[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 1; as amended by Ord. 1990,
1/10/2005, § 2a; and by Ord. 2046, 12/10/2007]
This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Local Services
Tax Ordinance" and is enacted under the authority of Act 511 of 1965,
as amended, known as the "Local Tax Enabling Act."
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 2; as amended by Ord. 1990,
1/10/2005, § 2b; by Ord. 2013, 12/29/2005, § 1a;
and by Ord. 2046, 12/10/2007]
The following words and phrases, when used in this Part, shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this § 402, unless
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
The area within the corporate limits of the Borough of Pottstown.
Twelve-month period beginning January 1 and ending December
31.
The person appointed by the Borough of Pottstown to collect
the local services tax herein levied.
"Compensation," as determined under Section 303 of the Act
of March 4, 1971 (P.L. 6, No. 2), known as the "Tax Reform Code of
1971," and regulations in 561 Pa. Code, Part I, Subpart B, Article
V (relating to personal income tax), not including, however, wages
or compensation paid to individuals on active military service. Employee
business expenses are allowable deductions as determined under Article
III of the Tax Reform Code of 1971. The amount of any housing allowance
provided to a member of the clergy shall not be taxable as earned
income.
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.
An exemption certificate, substantially in the form of the
uniform certificate prescribed by the Pennsylvania Department of Community
and Economic Development, affirming that the person reasonably expects
to receive earned income and/or net profits from all sources within
the municipality of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which
the exemption certificate is filed, which exemption certificate has
attached to it a coy of all the employee's last pay stubs for W-2
forms from employment within the municipality for the year prior to
the calendar year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted
from the tax. In addition to the income exemptions, provision has
been made for certain military exemptions.
The singular and plural number as well as male, female, and
neuter gender.
Any person, male or female, engaged in any occupation, trade,
or profession within the corporate limits of the Borough of Pottstown.
Emergency services; road construction and/or maintenance;
reduction of property taxes; and property tax relief through implementation
of a homestead and farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A.,
Subchapter F.
The Borough Manager of the Borough of Pottstown.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession,
or other activity, except corporations, determined under Section 303
of the Act of March 4, 1971 (P.L. 6, No. 2), known as the "Tax Reform
Code of 1971," and regulations in 61 Pa. Code, Part I, Subpart B,
Article V (relating to personal income tax). The term does not include
income which is not paid for services provided and which is in the
nature of earnings from an investment. For taxpayers engaged in the
business, profession or activity of farming, the term shall not include:
Any interest earnings generated from any monetary accounts or
investment instruments of the farming business.
Any gain on the sale of farm machinery.
Any gain on the sale of livestock held 12 months or more for
draft, breeding or dairy purposes.
Any gain on the sale of other capital assets of the farm.
A person, partnership, association or other entity domiciled
outside the municipality.
Any trade, profession, business, or undertaking of any type,
kind, or character, including services, domestic or otherwise, carried
on or performed within the corporate limits of the Borough of Pottstown,
for which compensation is charged or received, whether by means of
salary, wages, commissions, or fees for services rendered.
The calendar year before the current year.
The exercising or carrying on, by any means or manner, of
any occupation whatsoever, as herein defined.
A local services tax in the amount of $52 per year levied
on the engagement of any occupation, as heretofore defined, within
the corporate limits of the Borough of Pottstown.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by this Part.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 3; as amended by Ord. 2046,
12/10/2007]
The Borough of Pottstown hereby levies and imposes on every
individual engaging in an occupation within the jurisdictional limits
of the Borough of Pottstown a local services tax, beginning the first
day of January 2008 and continuing on a calendar basis annually thereafter
until modified or repealed by a subsequent ordinance.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 4; as amended by Ord. 1990,
1/10/2005, § 2c; by Ord. 2013, 12/29/2005, § 1b;
and by Ord. 2046, 12/10/2007]
1.
