[Adopted 11-12-2007 by Ord. No. 356[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. IV, Emergency and Municipal Services Tax, adopted 1-10-1972
by Ord. No. 225.
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Local Services Tax."
As used in this article, unless the context
clearly indicates a different meaning, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
The Borough of Rosslyn Farms.
Salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, fees, tips, gross
receipts and any other earned income.
A person, partnership, association, corporation, institution,
governmental body or any other entity employing one or more persons
for a salary, wage, commission or other compensation. "Employer" does
not include persons who hire domestic servants.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which compensation
is received.
The tax imposed by this article.
The person appointed by the Borough for the collection of
the tax imposed by this article.
A natural person liable for the tax imposed by this article.
There is hereby imposed, for the purposes hereinafter enumerated in § 169-33A, a tax upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation or profession in the Borough. Each natural person, unless exempted hereunder, who exercises such privilege for more than five days in the Borough, shall pay a tax of $52 per annum in accordance with this article.
A.
In accordance with Act 197,[1] any funds derived from the local services tax may be used
only as follows:
(1)
No less than 25% of the funds derived from the local
services tax shall be used for emergency services, including medical,
police and fire services;
(2)
Road construction and/or maintenance;
(3)
Reduction of property taxes; or
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6901
et seq.
B.
Any natural person whose total earned income from
all sources is less than $12,000 per annum shall be exempt from the
local services tax of $52 per annum.
C.
No employer shall be required to withhold from a taxpayer nor shall any self-employed person be required to pay the local services tax of $52 unless such taxpayer's anticipated earned income from all sources within the Borough is reasonably expected to be $12,000 or more for the tax year in question. In the event it is anticipated that such taxpayer's earned income will be less than $12,000, then the taxpayer shall be exempt unless the taxpayer who first claimed the exemption later becomes subject to the tax. In that event, § 169-33C(2) and (3) herein shall apply.
(1)
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local
services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the
Borough and with such person's employer affirming that the person
reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all
sources within the Borough of less than $12,000 in the calendar year
for which the exemption certificate is filed.
(a)
The exemption certificate to be submitted, must
be that form developed by the Department of Community and Economic
Development (DCED) and have attached to it all of the person's last
pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Borough for the
year prior to the year for which the exemption is claimed.
(b)
Each employer must make such DCED exemption
forms readily available to employees at all times and provide new
employees with the forms at the time of hiring.
(2)
With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the Borough that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough 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 Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, such person's employer shall withhold the local services tax from the said person as set forth in Subsection C(3) below.
(3)
If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection C(2) above, the employer shall withhold the entire tax during the remainder of the calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under Subsection C(2) above, a lump sum equal to the amount of the 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 section is subsequently severed in that calendar year, said person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due and the Borough may pursue collection under this article.
D.
The following persons shall be exempt from the local
services tax:
(1)
Any person who served in any war or armed conflict
in which the Unites 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 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-permanent 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 purposes of this subsection, "reserve component
of the armed forces" shall mean the United States Army Reserve, United
States 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.
A.
Every employer not registered under the provisions
of this article shall, within 15 days after the effective date of
this article, or within 15 days after first becoming an employer in
the Borough, register with the Tax Collector his or her name and address,
each employee's name and address and such other information as the
Tax Collector may require.
B.
For each taxpayer subject to the local services tax
at the rate of $52 per annum, the local services tax shall be assessed
and collected on a pro rata basis determined by the number of payroll
periods established by the employer for the calendar year. The pro
rata share of the tax assessed on each taxpayer for a payroll period
shall be determined by dividing the combined rates of the local services
tax by the number of payroll periods set by the employer for the calendar
year, with the requirement that employers round down to the nearest
1/100 of a dollar, with the right of the employer to withhold from
the first payroll period after employment a lump sum equal to the
amount of the tax that was not withheld prior to commencement of employment.
C.
An employer who discontinues his or her business or
ceases operation before December 31 of any year in which the tax is
in effect shall, within 15 days after discontinuing such business
or ceasing such operation, file the return required in this section
and pay the tax to the Tax Collector.
D.
The failure of an employer to deduct the tax shall
not relieve the employee from the duty to file a return and pay the
tax. An 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, as though the tax had originally been
imposed on such employer. If the failure to withhold the tax or to
pay the withheld tax to the Borough 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, the employer shall not be liable.
E.
