[Adopted 12-21-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-05[1]]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also superseded former
Art. I, Earned Income and Net Profits Tax, adopted 5-20-1998 by Ord.
No. 98-15.
For purposes of this article, all terms defined in the Local
Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6924.101, et seq., shall have
the meanings set forth therein. In addition, the following terms shall
have the meanings set forth herein, unless the context shall clearly
indicate otherwise:
January 1, 2012.
The Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6924.101
et seq., and as amended in the future, including any regulations adopted
by the Department of Community and Economic Development thereunder.
The taxes on earned income and net profits imposed by this
article.
The person or entity appointed as tax officer pursuant to
the Local Tax Enabling Act to collect the tax in the TCD.
A person or business required under this article or the Local
Tax Enabling Act to file a tax return or to pay the tax imposed pursuant
to this article.
A form or forms prescribed by the Department of Community
and Economic Development, or by the Tax Officer with the approval
of the TCC, for reporting the amount of tax or other amount owed or
required to be withheld, remitted or reported under this article or
the Local Tax Enabling Act.
The period from January 1 to December 31 in a single calendar
year.
The tax collection committee established to govern and oversee
the collection of income tax within the TCD under the Local Tax Enabling
Act.
The Northampton Tax Collection District, or any future tax
collection district, to which the Township or any part of the Township
is assigned under the Local Tax Enabling Act.
A.
General purpose resident tax. The Township hereby imposes a tax for
general revenue purposes at the rate of 1% on earned income and net
profits of residents of the Township.
B.
General purpose municipal nonresident tax. The Township also imposes
a tax for general revenue purposes at the rate of 1% on earned income
and net profits derived by a nonresident from any work, business,
profession or activity of any kind engaged in within the boundaries
of Township.
C.
The imposition of this tax expired on December 31, 2021; however,
revenue from the tax remains in the Open Space Fund and is subject
to the provisions of this section. The revenue collected as a result
of this additional tax shall be used to retire indebtedness of the
Township incurred in purchasing interests in real property or in making
additional acquisitions of real property for the purpose of securing
open space and benefits under the provisions of the Open Space Lands
Act, 32 P.S. § 5001 et seq., as amended. The revenue collected
as a result of this additional tax may also be used for any and all
related and/or incidental costs incurred in retiring indebtedness
of the Township, incurred in purchasing interests in real property
or making additional acquisitions of real property for the purpose
of securing an open space benefit or benefits under the provisions
of the Open Space Lands Act, including but not limited to any and
all costs associated with preparation of a comprehensive open space
plan, attorneys' fees, closing costs, surveying expenses, engineering
fees, financing costs, environmental cleanup costs, insurance premiums
and fees of other consultants and professionals. Revenue from the
additional tax shall be used in accordance with the Open Space Lands
Act for any of the purposes authorized and stated therein, including
but not limited to financing the acquisition, preservation and conservation
of open space, acquiring agricultural conservation and forest easements,
protecting and preserving recreation or historic lands, protecting
and conserving natural and scenic resources, and developing and maintaining
land acquired pursuant to the Open Space Lands Act, as amended.
[Amended 2-15-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-01; 12-1-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-05]
D.
Ongoing tax. The tax shall continue at the above rates during the
current tax year and each tax year thereafter, without annual reenactment,
until this article is repealed or the rate is changed.
E.
Local Tax Enabling Act applicable. The tax is imposed under authority
of the Local Tax Enabling Act, and all provisions thereof that relate
to a tax on earned income or net profits are incorporated into this
article. Any future amendments to the Local Tax Enabling Act that
are required to be applied to the tax will automatically become part
of this article upon the effective date of such amendment, without
the need for formal amendment of this article, to the maximum extent
allowed by 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1937.
F.
Applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures. The Tax shall
be collected and administered in accordance with all applicable laws
and regulations and rules, regulations, policies and procedures adopted
by the TCC or by the tax officer in conformity with the Local Tax
Enabling Act. This includes any regulations, policies and procedures
adopted in the future to the maximum extent allowed by 1 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 1937.