Beginning on the first day of January 2008, each engagement in an
occupation subject to this tax, as set forth in § 402 hereof,
shall be subject to the payment of a local services tax of $52, to
be paid by each individual exercising the privilege in engaging in
such occupation, as hereinbefore defined, within the corporate limits
of the Borough of Pottstown. The Pottstown Borough Finance Office
is empowered to prescribe rules and regulations reasonably necessary
to carry out the provisions of this section and to determine income
levels of individuals subject to this tax.
2.
This tax shall not be imposed on the following persons:
A.
Any person who 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 or quadruple amputee
or has a service-connected disability declared by the United States
Veterans' Administration, or its successor, to be a total 100% or
permanent disability.
B.
Any person who serves as a member of a reserve component of the Armed
Forces of the United States and is called to active duty at any time
during the calendar year. For purposes of this subsection, "reserve
component of the Armed Forces" shall mean the United States Army Reserve,
United States Naval Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve, United
States Coast Guard Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, the Pennsylvania
Army National Guard, or the Pennsylvania International Guard.
C.
Any person whose total earned income and/or net profits from all
sources within the Borough of Pottstown is less than $12,000 for the
calendar year in which the local services tax is levied and who files
an exemption certificate with the collector in the manner set forth
in § 418.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 5; as amended by Ord. 2046,
12/10/2007]
1.
Said tax shall be paid to the collector and shall be due and payable
in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Taxes Due and Withheld
|
Reports Due and Payable
| |
|---|---|---|
|
January 1 – March 31
|
April 30
| |
|
April 1 – June 30
|
July 31
| |
|
July 1 – September 30
|
October 31
| |
|
October 1 – December 31
|
January 31
|
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 6; as amended by Ord. 1990,
1/10/2005, § 2d; by Ord. 2013, 12/29/2005, § 1c;
by Ord. 2027, 8/14/2006; and by Ord. 2046, 12/10/2007]
Each employer within the Borough of Pottstown is hereby charged
with the duty of collecting and paying over to the collector, from
each employee engaged in his services, the local services tax of $52
per year upon each individual employed by said employer who performs
services on behalf of said employer within the geographical limits
of the Borough of Pottstown or who is engaged in an occupation, as
defined in § 402 of this Part, for the benefit of said employer
or in the service of said employer within the geographical limits
of the Borough of Pottstown. As to each employee employed for any
length of time during any payroll period of an employer during the
calendar year, each employer shall deduct a pro-rata share of the
tax from the earned income payable to the employee with respect to
such payroll period. The pro-rata share of the tax assessed on an
employee for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the
rate of the tax $52 levied for the calendar year by the number of
payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year.
Each employer shall make a return in payment of said tax and is authorized
to deduct the said local services tax at rates hereby imposed from
each employee in his service, whether said employee is paid by salary,
wages, or commission. Each employer within the Borough of Pottstown
shall prepare and file a return showing a computation of the tax on
a form to be obtained from the tax collector. Each employer, in filing
his return and, making payment by deduction from the salary, wages,
commissions, or other compensation payable by him to his employees,
shall be entitled to retain a commission, calculated at 2%, on the
gross tax due and payable, by each individual, provided that such
taxes are collected and paid over by the employer on or before the
due dates as listed in § 405 of this Part. It is further
provided that if the employer fails to file said return and pay said
tax but makes collection thereof from the salary, wages, or commissions
paid by him to said employee, the employer shall be responsible for
the payment of tax in full without any deductions or commissions as
though the tax had originally been levied against him.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 7; as amended by Ord. 2046,
12/10/2007]
Each individual who shall have more than one occupation within
the Borough of Pottstown shall be subject to the payment of the annual
local services tax solely upon the privilege of engaging in his principal
occupation, and his principal occupation employer shall deliver to
him a certificate of payment, in a form to be furnished to the employer
by the collector, certifying to any other employer of such individual
that said local services tax has been paid by the employee to the
employer and, in turn, remitted by said employer to the collector.
