This Article shall be known as the "West Hempfield
Township Realty Transfer Tax Ordinance."
This realty transfer tax is levied under authority
of Article XI-D, entitled "Local Real Estate Transfer Tax," of the
Pennsylvania Real Estate Transfer Tax Act, which is a new Article
added by Act 77-1986 (Act of July 2, 1986, No. 77, P.L. 318) to the
Pennsylvania Real Estate Transfer Tax Act, Act 14-1981 (Act of May
5, 1981, No. 14, P.L. 36), as amended. This realty transfer tax is also levied under authority
of "The Local Tax Enabling Act," Act of December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257,
as amended.
The municipality may promulgate and enforce
reasonable rules and regulations for the interpretation, collection
and enforcement of the tax.
The payment of the tax imposed hereunder shall
be evidenced by the Collector affixing on the document an official
stamp or writing setting forth the date of payment of the tax and
amount of tax paid.
The United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or any of their instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions
shall be exempt from payment of the tax imposed by this Article. The
exemption of such governmental bodies shall not, however, relieve
any other party to a real estate transaction from liability for the
tax.
In order to exercise any exclusion provided
in this section, the true, full and complete value of the transfer
shall be shown on the statement of value. For leases of coal, oil,
natural gas or minerals, the statement of value may be limited to
an explanation of the reason such document is not subject to tax under
this Article. The tax imposed by this Article shall not be imposed
upon:
A. A transfer to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or
to any of its instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions,
by gift, dedication or deed in lieu of condemnation or deed of confirmation
in connection with condemnation proceedings or a reconveyance by the
condemning body of the property condemned to the owner of record at
the time of condemnation, which reconveyance may include property
line adjustments, provided that said reconveyance is made within one
year from the date of condemnation.
B. A document which the municipality is prohibited from
taxing under the Constitution or statutes of the United States.
C. A conveyance to a municipality, township, school district
or county pursuant to acquisition by the municipality, township, school
district or county of a tax delinquent property at Sheriff's sale
or Tax Claim Bureau sale.
D. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration
which corrects or confirms a transfer previously recorded, but which
does not extend or limit existing record legal title or interest.
E. A transfer of division in kind for no or nominal actual
consideration of property passed by testate or intestate succession
and held by cotenants; however, if any of the parties take shares
greater in value than their undivided interest, tax is due on the
excess.
F. A transfer between husband and wife, between persons
who were previously husband and wife who have since been divorced,
provided that the property or interest therein subject to such transfer
was acquired by the husband and wife or husband or wife prior to the
granting of the final decree in divorce, between parent and child
or the spouse of such child, between brother or sister or spouse of
a brother or sister and brother or sister or the spouse of a brother
or sister and between a grandparent and grandchild or the spouse of
such grandchild, except that a subsequent transfer by the grantee
within one year shall be subject to tax as if the grantor were making
such transfer.
G. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration
of property passing by testate or intestate succession from a personal
representative of a decedent to the decedent's devisee or heir.
H. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration
to a trustee of an ordinary trust where the transfer of the same property
would be exempt if the transfer was made directly from the grantor
to all of the possible beneficiaries, whether or not such beneficiaries
are contingent or specifically named. No such exemption shall be granted
unless the Collector is presented with a copy of the trust instrument
that clearly identifies the grantor and all possible beneficiaries.
I. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration
from a trustee to a beneficiary of an ordinary trust.
J. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration
from trustee to successor trustee.
K. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration
between principal and agent or straw party or from or to an agent
or straw party where, if the agent or straw party were his or her
principal, no tax would be imposed under this Article. Where the document
by which title is acquired by a grantee or the statement of value
fails to set forth that the property was acquired by the grantee from
or for the benefit of his or her principal, there is a rebuttable
presumption that the property is the property of the grantee in his
or her individual capacity if the grantee claims an exemption from
taxation under this subsection.
