[Adopted 12-19-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-6; amended in its entirety 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-8]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Westtown Township Local Services Tax Ordinance" and shall
be referred to herein as the "LST Ordinance."
The following terms shall have, for the purpose of this Article V, the following meanings:
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Compensation as this term is defined in Section 13 (relating
to earned income taxes) of the Local Tax Enabling Act, the Act of
December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, § 13, as amended (53 P.S.
§ 6913, as amended).
An individual, partnership, association, limited liability
corporation, limited liability partnership, corporation, institution,
governmental body or unit or agency, or any other entity employing
one or more persons on a salary, wage, commission or other compensation
basis, including a self-employed person.
Indicates the singular and plural number, as well as male,
female and neutral genders.
Any person, male or female, engaged in any occupation, trade
or profession within the corporate limits of Westtown Township.
The local services tax in the amount of $52 levied by this
article.
The person, public employee or private agency designated
by the Board of Supervisors of Westtown Township to collect and administer
the local services tax.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession,
or other activity, as this term is defined in Section 13 (relating
to earned income taxes) of the Local Tax Enabling Act, the Act of
December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, § 13, as amended (53 P.S.
§ 6913, as amended).
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type,
kind or character, including services, domestic or other, carried
on or performed within the corporate limits of Westtown Township for
which compensation is charged or received, whether by means of salary,
wages, commission or fees for services rendered.
The period from January 1 until December 31 in any year;
a calendar year.
The Township of Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
For specific revenue purposes, an annual tax
is hereby levied and assessed, commencing January 1, 2008, upon the
privilege of engaging in an occupation with a primary place of employment
within the corporate limits of Westtown Township during the tax year.
Each person who exercises such privilege for any length of time during
any tax year shall pay the tax for that year in the amount of $52,
assessed on a pro rata basis, in accordance with the provisions of
this section. This tax may be used solely for the following purposes
as the same may be allocated by the Westtown Township Board of Supervisors
from time to time: 1) emergency services, which shall include emergency
medical services, police services and/or fire services; 2) road construction
and/or maintenance; 3) reduction of property taxes; or 4) property
tax relief through implementation of a homestead and farmstead exclusion
in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 85, Subchapter F (relating
to homestead property exclusion). The Township shall use no less than
25% of the funds derived from the tax for emergency services. This
tax is in addition to all other taxes of any kind or nature heretofore
levied by Westtown Township. The tax shall be no more that $52 on
each person for each calendar year, irrespective of the number of
political subdivisions within which a person may be employed.
A.
Exemption. Any person whose total earned income and
net profits from all sources within the Township is less than $12,000
for any calendar year in which tax is levied is exempt from the payment
of the tax for that calendar year. In addition, the following persons
are exempt from payment of the tax:
(1)
Any person 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 person is blind, paraplegic or
a double, triple 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 disability.
(2)
Any person who serves as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces and is called to active duty at any time during the taxable year. For the purposes of this Subsection A(2), "reserve component of the armed forces" shall mean the United States Army Reserve, United State Navy Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Coast Guard Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard or the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.
B.
Procedure to claim exemption.
(1)
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the LST shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Township and with the person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event the Township utilizes a tax collection officer, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that officer. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all the employee's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from the employment within the Township for the year prior to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted from the tax. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate and until otherwise instructed by the Township or except as required by Subsection A(2) below, the employer shall not withhold the tax from the person during the calendar year or the remainder of the calendar year for which the exemption certificate applies. Employers shall ensure that the exemption certificate forms are readily available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee with a form at the time of the hiring.
(2)
With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the Township that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year or that the person is otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year, or upon an employer's payment to the person of earned income within the Township in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, an employer shall withhold the LST from the person under Subsection B(3) below.
(3)
If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection B(2) above, the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under Subsection B(2) above, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person under this subsection, 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 calendar year shall be the same amount withheld for other employees. In the event the employment of a person subject to withholding of the tax under this clause is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the Township may pursue collection under this act.
C.
Refunds. The Township Manager, in consultation with
the LST Collector and DCED, shall establish procedures for the processing
of refund claims for any tax paid by any person who is eligible for
exemption, which procedures shall be in accord with provisions of
the General Municipal Law relating to refunds of overpayments (see
53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8425) and interest on overpayments (see 53
Pa.C.S.A. § 8426). Refunds made within 75 days of a refund
request or 75 days after the last day the employer is required to
remit the tax for the last quarter of the calendar year, whichever
is later, shall not be subject to interest. No refunds shall be made
for amounts overpaid in a calendar year that do not exceed $1. The
Township Manager or the LST Collector shall determine eligibility
for refunds to exempt persons and provide refunds.
A.
Each employer within Westtown Township, as well as
those employers situated outside Westtown Township but who engage
in business within Westtown Township, is hereby charged with the duty
of collecting the tax from each of his employees engaged by him/her
or performing for him/her within Westtown Township.
B.
A person subject to the tax shall be assessed by the employer a pro rata share of the tax for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the person for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the combined rate of the tax levied for the calendar year by the number of payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year. For purposes of determining the pro rata share, an employer shall round down the amount of the tax collected each payroll period to the nearest one-hundredth of a dollar. Collection of the tax shall be made on a payroll period basis for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation, except as provided in Subsection D of this section. For purposes of this subsection, "combined rate" shall mean the aggregate annual rate of the tax levied by the school district and the Township.
C.
No person shall be subject to the payment of the LST
by more than one political subdivision during each payroll period.
D.