Although credits and deductions against the tax are permitted
under certain circumstances, as provided in applicable law and regulations,
no individuals are exempt from the tax based on age, income or other
factors, with the exception that all persons whose total income from
all sources is less than $5,000 in any given tax year shall be exempt
from the tax imposed by this article.
Every taxpayer receiving earned income or earning net profits
in any tax year shall make and file tax returns and declarations and
pay the tax in accordance with the Local Tax Enabling Act and the
rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the TCC and tax officer.
A taxpayer is required to file timely an annual tax return even if
no tax payment is due and owing. In addition, even though a resident
of the Township did not have earned income or net profits in the prior
tax year, the resident must file an annual tax return, when requested
to do so by the tax officer, stating the reason why there was no income
or net profits to report.
Every employer shall register, require employee residency certificates,
withhold and remit the tax, and file tax returns and withholding statements
in accordance with the Local Tax Enabling Act and the rules, regulations,
policies and procedures of the TCC and tax officer.
A.
Collection of tax. The tax will be collected from taxpayers and employers
by the tax officer. The tax officer is authorized to file an action
in the name of the Township for the recovery of the tax due to the
Township and unpaid. Nothing in this section shall affect the authority
of the Township to file an action in its own name for collection of
the tax under the Local Tax Enabling Act.
B.
Criminal complaints for violations. The tax officer is authorized
to file criminal complaints on behalf of the Township for violation
of this article or the Local Tax Enabling Act. Nothing in this section
shall affect the authority of the Township to file a criminal complaint
on its own behalf for violation of this article or the Local Tax Enabling
Act.
In the event of violation of this article or the Local Tax Enabling
Act, or nonpayment of the tax, taxpayers and employers are subject
to interest, penalties, costs and fines in accordance with the Local
Tax Enabling Act, including costs of collection imposed by the tax
officer in accordance with authorization by the TCC. The tax officer
may retain reasonable costs of collection in accordance with the Local
Tax Enabling Act and as approved by the TCC.
The provisions of this article are severable, and if any of
its provisions are ruled by a court invalid or unconstitutional, such
decision shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions
of this article. It is declared to be the intention of the governing
body of the Township that this article would have been adopted if
such invalid or unconstitutional provision had not been included.
The primary purpose of this article is to conform the Township's
currently existing earned income and net profits tax to the Local
Tax Enabling Act, as amended and restated by Act 32 of 2008, and to
do so within the time frame required by Act 32. Any prior ordinance
or part of any prior ordinance conflicting with the provisions of
this article is rescinded insofar as the conflict exists. To the extent
the provisions of this article are the same as any ordinance in force
immediately prior to adoption of this article, the provisions of this
article are intended as a continuation of such prior ordinance and
not as a new ordinance. If this article is declared invalid, any prior
ordinance levying a similar tax shall remain in full force and effect
and shall not be affected in any manner by adoption of this article.
The provisions of this article shall not affect any act done or liability
incurred, nor shall such provisions affect any suit or prosecution
pending or to be initiated to enforce any right or penalty or to punish
any offense under the authority of any ordinance in force prior to
adoption of this article. Subject to the foregoing provisions of this
section, this article shall supersede and repeal on the effective
date any ordinance levying a tax on earned income or net profits in
force immediately prior to the effective date. The tax imposed by
this article shall not apply to any person to whom it is beyond the
legal power of the Township to impose the tax herein provided under
the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This article is intended to be consistent with the Local Tax
Enabling Act. This article is intended to include all necessary authorizations
to permit the tax officer to take all actions for the collection,
administration, disbursement and enforcement of the tax and all other
actions on behalf of the political subdivisions of the TCD as authorized
by the Local Tax Enabling Act, subject to the policies and procedures
of the TCC. To give full force and effect to this article, the authority
of the tax officer shall be interpreted in the broadest permissible
sense for the benefit of the tax officer's ability to perform its
duties.
The provisions of this article shall become effective on January
1, 2012, and shall apply to earned income received or earned and net
profits earned or made by a taxpayer during calendar year 2012 and
each year thereafter without annual reenactment unless the rate of
tax is subsequently changed. Changes in the rate of tax shall become
effective on the date specified in the ordinance imposing such change.