Any employer receiving said certificate of payment of the tax by another
employer by deduction from the said individual shall not deduct or
collect the local services tax imposed by this Part.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 8; as amended by Ord. 2046,
12/10/2007]
Each employer in the Borough of Pottstown shall use his employment
records as of January 1, 2008, and January 1 of each calendar year
thereafter, in determining the number of employees from whom the said
local services tax shall be deducted and paid over the tax collector.
Each employer who engages the services of an individual in an occupation
to be performed in the Borough of Pottstown on or after January 1,
2008, and January 1 of each calendar year thereafter, shall require
said employee to furnish to him a certificate of payment from the
tax collector showing that the local services tax has theretofore
been paid. In the event that such employee has not previously paid
his local services tax, the employer shall deduct same within 30 days
after the employee is hired and remit it to the tax collector on or
before the due dates listed in § 405, Subsection 1.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 9; as amended by Ord. 2013,
12/29/2005, § 1c; and by Ord. 2046, 12/10/2007]
Each self-employed individual in the Borough of Pottstown who
performs any services of any kind or any type within the corporate
limits of the Borough of Pottstown, whether the same be regarded either
as a professional or as a business, shall be required to pay a local
services tax of $52 for himself and shall be further required to deduct
and pay over, in the manner hereinbefore set forth in § 406,
an annual local services tax of $52 for every individual in his employ
who is engaged in the performance of any occupation or profession
for him within the Borough of Pottstown. Any individual engaged in
any occupation within the Borough of Pottstown who is the employee
of another and who is subject to this tax, as hereinbefore defined,
shall be liable for the payment of the local services tax of $52 for
himself and shall be treated and regarded as a self-employed individual
if the location of the business of his employer is beyond the corporate
limits of the Borough of Pottstown. Each employer whose business is
located beyond the corporate limits of the Borough of Pottstown shall
be required to furnish to the collector a list of all individuals
employed by him who exercise the privilege of engaging in any occupation
of any type or character within the corporate limits of the Borough
of Pottstown during the fiscal year.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 10; as amended by Ord.
2046, 12/10/2007]
Where a person is engaged in domestic services for others and
has more than one employee in the performance of such services, the
employer by whom such domestic is employed on January 1, 2008, and
January 1 of each calendar year thereafter, shall be responsible for
the collection and payment of the annual local services tax for such
domestics to the collector; and in the event the domestic is not employed
by any person on January 1, 2008, and January 1 of each calendar year
thereafter, the said responsibility for deducting and payment over
to the Borough of Pottstown of the local services tax shall rest upon
the employer of the domestic on the next succeeding date following
January 1, 2008, and January 1 of each calendar year thereafter, and
said employer shall furnish to said domestic employee a certificate
of payment of said local services tax to be exhibited to all other
employers of said domestic; and producing of said certificate to such
other employers shall excuse them from the deduction of any further
local services tax from said domestic employee for the year.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 11; as amended by Ord.
2046, 12/10/2007]
The tax imposed by this Part shall be in addition to all other
taxes of any kind or nature heretofore or hereafter levied by the
Borough of Pottstown.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 12; as amended by Ord.
2046, 12/10/2007]
1.
It shall be the duty of the collector to collect and receive the
taxes, fines, or penalties imposed by this Part. It shall also be
his duty to keep a record showing the amount received by him from
each self-employed person paying the tax and the date of such receipt;
it further shall be his duty to keep a record showing the amount received
by him from any employer paying the tax on behalf of his employees
by the deduction made by such employer from the salaries, wages, commissions,
or other forms of compensation.
2.
The collector is hereby charged with the administration and enforcement
of the provisions of this Part and, together with the Manager, is
hereby empowered to prescribe, adopt, promulgate and enforce rules
and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration
and enforcement of this Part, including a provision for the examination
of the payroll records of any employer within the Borough of Pottstown;
and further for the reexamination and correction of any returns made
in compliance with this Part 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 collector shall have the
right to appeal as in other cases provided.
3.
