[Adopted 1-10-1961 as Ord. No. 776; approved 1-10-1961]
A.
AMUSEMENT
ASSOCIATION
BOROUGH
ESTABLISHED PRICE
PERMANENT AMUSEMENT
PERSON
PLACE OF AMUSEMENT
PRODUCER
SECRETARY
TEMPORARY AMUSEMENT
TREASURER
As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
All manner and form of entertainment conducted or engaged
in within the Borough, including but without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, theatrical and operatic performances, concerts,
moving picture shows, vaudeville, every form of entertainment at amusement
parks, athletic contests of every nature, including wrestling matches,
boxing, sparring exhibitions, football and baseball games, skating,
golfing, tennis, hockey, bathing, swimming, archery, shooting, riding,
dancing, rowing, bowling, billiards, pool and every other form of
diversion, sport, recreation or pastime, show, exhibition, contest,
display and games and all other types of amusement or entertainment
for which admission charges, donations, contributions or monetary
charges of any character whatsoever are obtained or received from
the general public, or a limited or selected number thereof, directly
or indirectly, in return for other than tangible property or specific
personal or professional services.
Any partnership, limited partnership or other form of unincorporated
enterprise owned by two or more persons.
The Borough of Prospect Park, Pennsylvania.
A regular monetary charge of any character whatever, including
a donation, contribution and dues or membership fee (periodical or
otherwise), fixed, charged or exacted or in any manner received by
producers from the general public or a limited or selected number
thereof, directly or indirectly, for the privilege of attending or
engaging in any entertainment or amusement within the Borough, provided
that when such entertainment or amusement is conducted at any place
where the charge for admission is wholly or in part included in the
price paid for refreshment, service or merchandise, the amount paid
for admission to such amusement shall be deemed to be not less than
50% of the amount paid for refreshment, service and merchandise.
An amusement conducted at one location for a period in excess
of one month.
Every natural person, copartnership, association or corporation.
Whenever used in any clause prescribing a duty or imposing a penalty,
or both, the term "person," as applied to copartnerships or associations,
shall mean the partners or member thereof and, as applied to corporations,
the officers thereof.
Any place, indoors or outdoors, within the Borough where
the general public or a limited or selected number thereof may, upon
payment of an established price, attend or engage in any amusement,
including but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, theaters;
opera houses; moving picture houses; amusement parks; stadiums; arenas;
baseball parks; skating rinks; social, sporting, athletic, riding,
gun and country clubs; riding academies; golf courses; golf driving
ranges; miniature golf courses; bathing and swimming places; dance
halls; tennis courts; archery, rifle or shotgun ranges; bowling alleys;
pool and billiard parlors; roof gardens; cabarets; night clubs and
other restaurants where amusement or entertainment is provided; and
other like places.
Any person conducting any place of amusement where the general
public or a limited or selected number thereof may, upon the payment
of an established price, attend or engage in any amusement.
The Secretary of the Council of the Borough.
An amusement conducted at one location for a period of one
month or less.
The Treasurer of the Borough.
B.
Word usage. The singular shall include the plural,
and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
A.
On or after January 1, 1961, no person shall continue
to conduct or thereafter begin to conduct any form of amusement within
the Borough without first having registered the place of amusement
with the Secretary and having obtained the permit, as herein provided,
and without having paid any tax for which he is liable which is imposed
by this article.
B.
All registrations required under this article shall
be either for permanent or temporary amusement, as the case may be.
Each shall be made upon a form prescribed, prepared and furnished
by the Secretary, pursuant to this article, and shall set forth the
name under which the producer conducts or intends to conduct an amusement,
whether the producer conducts or intends to conduct a permanent or
temporary place of amusement, the location of the place of amusement
and such other information as the Secretary may require. If the producer
has or intends to have more than one place of amusement within the
Borough, he shall register each one and shall state the location of
each and, in the case of a temporary amusement, the date and length
of time such amusement is to be conducted at each place. In the case
of a registration for a temporary amusement, the producer shall state
the name and address of the owner, lessee or custodian of the premises
upon which such amusement is to be conducted and, if the producer
is an association or a corporation, the names and addresses of the
principal officers thereof and any other information prescribed by
the Secretary for the purposes of identification. The registration
shall be signed; by the producer, if a natural person; in the case
of an association, by a member or partner thereof; and, in the case
of a corporation, by an executive officer thereof or some person specifically
authorized by the corporation to sign the registration, to which shall
be attached the written evidence of his authority.
C.
Upon the filing of the registration form, the Secretary
shall issue to the producer who registers an annual or temporary permit
for the place of amusement so registered. Such permit shall not be
assignable and shall be valid only for the persons in whose names
it is issued and for the conduct of amusements at the place designated
therein and shall at all times be conspicuously displayed at the place
for which it is issued. All permits for permanent amusements shall
expire on December 31 of the calendar year for which they are issued,
and permits for temporary amusements, as the case may be, shall expire
at the time specified therein, unless in either case sooner surrendered
or suspended or revoked for cause by the Secretary of the Council
or the proper authorities of the Borough.
D.
Whenever any permit issued under the provisions of
this article is defaced, destroyed or lost, the Secretary may issue
a duplicate permit to the holder thereof.
The Secretary may suspend an amusement permit
whenever he finds that the holder thereof has failed to comply with
any of the provisions of this article. Upon the suspension of any
amusement permit, the Secretary shall request the holder thereof to
surrender, immediately, all permits or duplicates thereof which have
been issued to him, and the holder shall promptly surrender all such
permits to the Secretary as directed. A producer whose permit has
been suspended, upon request made in writing within 10 days after
such suspension, shall be entitled to a hearing before the Council
of the Borough at or before the next regular meeting. After such hearing,
the Council of the Borough shall either rescind the order of suspension
or, good cause appearing therefor, shall continue the suspension or
revoke the permit.
