[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 1]
This Part shall be known and be cited as the "Local Services
Tax Ordinance."
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 2]
The following words and phrases, when used in this Part, shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except where the
context or language clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
The person, public employee or private agency designated
by the Township to collect and administer the tax herein imposed.
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Compensation as this term is defined in Section 13 (relating
to earned income taxes) of the Local Tax Enabling Act, the Act of
Dec. 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, § 13, as amended (53 P.S. § 6913,
as amended).
An individual, partnership, association, institution, trust,
limited liability corporation, limited liability partnership, corporation,
governmental body, agency or other entity employing one or more persons
in any occupation other than domestic servants, on a salary, wage,
commission or other compensation basis, including a self-employed
person.
Indicates the singular and plural number, as well as male,
female and neuter genders.
Any person, male or female, engaged in any occupation, trade
or profession within the corporate limits of the political subdivision.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession
or other activity, as this term is defined in Section 13 (relating
to earned income taxes) of the Local Tax Enabling Act, the Act of
Dec. 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, § 13, as amended (53 P.S. § 6913,
as amended).
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type,
kind or character, including services, domestic or other, earned on
or performed within the corporate limits of the political subdivision
for which compensation is charged or received, whether by means of
salary, wages, commission or fees for services rendered.
The local services tax at the rate fixed in this Part.
The period from January 1 until December 31 in any year;
meaning a calendar year.
The Township of Harrison.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 3]
For specific revenue purposes, an annual tax is hereby levied
and assessed, commencing January 1, 2008, upon the privilege of engaging
in an occupation with a primary place of employment within the Township
during the tax year. Each natural person who exercises such privilege
for any length of time during any tax year shall pay the tax for that
year in the amount of $52, assessed on a pro rata basis, in accordance
with the provisions of this Part. This tax may be used solely for
the following purposes, as the same may be allocated by the Township
from time to time for: (1) emergency services, which shall include
emergency medical services, police services and/or fire services:
(2) road construction and/or maintenance; (3) reduction of property
taxes; or (4) property tax relief through implementation of a homestead
and farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 85,
Subchapter F (relating to homestead property exclusion). The Township
shall use no less than 25% of the funds derived from the tax for emergency
services. This tax is in addition to all other taxes of any kind or
nature heretofore levied by the Township. The tax shall be no more
than $52 on each person for each calendar year, irrespective of the
number of political subdivisions within which a person maybe employed.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 4]
1.
Exemption. Any person whose total earned income and net profits from
all sources within the Township is less than $12,000 for any calendar
year in which the tax is levied is exempt from the payment of the
tax for that calendar year. In addition, the following persons are
exempt from payment of the tax:
A.
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 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% disability.
B.
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.
2.
Procedure to Claim Exemption.
A.
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax may annually file an exemption certificate with the Township and with the person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. A copy of the exemption certificate shall be provided to the Township Secretary or other designated collector. 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 Township 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 Township or except as required by Subsection 2B, 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 certificate 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 Township.
B.
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 Township that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township 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 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 2C below.
C.
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 2B above, 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 2B, 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 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 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 Part.
3.
Refunds. The Township, in consultation with the Collector and 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 provisions of the general municipal law relating
to refunds of overpayments and interest on overpayments. Refunds made
within 75 days of a refund request or 75 days after the last day the
employer is required to remit the tax for the last quarter of the
calendar year, whichever is later, shall not be subject to interest.
No refunds shall be made for amounts overpaid in a calendar year that
do not exceed $1. The Township Secretary or other designated collector
shall determine eligibility for exemption and provide refunds to exempt
persons.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 4]
1.
Each employer within the Township, as well as those employers situated
outside the Township but who engage in business within the Township,
is hereby charged with the duty of collecting the tax from each of
his employees engaged by him or performing for him within the Township
and making a return and payment thereof to the Township Secretary
or other designated collector. Further, each employer is hereby authorized
to deduct this tax for each employee in his or her employ, whether
said employee is paid by salary, wage or commission and whether or
not all such services are performed within the Township.
2.