The 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 any employer on behalf of his employees or, if no return was
made, to ascertain the local services tax due. Each employer in the
Borough of Pottstown is hereby directed and required to give to the
collector the means, facilities, and opportunities for such examinations
and investigations as are hereby authorized.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 3; as amended by Ord. 2046,
12/10/2007]
1.
In the event any person subject to the payment of this tax is employed
in more than one political subdivision during the year which levies
a local services tax, the priority of claim to collect such local
services tax shall, in accordance with Act 511, be in the following
order:
A.
The political subdivision in which the person maintains his principal
office or is principally employed.
B.
The political subdivision in which the person resides and works,
if such tax is levied by that political subdivision.
C.
The political subdivision in which a person is employed and which
imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's home.
2.
The place of employment shall be determined as of the date the taxpayer
first becomes subject to the tax during the calendar year.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 14; as amended by Ord.
2046, 12/10/2007]
1.
In the event that any tax under this Part remains due and unpaid for 60 days after the due dates set forth in § 405, Subsection 1, the collector may sue for the recovery of any such tax due and unpaid under this Part, together with interest and penalty.
2.
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 30 days after the due dates above set forth, together with the penalty set forth in § 405, Subsection 2. Where suit is brought for the recovery of any local services tax, the individual liable therefor shall, in addition, be responsible and liable for the cost of collection and the interest and penalties therein imposed.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 15; as amended by Ord.
1735, 4/12/1993; and by Ord. 2046, 12/10/2007]
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement on any return required
by this Part or who refuses inspection of his books, records or accounts
in his custody or control in order to determine the number of employees
subject to the local services tax who are in his employment or whoever
fails and refuses to file any return required by this Part shall,
upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600
for each offense and, in default of payment of said fine, to be imprisoned
for a period not exceeding 30 days, for each offense.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 16; as amended by Ord.
2046, 12/10/2007]
The tax collector shall have power, in case of the neglect or
refusal of any person, copartnership, association, or corporation
to make payment of the amount of the tax due by him, after 60 days
from the date of the tax notice, to levy the amount of said tax, any
penalty due thereon and costs, not exceeding costs and charges allowed
constables for similar services, by distress and sale of the goods
and chattels of such delinquent, wherever situate or found, upon giving
at least 10 days' public notice of such sale by posting 10 written
or printed notices and by one advertisement in a newspaper of general
circulation published in the county. The tax collector shall have
all powers regarding the collection of delinquent local services taxes
as are set forth in the Local Tax Enabling Act.
[Ord. 1229, 2/9/1970, § 18; as amended by Ord.
2046, 12/10/2007]
1.
Nothing contained in this Part shall be construed to empower the
Borough of Pottstown to levy and collect the tax hereby imposed on
any occupation not within the taxing power of the Borough of Pottstown
under the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
2.
If the tax hereby imposed under the provisions of this Part shall
be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be in violation
of the Constitution of the United States or 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.
1.
In order to receive an up-front exemption from the local services
tax, an employee must file an annual up-front exemption form with
the Borough of Pottstown and the employee's employer. The exemption
certificate must verify that the employee reasonably expects to receive
earned income and net profits of less than $12,000 from all sources
within the Borough of Pottstown for the calendar year for which the
exemption certificate is filed. A copy of the employee's last pay
stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Borough of Pottstown
for the year prior to the calendar year for Which the employee is
requesting an exemption must be attached to the exemption certificate.
Employers must make up-front exemption forms readily available to
all employees at all times and provide new employees with the forms
at the time of hiring.
A.
Upon receipt of an up-front exemption form and until otherwise instructed
by the Borough of Pottstown employers must stop withholding the local
services tax for the specific calendar year from employees for whom
the exemption applies.
B.
Employers must restart withholding the local services tax from an
employee who files an exemption certificate in the following circumstances:
2.
Except for monitoring when an employee who has filed an exemption
certificate earns more than $12,000, nothing in this section shall
require employers to investigate exemptions, monitor tax exemption
eligibility, or exempt an employee from the local services tax.