A.
A tax to provide revenue for general Borough purposes
is hereby levied, assessed and imposed upon the privilege of attending
or engaging in any amusement within the Borough, at the rate of 5%
of the established price which shall be paid by the person acquiring
the privilege of attending or engaging in any entertainment or amusement.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended 4-4-1977 by Ord. No.
948, approved 4-4-1977.
B.
In the case of persons (except bona fide employees
of a producer or municipal or state officers on official business)
admitted free or at reduced rates to any place of amusement at a time
when and under circumstances where an established price is charged
to or exacted or obtained from other persons, the tax imposed by this
article shall be computed on the established price charged to such
other persons of the same class for the same or similar accommodations,
and shall be paid by the person so admitted.
C.
In the case of persons having the permanent use of
boxes or seats in any place of amusement, or a lease for the use of
such box or seat in such place of amusement, the tax imposed by this
article shall be computed on the established price for which a similar
box or seat is sold for each performance or exhibition at which the
box or seat is used or reserved by or for the lessee or holder, and
the tax shall be paid by the lessee or holder.
A.
Producers shall collect the tax imposed by this article
and shall be liable to the Borough, as agents thereof, for the payment
of the same to the Treasurer as hereinafter provided.
B.
Where any amusement, whether permanent or temporary,
is conducted by persons who are not the owners, lessees or custodians
of the place where the amusement is conducted, the making of the reports
required and the collection of the tax imposed by this article shall
be the responsibility of the owner, lessee or custodian of such place
where any such amusement is held or conducted, and the tax shall be
collected and paid by such owner, lessee or custodian unless it is
collected and paid by the producer conducting the amusement.
A.
For the purpose of enabling the Borough to ascertain
the amount of tax collected and payable by the producers to the Borough,
it shall be the duty of every producer, except as hereinafter provided,
conducting a place of amusement, to transmit, on or before February
10, 1961, and on or before the 10th day of each month thereafter,
to the Secretary and Treasurer, on forms prescribed and prepared by
the Secretary and Treasurer, a report of the amount of tax collected
by him during the month immediately preceding such respective report;
and it shall be the duty of every producer conducting a temporary
place of amusement to file reports with the Secretary and the Treasurer
within seven days after each performance.
B.
All reports required under this section shall show
such information as the Secretary and Treasurer shall prescribe.
C.
Every producer, at the time of making the report required
by this section, shall compute and pay to the Treasurer the taxes
collected by him and due to the Borough during the period for which
the report is made. All taxes imposed under the provisions of this
article shall, in the case of permanent amusements, be due and payable
on the 10th day after the end of the month for which the report is
made; and in the case of temporary amusements, all such taxes shall
be due and payable at the time the reports in such cases are hereby
required. All such taxes shall bear interest at the rate of 1/2 of
1% per month or fractional part of a month, from the date they are
due and payable until paid.
D.
So long as the school district of the Borough of Prospect
Park shall continue to impose a tax at a rate identical with that
imposed by this article upon the same subject matter as is made subject
to the tax imposed by this article, and so long as the school district
of the Borough of Prospect Park shall continue in effect a like permission
to a producer, the producer, solely for administrative purposes and
in order to simplify the collection of the tax hereby imposed, may
combine the tax of 5% levied by this article with the like tax levied
by the school district of the Borough of Prospect Park to enable him
to collect a total tax of 10% upon each admission hereby made subject
to the Borough tax; and in the event that the producer does so combine
and collect the taxes so imposed by the Borough and the school district,
he shall report and pay to the Borough of Prospect Park a total of
1/2 of such 10% so collected as and for the tax of 5% levied under
this article.
E.
In all cases the producer shall be the agency of the
Borough for the collection of the tax imposed by this article.
A.
If any producer or other persons liable for the payment
of the tax hereby imposed shall neglect or refuse to make any report,
as hereby required, an additional 10% of the amount of the tax shall
be added thereto and collected from the person liable for the tax.
B.
All such taxes shall be recoverable as other debts
of like amount are now by law recoverable.
If the Treasurer is not satisfied with the report
and payment of tax made by any person required to report and pay a
tax under the provisions of this article, the Treasurer is hereby
authorized and empowered to make determination of the tax due by such
person, based upon the facts contained in the report or upon any information
within his possession or that shall come into his possession; and
for this purpose the Treasurer, the Secretary or any agent of the
Borough, authorized for such purpose, is hereby empowered to examine
the books, papers, tickets, ticket stubs and records of any producer,
for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of any report or payment
made under the provisions hereof or of ascertaining whether the taxes
imposed by this article have been paid.
If any producer shall neglect or refuse to make
any report and payment of tax required by this article, or if, as
a result of an investigation by the Treasurer and/or the Secretary,
a report is found to be incorrect, the Treasurer shall estimate the
tax due by such producer and determine the amount due by him for taxes,
penalties and interest thereon.
All taxes, interest and penalties received,
collected or recovered under the provisions of this article shall
be paid into the Treasury of the Borough for the use and benefit of
the Borough.
The Council of the Borough of Prospect Park
may prescribe, adopt and promulgate regulations relating to any matter
or thing pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this
article and the collection of the tax hereby imposed.
Any person who shall violate any provisions
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a
fine of not more than $300 and costs of such proceedings or, upon
default of payment of such fine and costs, by imprisonment in the
county jail for a term of not more than 30 days. The continuation
of such violation for each successive day shall constitute a separate
offense, and the person or persons allowing or permitting the continuation
of the violation may be punished as provided above for each separate
offense.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended 4-4-1977 by Ord. No.
948, approved 4-4-1977.
