of the tax due.
F.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax imposed
by this article, who engages in a business temporary, seasonal or
itinerant by its nature, shall, within seven days from the day he
completes such business, file a return with the tax collector setting
forth his name, his business, his business address and such other
information as may be necessary in arriving at the actual gross volume
of business during the tax period and the amount of the tax due.
The person making the return shall at the time
of filing the return pay the amount of tax shown as due thereon to
the tax collector.
A.
It shall be the duty of the tax collector to collect
and receive the taxes, fines and penalties imposed by this article.
It shall also be his duty to keep a record showing the amount received
by him from each person paying the tax and the date of such receipts.
B.
The tax collector is hereby charged with the administration
and enforcement of the provisions of this article and is hereby empowered
to prescribe, adopt, promulgate and enforce rules and regulations
relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement
of this article, including provision for the reexamination and correction
of return, and payments alleged or found to be incorrect or as to
which an overpayment is claimed or found to have occurred and to make
refunds where necessary. Any person aggrieved by any decision of the
tax collector shall have the right to appeal to court as in other
cases provided.
C.
The tax collector is hereby authorized to compel the
production of books, papers and records and the attendance of all
persons before him whether as parties or witnesses whom he believes
to have knowledge of such receipts.
D.
The tax collector is hereby authorized to examine
the books, papers and records of any taxpayer or supposed taxpayer,
in order to verify the accuracy of any return made or, if no return
was made, to ascertain the tax due. Every such taxpayer or supposed
taxpayer is hereby directed and required to give to the tax collector
the means, facilities and opportunity for such examinations and investigations
as are hereby authorized.
A.
The tax collector may sue for the recovery of taxes
due and unpaid under this article.
B.
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due in
each year, interest at the rate of six percent per annum, and an additional
penalty of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of the unpaid tax for each month
or fraction thereof during which the tax remains unpaid, shall be
added and collected. There suit is brought for the recovery of any
such tax, the person liable therefor shall, in addition, be liable
for the costs of collection and the interest and penalties herein
imposed.
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement
on his return, or who refuses to permit inspection of the books, records
or accounts of any business in his custody or control when the right
to make such inspection by the tax collector is requested and whoever
fails or refuses to file a return required by this article shall,
upon conviction before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than $500 for each offense and, in default of payment
of said fine, shall be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 30 days
for each offense.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower the City of Scranton 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 City of Scranton 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 jurisdiction to be in violation of the Constitution
of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the decision
of the court shall not affect or impair the right to impose the tax
or the validity of the tax so imposed upon other persons as herein
provided.
C.
If a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction
holds any provision of this article or the application of any provision
to any circumstances to be illegal or unconstitutional, the other
provisions of this article or the application of such provision to
other circumstances, shall remain in full force and effect. The intention
of Council is that the provisions of this article shall be severable
and that this article would have been adopted if any such illegal
or unconstitutional provisions had not been included.
The tax collector is hereby authorized to accept
payment under protest of the amount of business privilege tax claimed
by the City in any case where the taxpayer disputes the validity or
amount of the city's claim for tax. If it is thereafter judicially
determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that the City has
been overpaid, the amount of the overpayment shall be refunded to
the taxpayer.