For employees who present official receipts evidencing
prior payment of the tax, either directly or by collection through
other employers, the employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain
adequate records concerning such payment by the employees.
F.
Each employer may deduct and retain a fee equal to
2% of the total amount of the tax collected through the employer pursuant
to this section.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed or whose tax for any other reason is not collected in accordance with § 169-34 shall file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and shall pay the tax directly to the Tax Collector. The local services tax shall be prorated and paid on a quarterly basis as if the payroll period for the said self-employed taxpayer is a calendar quarter. The tax shall be due and payable 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Such tax as is due and payable shall be filed directly with the Tax Collector on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall,
by virtue of engaging in an occupation or profession in the Borough,
be subject to this article.
The Tax Collector, on behalf of the Borough,
shall collect and receive the taxes, interest, 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, with the approval of Council, adopt and enforce
regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration
of this article, including, but not limited to, requirements for collection
through employers, deductions, evidence and records and provisions
for the examination and correction of returns. The Tax Collector and
any agent designated by the Tax Collector may examine the records
of any employer or supposed employer or of any taxpayer or supposed
taxpayer in order to ascertain the tax due or to verify the accuracy
of a return. Every employer or supposed employer and every taxpayer
or supposed taxpayer shall give the Tax Collector and any designated
agent of the Tax Collector all means, facilities and the opportunity
for the examinations authorized by this section.
A.
The Tax Collector shall collect, by suit or otherwise,
all taxes, interest, 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 tax, and an additional
penalty of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of unpaid tax for each month or
fraction of a month during which the tax remains unpaid, shall be
added and collected. Whenever suit is brought for the recovery of
such unpaid tax, the taxpayer shall, in addition, be liable for the
costs of collection as well as for such interest and penalty as may
be due and owing.
B.
The Tax Collector may accept payment under protest
of the tax claimed by the Borough in any case where a person disputes
the claim of the Borough for the tax. If a court of competent jurisdiction
thereafter decides that there has been an overpayment to the Tax Collector,
the Tax Collector shall refund the amount of the overpayment to the
person who paid under protest. All refunds shall be made in conformity
with procedures prescribed by Council.
The situs of the tax shall be determined as
follows:
A.
With respect to a person subject to the local services
tax of $52, 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.
B.
In the event a person is engaged in more than one
occupation, that is, concurrent employment, or in an occupation which
requires the person working in more than one political subdivision
during a payroll period, the priority of claim to collect the local
services tax shall be in the following order:
(1)
The political subdivision where the person maintains
his/her principal office or is principally employed.
(2)
The political subdivision where the person resides
and works, if the tax is levied by that political subdivision.
(3)
The political subdivision where the person is employed
and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's home.
C.
The place of employment shall be determined as of
the day the taxpayer first becomes subject to the tax during the calendar
year.
The tax imposed by this article shall not apply
to any subject of tax or person not within the taxing power of the
Borough under the Constitution of the United States and the laws and
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
If the tax levied by this article has been paid
and the person who has paid the tax is able to establish to the satisfaction
of the Tax Collector by submitting true and correct copies of IRS
W-2 forms, IRS and state income tax forms, or by affidavit verified
under oath where necessary, that his or her income earned during the
previous tax year from all sources was less than $12,000, the tax
so paid or withheld and determined not to be due shall be refunded
by the Tax Collector, upon the submission to the Tax Collector of
the applicable refund form together with all required supporting documents.
Refunds made within 75 days of a refund request or 75 days after the
last day the employer is required to remit the local services tax
for the last quarter of the calendar year shall not be subject to
the payment of interest. A refund shall only be payable where the
refund amount exceeds $1 in a calendar year.
This article and the tax imposed hereunder is
adopted under and by virtue of the authority contained in the Local
Tax Enabling Act, Act 511 of December 31, 1965 as amended, the provisions
of which are hereby accepted and adopted by Council. Where a court
of competent jurisdiction may determine that the interpretation, terms
or provisions of this article are not in accordance with or in compliance
with the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act the provisions of
the Local Tax Enabling Act are intended to be adopted and resolved
by this article as full and as through specifically incorporated so
that this article shall at all times be in compliance with the Local
Tax Enabling Act.
Any person who violates any provision of this
article or any regulation adopted pursuant to it shall, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not mere than $600 plus costs
and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
This article shall become effective on January
1, 2008.
