[Adopted 2-13-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
This article is enacted under authority of the
Local Tax Enabling Act, P.L. 1257, No. 511, December 31, 1965, 53
P.S. § 6901 et seq. (1982), as hereafter amended, supplemented,
modified or reenacted by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly
appears from the context:
Salaries, wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, fees, gross
receipts or any other earned income.
Any person, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated
association, institution, trust, corporation, governmental agency
of any other body engaged in business or situated in the Borough of
New Hope, employing one or more employees engaged in any occupation
other than domestic servants.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which monetary
compensation is received or charged.
Borough Manager of the Borough of New Hope or such other
person or entity appointed by Borough Council.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by this article.
A tax for general revenue purposes, in the amount
of $10, is hereby imposed upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation
within the Borough of New Hope in the year 2001 after the effective
date of this article, and in each following calendar year. Each natural
person who exercises such privilege for any length of time in any
calendar year beginning with the year 2001, after the effective date
of this article, shall pay the tax in accordance with the provisions
hereof; provided the tax hereby levied shall not be imposed upon any
natural person whose total income during the taxable year is any figure
less than or equal to $1,000.
A.
Each employer shall register with the Tax Collector
the employer's name, address, and other information the Tax Collector
may require within 15 days after the effective date of this article
or within 15 days after first becoming an employer.
B.
For each taxpayer employed for any length of time
after the effective date of this article and on or before March 31
of the current tax year, each employer shall deduct the tax from compensation
payable to the taxpayer, file a return on a form prescribed by the
Tax Collector, and pay to said Tax Collector the full amount of taxes
deducted on or before April 30 of the current tax year. For each taxpayer
for whom no prior deduction has been made, who is employed after the
effective date of this article and in any of the three-month periods
ending June 30, September 30, and December 31 of the current tax year,
each employer shall deduct the tax from compensation payable to the
taxpayer, file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector,
and pay said collector the full amount of all taxes deducted on or
before July 31 or October 31 of the current tax year, or January 31
of the following year, respectively.
C.
Any employer who discontinues business or ceases operation
before December 31 of any year during which this tax is in effect
shall file the return hereinabove required and pay the tax to the
Tax Collector within 15 days after discontinuing business or ceasing
operations.
D.
The failure of any employer to deduct the tax shall
not relieve the employee from the duty to file a return and pay the
tax. Any employer who fails to deduct the tax as required by this
section, or who fails to pay such tax to the Tax Collector, shall
be liable for such tax in full, without deduction of the commission
hereinafter provided, as though the tax had originally been levied
against such employer.
E.
As to employees who present official receipts evidencing
prior payment of the tax imposed hereby either directly or by collection
through employers, the employer shall not deduct the tax but shall
maintain adequate records concerning such employees.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed or whose tax for any other reason is not collected under § 240-35 of this article shall file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and shall pay the tax directly to said collector. Each such taxpayer who first becomes subject to the tax after the effective date of this article, and on or before March 31 of the current tax year, shall file the return and pay the tax on or before April 30 of the current tax year, and each such taxpayer who first becomes subject to the tax after March 31 of the current tax year, shall file the return and pay the tax on or before July 31 or October 31 of the current tax year, or January 31 of the following year, whichever such payment dates first occur at least 30 days after the taxpayer becomes subject to the tax.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall,
by virtue of engaging in an occupation within the Borough of New Hope,
be subject to the tax and provisions of this article.
The Tax Collector shall collect and receive
the taxes, interests, fines and penalties imposed by this article,
and shall maintain records showing the amounts received and the dates
such amounts were received. The Tax Collector shall prescribe and
issue all forms necessary for the administration of the tax and may
adopt and enforce regulations relating to any matter pertaining to
the administration of this article. The Tax Collector and agents designated
by him may examine the records of any employer and/or supposed employer
or of any taxpayer in order to ascertain the tax due or verify the
accuracy of any return. Every employer or supposed employer and every
taxpayer or supposed taxpayer shall give the Tax Collector and any
agent designated by him all means, facilities and opportunity for
the examinations hereby authorized.
The Tax Collector shall collect by suit or otherwise
all taxes, interests, costs, fines and penalties due under this article
and unpaid. If for any reason any tax is not paid when due, interest
at the rate of 6% per year on the amount of unpaid taxes and an additional
penalty of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of the unpaid tax for each month
or fraction of month during which the tax remains unpaid shall be
added and collected. Whenever suit is brought for the recovery of
unpaid tax, the taxpayer shall, in addition, be liable for the costs
of collection as well as for interest and penalties. The Tax Collector
may accept payment under protest of the tax claimed by the Borough
of New Hope in any case where any person disputes the Borough of New
Hope's claim for the tax. If a court of competent jurisdiction thereafter
decides that there has been overpayment to the Tax Collector, the
Tax Collector shall refund the amount of the overpayment to the person
who paid under protest. Any action instituted for such judicial determination
shall be instituted within two years of the last day of the period
for which the tax is disputed or claim made. All refunds shall be
made in conformity with the procedure prescribed by the Borough Council.
An employer or taxpayer who makes a false or
untrue statement on any return required by this article, who refuses
inspection of his records in his custody and control setting forth
his employees subject to this tax, who fails or refuses to file a
return required by this article, or who violates any other provisions
of this article, shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $600, and in default of payment, to imprisonment
for a term not to exceed 30 days.
This article shall become effective on July
1, 2001, and shall continue on a calendar year basis, thereafter,
without annual reenactment.