L. A transfer made pursuant to the statutory merger or
consolidation of a corporation or statutory division of a nonprofit
corporation, except where the municipality reasonably determines that
the primary intent for such merger, consolidation or division is avoidance
of the tax imposed by this Article.
M. A transfer from a corporation or association of real
estate held of record in the name of the corporation or association
where the grantee owns stock of the corporation or an interest in
the association in the same proportion as his or her interest in or
ownership of the real estate being conveyed and where the stock of
the corporation or the interest in the association has been held by
the grantee for more than two years.
N. A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development
agency or authority to a grantee of property conveyed by the grantee
to that agency or authority as security for a debt of the grantee,
or a transfer to a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority.
O. A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development
agency or authority to a grantee purchasing directly from it, but
only if:
(1) The grantee shall directly use such real estate for
the primary purpose of manufacturing, fabricating, compounding, processing,
publishing, research and development, transportation, energy conservation,
energy production, pollution control, warehousing or agriculture;
and
(2) The agency or authority has the full ownership interest
in the real estate transferred.
P. A transfer by a mortgagor to the holder of a bona
fide mortgage in default in lieu of a foreclosure or a transfer pursuant
to a judicial sale in which the successful bidder is the bona fide
holder of a mortgage, unless the holder assigns the bid to another
person.
Q. Any transfer between religious organizations or other
bodies or persons holding title for a religious organization if such
real estate is not being or has not been used by such transferor for
commercial purposes.
R. A transfer to a conservancy which possesses tax exempt
status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1954 and which has as its primary purpose preservation of land
for historic, recreational, scenic, agricultural or open space opportunities.
S. A transfer of real estate devoted to the business
of agriculture to a family farm corporation by a member of the same
family which directly owns at least 75% of each class of the stock
thereof.
T. A transfer between members of the same family of an
ownership interest in a real estate company or family farm corporation.
U. A transaction wherein the tax due is $1 or less.
V. Leases for the production or extraction of coal, oil,
natural gas or minerals and assignments thereof.
Except as otherwise provided in §
134-29, documents which make, confirm or evidence any transfer or demise of title to real estate between associations or corporations and the members, partners, shareholders or stockholders thereof are fully taxable. For the purposes of this Article, corporations and associations are entities separate from their members, partners, stockholders or shareholders.
Every document lodged with or presented to the
Collector for recording shall set forth therein and as part of such
document the true, full and complete value thereof or shall be accompanied
by a statement of value executed by a responsible person connected
with the transaction showing such connection and setting forth the
true, full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such
document is not subject to tax under this Article. The provisions
of this section shall not apply to any excludable real estate transfers
which are exempt from taxation based on family relationship, provided
that the relationship is specified in the deed, instrument or writing.
Documents which are not to be recorded shall be presented to the Collector
and shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the document and a
statement of value executed by a responsible person connected with
the transaction showing such connection and setting forth the true,
full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such document
is not subject to tax under this Article. Evidence of payment shall
be affixed to the original document and the certified copy. The certified
copy and statement of value shall be filed with the Collector.
The tax imposed by this Article, together with
all penalties, shall be a lien against the real estate to which the
document relates and, in the case of an acquired company, the real
estate owned by the acquired company. The lien shall date from the
time when the tax is due and payable and shall continue until discharged
by payment in full of the tax, together with all penalties. In order
to enforce the lien, the municipality may proceed under the Municipal
Claims and Tax Liens Act of 1923 or in any other appropriate manner.
The tax imposed under this Article shall be
fully paid and have priority out of the proceeds of any judicial sale
of real estate before any other obligation, claim, lien, judgment,
estate or costs of the sale and of the writ upon which the sale is
made, and the Sheriff or other officer conducting said sale shall
pay the tax herein imposed out of the first moneys paid to him or
her in connection therewith. If the proceeds of the sale are insufficient
to pay the entire tax herein imposed, the purchaser shall be liable
for the remaining tax.