[Adopted 12-11-2007 by Ord. No. 487]
The following words and phrases, when used in
this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section
except where the context or language clearly indicates or requires
a different meaning:
A tax per year levied on each engagement in any occupation,
as herein defined, within the corporate limits of the Borough of Danville
during the fiscal year 2008 and in each and every year thereafter.
[Amended 11-8-2011 by Ord. No. 507]
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, governmental
body, agency or other entity employing one or more persons on a salary,
wage, commission or other compensation basis, including a self-employed
person.
Earned income and net profits from sources within the Borough
of Danville.
Any person, male or female, engaged in any occupation, trade
or profession within the corporate limits of the Borough of Danville
who attains or is over the age of 18 years on the first day of January,
2008, and on the first day of January in each and every year thereafter.
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 the Borough of Danville
for which compensation is charged or received whether by means of
salary, wages, commissions, net profits, retained earnings or fees
for services rendered.
The person designated by the Borough of Danville for the
collection of the local services tax.
[Amended 11-8-2011 by Ord. No. 507]
The Borough of Danville hereby levies and imposes,
on each individual engaged in an occupation during the fiscal year
of 2008 and during each and every year thereafter within the corporate
limits of the Borough of Danville, a Local Services Tax. Each individual
engaged in an occupation, as hereinbefore defined within the Borough
of Danville, shall be required to pay a Local Services Tax in the
amount of $52 per annum. The revenue derived from this tax shall be
used for police, fire or road maintenance purposes. This tax is in
addition to all other taxes of any kind or nature heretofore levied
by the Borough of Danville.
A.
Exemptions. Individuals earning less than $12,000
per annum shall be exempt from this tax. 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
double or quadruple amputee or has a service-connected disability
declared by the United States Veterans' Administration or its successor
to be a total 100% 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, "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.
B.
Procedure to claim exemption.
(1)
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax may annually file an exemption certificate with the political subdivision and with the person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the political subdivision of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all the employee's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the political subdivision 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 political subdivision or except as required by Subsection B(2), 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 forms are readily available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee with a form at the time of hiring. The exemption certificate form shall be the uniform form provided by the political subdivision.
(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 political subdivision that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the political subdivision 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 and employer's payment to the person of earned income within the municipality in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, an employer shall withhold the local services tax from the person under Subsection B(3).
(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), 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), 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 the 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 subsection is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the political subdivision may pursue collection under this article.
(4)
Except as provided in Subsection Blause (2), it is
the intent of this subsection that employers shall not be responsible
for investigating exemption certificates, monitoring tax exemption
eligibility or exempting any employee from the local services tax.
C.
Refunds. The Tax Receiver, in consultation with 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 provision of the general municipal law relating
to refunds of overpayments and interest on overpayments. Any refunds
made shall not be subject to interest. No refunds shall be made for
amounts overpaid in a calendar year that do not exceed $1. The Tax
Receiver shall determine eligibility for exemption and provide refund
to exempt persons.
Each employer within the Borough of Danville,
as well as those employers situated outside the Borough of Danville
but who engage in business within the Borough of Danville, is hereby
charged with the duty of collecting from each of his employees engaged
by him and performing for him within the Borough of Danville the annual
local services tax and making a return and payment thereof to the
Tax Receiver. Said tax should be withheld from each employee pro rated
as total tax divided by number of payroll periods established by the
employer for the calendar year. Further, each employer is hereby authorized
to deduct this tax from each employee in his employ, whether said
employee is paid by salary, wages or commission and whether or not
part of or all of such services are performed within the Borough of
Danville.
Each employer shall prepare and file a return
showing a computation of the tax on forms to be supplied to him/her
by the Borough of Danville. It is further provided that if the employer
fails to file said return and pay said tax, whether or not he makes
collection thereof from the salary, wages or commissions paid by him
to said employee, the employer shall be responsible for the payment
of the tax in full as though the tax had originally been levied against
him/her.
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 Tax Receiver
on or before the 30th day following the end of each calendar quarter
of each such calendar tax year.
A.
Each individual who shall have more than one occupation
within the Borough of Danville shall be subject to the payment of
this tax on his principal occupation, and his principal employer shall
deduct this tax and deliver to him evidence of deductions on a form
to be furnished to the employer by the Tax Receiver, which form shall
be evidence of deductions having been made, and when presented to
any other employer shall be authority for such employer to not deduct
this tax from the employee's wages, but to include such employee on
his return by setting forth his name, address and the name and account
number of the employer who deducted this tax.
B.
The situs of such tax shall be the place of employment,
but, in the event a person is engaged in more than one occupation,
or an occupation which requires his working in more than one political
subdivision during the calendar year, the priority of claim to collect
such local services tax shall be in the following order:
(1)
First. The political subdivision in which a person
maintains his principal office or is principally employed;
(2)
Second. The political subdivision in which the person
resides and works, if such tax is levied by that political subdivision;
(3)
Third. The political subdivision in which the person
is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's
home.
All self-employed individuals who perform services of any type or kind or engage in any occupation or profession within the Borough of Danville shall be required to comply with this article and pay the tax to the Tax Receiver on or before April 30, 2008, or thereafter in accordance with the payment schedule specified in § 225-55 above in the event that said individual becomes subject to this article after March 31, 2008.
All employers and self-employed individuals
residing or having their places of business outside of the Borough
of Danville, but who perform services of any type or kind or engage
in any occupation or profession within the Borough of Danville, 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 the
Borough of Danville. Further, any individual engaged in an occupation
within the Borough of Danville and an employee of a nonresident employer
may, for the purpose of this article, be considered a self-employed
person, and in the event this tax is not paid, the Borough shall have
the option of proceeding against either the employer or employee for
the collection of this tax, as hereinafter provided.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Tax Receiver 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 Tax Receiver is hereby charged with the administration
and enforcement of this article and is hereby charged and empowered
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 of the payroll
records of any employer subject to this article, 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 Tax Receiver shall have the right to appeal to the
Court of Common Pleas of Montour County, as in other cases provided.
C.
The Tax Receiver 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 Tax Receiver 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 date above set forth, the Tax
Receiver 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 said tax shall be calculated beginning
with the due date of said tax and, a penalty of 5% shall be added
to the flat rate of said tax for nonpayment thereof. Where suit is
brought for the recovery of this tax, 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 who refuses inspection
of his books, records or accounts in his custody and control setting
forth the number of employees subject to this tax who are in his employment,
or whoever fails or refuses to file any return and pay the tax as
required by this article, shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $300 for each offense and in default
of payment of said fine be imprisoned in Montour County Prison for
a period not exceeding 30 days for each offense. It is further provided
that the action to enforce the fine and penalty herein provided may
be instituted against any person in charge of the business of any
employer who has failed or refuses to file a return required by this
article.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower the Borough of Danville to levy and collect the tax hereby
imposed on any occupation not within the taxing power of the Borough
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.