A person subject to the tax shall be assessed by the employer a pro rata share of the tax for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the person for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the rate of the tax levied for the calendar year by the number of payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year. For purposes of determining the pro rata share, an employer shall round down the amount of the tax collected each payroll period to the nearest 1/100 of a dollar. Collection of the tax shall be made on a payroll period basis for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation, except as provided in Subsection 4 of this Section. For purposes of this Subsection, "combined rate" shall mean the aggregate annual rate of the tax levied by the school district and the municipality.
3.
No person shall be subject to the payment of the local services tax
by more than one political subdivision during each payroll period.
4.
In the case of concurrent employment, an employer shall refrain from
withholding the tax if the employee provides a recent pay statement
from a principal employer that includes the name of the employer,
the length of the payroll period and the amount of the tax withheld
and a statement from the employee that the pay statement is from the
employee's principal employer and the employee will notify other
employers of a change in principal place of employment within two
weeks of its occurrence. The employee's statement shall be provided
on the form approved by DCED.
5.
The tax shall be no more than $52 on each person for each calendar
year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions within
which a person maybe employed. The Township shall provide a taxpayer
a receipt of payment upon request by the taxpayer.
6.
No employer shall be held liable for failure to withhold the tax
or for the payment of the withheld tax money to the Township if the
failure to withhold taxes 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. Further, an employer shall not be liable for payment of
the local services tax in an amount exceeding the amount withheld
by the employer if the employer complies with the provisions of § 204.2
of this Part of and this Section and remits the amount so withheld
in accordance with this Ordinance.
7.
Employers shall be required to remit the local services taxes 30
days after the end of each quarter of a calendar year.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 5]
Each employer shall prepare and file a return showing a computation
of the tax on forms to be supplied to the employer by the Collector.
If an employer fails to file the return and pay the tax, whether or
not the employer makes collection thereof from the salary, wages or
commissions paid by him or her to an employee, except as provided
hereafter in this Part, the employer shall be responsible for the
payment of the tax in full as though the tax had been originally levied
against the employer.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 6]
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 Township Secretary or other designated
Collector on or before the 30th day following the end of each calendar
quarter of each such tax year.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 7]
Each self-employed individual who performs services of any type
or kind or engages in any occupation or profession within a primary
place of employment within the Township shall be required to comply
with this Part and pay the pro rata portion of the tax due to the
Township Secretary or other designated Collector on or before the
30th day following the end of each quarter.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 8]
1.
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.
In the event a person is engaged in more than one occupation, that
is, concurrent employment, or 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:
A.
First, the political subdivision in which a person maintains his
or her principal office or is principally employed.
B.
Second, the political subdivision in which the person resides and
works if the tax is levied by that political subdivision.
C.
Third, the political subdivision in which a person is employed and
which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's home.
2.
In case of dispute, a tax receipt of the taxing authority for that
calendar year declaring that the taxpayer has made prior payment constitutes
prima facie certification of payment to all other political subdivisions.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 9]
All employers and self-employed individuals residing or having
their places of business outside of the Township but who perform services
of any type or kind or engage in any occupation or profession within
the Township do, by virtue thereof, agree to be bound by and subject
themselves to the provisions, penalties and regulations promulgated
under this Part with the same force and effect as though they were
residents of the Township. Further, any individual engaged in an occupation
within the Township and an employee of a nonresidential employer may,
for the purpose of this Part, be considered a self-employed person,
and in the event his or her tax is not paid, the Township shall have
the option of proceeding against either the employer or employee for
the collection of this tax as hereinafter provided.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 10]
1.
The Township Secretary, or other designated Collector appointed by
resolution of the Township, shall collect this tax. It shall be the
duty of the Township Secretary or other designated Collector to accept
and receive payments of this tax and to keep a record thereof showing
the amount received by him from each employer of self-employed person,
together with the date the tax was received.
2.
The Township Secretary or other designated Collector is hereby charged with the administration and enforcement of this Part and is hereby charged and empowered, subject to municipal approval, to proscribe, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this Part, including provisions for the examination of payroll records of any employer subject to this Part, the examination and correction of any return 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 consistent with the Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights under Act 50 of 1998.