In the case of concurrent employment, an employer
shall refrain from withholding the tax if the employee provides a
recent pay statement from a principal employer that includes the name
of the employer, the length of the payroll period and the amount of
the tax withheld and a statement from the employee that the pay statement
is from the employee's principal employer and the employee will notify
other employers of a change in principal place of employment within
two weeks of its occurrence. The employee's statement shall be provided
on the form approved by DCED.
E.
The tax shall be no more than $52 on each person for
each calendar year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions
within which a person may be employed. The Township shall provide
a taxpayer a receipt of payment upon request by the taxpayer.
F.
No employer shall be held liable for failure to withhold the tax or for the payment of the withheld tax money to the Township if the failure to withhold taxes arises from incorrect information submitted by the employee as to the employee's place or places of employment, the employee's principal office or where the employee is principally employed. Further, an employer shall not be liable for payment of the LST in an amount exceeding the amount withheld by the employer if the employer complies with the provisions of Subsection B of § 154-37 of this article and this section and remits the amount so withheld in accordance with this article.
G.
Employers shall be required to remit the LST 30 days
after the end of each quarter of a calendar year.
Each employer shall prepare and file a return
showing a computation of the tax on forms to be supplied to the employer
by the LST Collector. If an employer fails to file the return and
pay the tax, whether or not the employer makes collection thereof
from the salary, wages or commissions paid by him/her or her to an
employee, except as provided hereafter in this article, the employer
shall be responsible for the payment of the tax in full as though
the tax had been originally levied against the employer.
In each tax year, each employer shall use his
or her employment records to determine the number of employees from
whom such tax shall be deducted and paid over to the LST Collector
on or before the 30th day following the end of each calendar quarter
of each such tax year.
Each self-employed individual who performs services
of any type or kind or engages in any occupation or profession within
a primary place of employment within Westtown Township shall be required
to comply with the article and pay the pro rata portion of the tax
due to the LST Collector on or before the 30th day following the end
of each quarter.
A.
The situs of the tax shall be the place of employment
on the first day the person becomes subject to the tax during each
payroll period. In the event a person is engaged in more than one
occupation, that is, concurrent employment, or an occupation which
requires the person working in more than one political subdivision
during a payroll period, the priority of claim to collect the LST
shall be in the following order:
(1)
First, the political subdivision in which a person
maintains his or her principal office or is principally employed.
(2)
Second, the political subdivision in which the person
resides and works if the tax is levied by that political subdivision.
(3)
Third, the political subdivision in which a person
is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's
home.
B.
In case of a dispute, a tax receipt of the taxing
authority for that calendar year declaring that the taxpayer has made
prior payment constitutes prima facie certification of payment to
all other political subdivisions.
All employers and self-employed individuals
residing or having their places of business outside Westtown Township
but who perform services of any type or kind or engage in any occupation
or profession within Westtown Township do, by virtue thereof, agree
to be bound by and subject themselves to the provisions, penalties
and regulations promulgated under this article with the same force
and effect as though they were residents of Westtown Township. Further,
any individual engaged in an occupation with Westtown Township and
an employee of a nonresidential employer may, for the purpose of this
article, be considered a self-employed person, and in the event his
or her tax is not paid, the Township shall have the option of proceeding
against either the employer or employee for the collection of this
tax as hereinafter provided.
A.
The LST Collector shall be appointed by resolution
of the Westtown Township Board of Supervisors. It shall be the duty
of the LST Collector to accept and receive payments of this tax and
to keep a record thereof showing the amount received by him/her from
each employer or self-employed person, together with the date the
tax was received.
B.
The LST Collector is hereby charged with the administration
and enforcement of this article and is hereby charged and empowered,
subject to Westtown Township Board of Supervisor's approval, to prescribe,
adopt and promulgate rules and regulations relating to any matter
pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this article,
including provisions for the examination and correction of any return
made in compliance with this article and any payment alleged or found
to be incorrect or as to which overpayment is claimed or found to
have occurred. Any person aggrieved by any decision of the LST Collector
shall have the right to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Chester
County as in other cases provided.
C.
The LST Collector is hereby authorized to examine
the books and payroll records of any employer in order to verify the
accuracy of any return made by an employer or, if no return was made,
to ascertain the tax due. Each employer is hereby directed and required
to give the LST Collector the means, facilities and opportunity for
such examination.
A.
In the event that any tax under this article remains
due or unpaid 30 days after the due dates above set forth, the LST
Collector may sue for the recovery of any such tax due or unpaid under
this article, together with interest and penalty.
B.
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due, interest
at the rate of 6% on the amount of such tax shall be calculated beginning
with the due date of the tax, and a penalty of 5% shall be added to
the flat rate of such tax for nonpayment thereof. Where suit is brought
for the recovery of this tax or other appropriate remedy undertaken,
the individual liable therefor shall, in addition, be responsible
and liable for the costs of collection.
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement
on any return required by this article, or whoever refuses inspection
of the books, records or accounts in his or her custody and control
setting forth the number of employees subject to this tax who are
in his or her employment, or whoever fails or refuses to file any
return required by this article shall be guilty of a summary offense
violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $600 and costs of prosecution and, in default
of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than
30 days. The action to enforce the penalty herein prescribed may be
instituted against any person in charge of the business of any employer
who shall have filed or who refuses to file a return required by this
article.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower Westtown Township to levy and collect the tax hereby imposed
on any occupation not within the taxing power of the Township under
the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
B.
If the tax hereby imposed 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 laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as to any individual,
the decision of the court shall not affect or impair the right to
impose or collect said tax or the validity of the tax so imposed on
other persons or individuals as herein provided.
This article shall become effective January
1, 2008, and all calendar years thereafter unless repealed or modified
by ordinance of Westtown Township.
