[Adopted 1-18-2001 by Ord. No. 1103]
This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Recycling
Business Privilege Tax Ordinance."
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
The Borough of Northampton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
The Treasurer of the Borough.
As defined in Section 103 of the Municipal Waste Planning,
Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, 53 P.S. § 4000.103.
As defined in Section 103 of the Municipal Waste Planning,
Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, 53 P.S. § 4000.103.
An individual person, copartnership, association, unincorporated
enterprise, or corporation, domestic or foreign. Whenever used in
any provision imposing a penalty, the term "person" as applied to
corporations shall mean both the corporation and the officers thereof,
and as applied to partnerships or unincorporated associations shall
mean both the entity and the managing partners or members thereof
(or in the absence of such managing persons, all of the partners or
members thereof).
Any business engaged, in whole or in part, in the collection,
separation, recovery, reconstitution, processing, sale, and/or reuse
of metal(s) and/or glass materials which have already served their
original intended end use, which would otherwise have been disposed
of or processed as municipal waste had they not been separated or
diverted from solid waste, and which are ultimately intended (after
any reconstitution or processing which may be performed by the business
or by any other business, if necessary) to be sold to or reused by
a manufacturer as a substitute for or a supplement to virgin raw materials.
The term "recycling business" does not include any business operated
exclusively as a municipal waste landfill, resource recovery facility,
and/or a business which converts waste materials to usable energy.
As defined in Section 103 of the Municipal Waste Planning,
Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, 53 P.S. § 4000.103.
Every person who maintains a place of business in the Borough
in connection with a recycling business shall pay an annual business
privilege tax to the Borough in the amount of $20,000 for each calendar
year or part of a calendar year in which such a place of business
is maintained. The tax is imposed by the Borough for general revenue
purposes on the privilege of conducting a recycling business.
A.
Agencies of the government of the United States or the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, and any political subdivision or authority created
or organized under or pursuant to any Act of the Pennsylvania General
Assembly are exempt from the tax imposed by this article.
B.
A person shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this article if
the imposition of the tax on such person would not be within the taxing
power of the Borough under the Constitution and laws of the United
States or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The tax imposed by this article on any given person for any
given calendar year shall be paid to the Collector on or before the
30th calendar day after the first day of such calendar year in which
such person maintained a place of business in the Borough in connection
with a recycling business. However, for calendar year 2001, the tax
shall be paid on or before the later of:
A.
No person shall maintain a place of business in the Borough in connection
with a recycling business unless the person shall have a current,
unrevoked certificate of registration issued by the Collector or his
designee for that place of business.
B.
A person who desires a certificate of registration for a place of
business to be maintained in connection with a recycling business
shall complete and file an application with the Collector on a form
prescribed by the Collector. The application shall be signed and verified
by the Person (if a natural person), a general partner or member of
the person (if a partnership, limited liability company, or unincorporated
association), or an authorized officer of the person (if a corporation),
subject to the penalties for falsifications to authorities.
C.
Upon approval of an application, the Collector shall issue a certificate
of registration to the applying person for each approved place of
business. A certificate of registration may not be assigned to another
person. The certificate of registration must be conspicuously displayed
at all times at the place for which it is issued.
D.
The Collector may refuse to approve an application and to issue or
reissue a certificate of registration if the application is incomplete,
if any information provided in the application is incorrect, or if
the applicant is in violation of any of the provisions of this article.
The applicant may appeal the Collector's decision to the Borough
Council, which will conduct a Local Agency Law proceeding to decide
the matter.
E.
The Collector may suspend a certificate of registration whenever
the Collector finds that the person to whom the certificate is issued
has failed to comply with one or more of the requirements of this
article. Notice of the suspension shall be sent by regular mail and
by certified mail to the address provided on the application for registration
or any subsequent notice of change of address, and shall advise the
person so registered that the suspension will become a revocation
unless the person comes into full compliance or requests a hearing
before Borough Council within 10 calendar days after the date of the
notice. All requests for a hearing shall be in writing and filed with
the Borough Secretary. If the Person does not come into full compliance
with this article within 10 calendar days after the date of the notice,
and does not request a hearing before Borough Council, the person
shall be deemed to have waived a hearing, and the Collector shall
suspend the certificate of registration. If the person shall request
a hearing within 10 calendar days after the date of the notice, the
Borough Council shall conduct a Local Agency Law proceeding to determine
whether the suspension should be lifted or the certificate of registration
should be revoked.
F.
Each person to whom a certificate of registration has been issued
shall surrender all such certificates and duplicates thereof to the
Collector promptly whenever directed to do so by the Collector.
A.
If any person shall fail, neglect, or refuse to pay over to the Collector any tax under this article by its due date under § 220-29, an additional 10% of the amount of the tax shall be assessed against the person and collected by the Collector, together with interest at the rate of 1% per month or fraction thereof, from the date such taxes are due and payable to the Collector until paid.
B.
If any person shall file any intentionally false or misleading application
or statement with respect to the tax imposed under this article, a
civil penalty of $500, plus costs of collection, including reasonable
attorneys' fees, shall be assessed against the person and collected
by the Collector, in addition to any other penalties and interest
imposed hereunder.
C.
If any person shall maintain a place of business within the Borough in connection with a recycling business, for which there is no current certificate of registration required under § 220-30, a civil penalty shall be assessed against the person and collected by the Collector, in addition to any other penalties under this article, in an amount equal to:
(1)
Three hundred dollars for each calendar day in which such a place
of business is maintained within the Borough; plus
The Collector is hereby authorized to commence a civil action in the name of the Borough for the collection of any tax, interest, and penalties hereunder which is due and unpaid by any person, and to recover in such action, in addition to such tax, interest, and penalties, the costs of collection, including a reasonable attorney's fee. The Collector is also authorized to commence an action in equity in the name of the Borough to restrain any person from maintaining a place of business within the Borough in connection with a recycling business, for which there is no current registration under § 220-30.
All taxes, interest, and penalties collected or received under
the provisions of this article by the Collector shall be held for
the use and benefit of the Borough.
The Collector is hereby authorized and directed to make, prepare,
and keep such records and forms, promulgate such rules and regulations,
and take such other actions as may be necessary or convenient to carry
this article into effect.
The Secretary of the Borough shall file a certified copy of
this article with the Department of Community and Economic Development
within 15 days after it shall become effective, as required by 53
P.S. § 6907. The copy shall be sent to the Department of
Community and Economic Development by certified mail, return receipt
requested.
This article shall take effect on the 30th day after its enactment,
and shall continue in force without annual reenactment unless the
rate or amount of the tax is subsequently changed.
The tax levied under this article is enacted under the authority
of the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6924.101 et seq.