3.
The Township Secretary or other designated 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 an employer or, if no
return was made, to ascertain the tax due. Each employer is hereby
directed and required to give the Township Secretary or other designated
Collector the means, facilities and opportunity for such examination.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 11]
1.
In the event that any tax under this Part remains due or unpaid 30
days after the due dates above set forth, the Township Secretary or
other designated Collector may sue for the recovery of any such tax
due or 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 such tax shall be calculated beginning with
the due date of the tax, and a penalty of 5% shall be added to the
flat rate of such tax for nonpayment thereof. Where suit is brought
for the recovery of this tax or other appropriate remedy undertaken,
the individual liable therefor shall, in addition, be responsible
and liable for the costs of collection.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 12]
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement on any return required
by this Part, or whoever refuses inspection of the books, records
or accounts in his or her custody and control setting forth the number
of employees subject to this tax who are in his or her employment,
or whoever fails or refuses to file any return required by this Part
shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600 and costs of prosecution,
and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment
for not more than 30 days. The action to enforce the penalty herein
prescribed may be instituted against any person in charge of the business
of any employer who shall have failed or who refuses to file a return
required by this Part.
[Ord. 1933, 11/19/2007, § 13]
1.
Nothing contained in this Part shall be construed to empower the
Township to levy and collect the tax hereby imposed on any occupation
not within the taxing power of the Township under the Constitution
of the United States and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
2.
If any part of this Ordinance 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, such decision
shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of this Ordinance.
[Added by Ord. No. 2005, 1/28/2019]
1.
From and after the enactment of this section, to each delinquent
local services tax, levy or obligation owed to the Township of Harrison,
there shall be added such costs, attorney's fees, charges and
expenses incurred in the delinquent collection process (hereinafter
referred to as "costs of collection"). Such additional charges shall
be collected in addition to all interest and penalties as are allowed
by law.
2.
Such costs of collection shall be reasonable and the same are hereby
established as follows:
A.
Taxpayer notification and administration:
(1)
Taxpayer late filing or underpayment notice: $10.
(2)
Employer late filing notice or underpayment penalty notice for
quarterly or annual earned income tax or local services tax return:
10% of the tax, penalty and interest due; minimum charge, $50.
(3)
Delinquent account servicing fee, including records imaging
or other detailed recordkeeping, office staffing, computer equipment
and software, office space, telephone, printing and imaging equipment,
supplies and postage used to generate delinquent notices and to establish
monthly payment plans: 10% of tax, penalty and interest due; minimum
charge, $50.
(4)
Partial payment fee, where payment received does not pay account
in full: $3.
(5)
Fee for check returned from bank (NSF, acct. closed, etc.):
$29.
(6)
Notice of intent to file civil suit: $50.
C.
Litigation:
(1)
Prepare Magisterial District Court complaint: $75.
(2)
Prepare for Magisterial District Court hearing: $100.
(3)
Attend Magisterial District Court trial or hearing: $150.
(4)
Attend Constable execution sale: $350.
(5)
Prepare arbitration complaint/appeal: $150.
(6)
Attend arbitration trial: $350.
(7)
Enter default judgment: $150.
(8)
Issue Sheriff writ of execution: $250.
(9)
Attend Sheriff sale: $250.
(10)
Nonlitigation legal work: $70/hr.
(11)
Litigation legal work: $80/hr.
(12)
All other clerical work not itemized above: $50/hr.
D.
Such costs of collection are hereby deemed to be reasonable, fair
and necessary in order to allow the Township of Harrison to collect
such sum due.
3.
Any entity appointed to collect delinquent local services taxes on behalf of the Township of Harrison is directed to add such costs of collection as are incurred to the extent allowed as set forth in Subsection 2 above. Such entity shall be entitled to retain an amount equal to such sums from delinquent collections. Such sums collected pursuant to this Section shall be in addition to any tax penalty, interest or other costs already part of the delinquent account or assessment.
