[Adopted 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 1037]
This article shall be known as the "Township of North Versailles
Local Services Tax Ordinance."
The following terms and words unless otherwise expressly stated
shall have the meanings as hereinafter described:
The person or entity appointed by Township Board of Commissioners
from time to time to collect the tax imposed herein and to administer
the provisions of this article.
Any corporation, joint-stock company, association or other
legal entity organized and operating under the laws of the United
States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any other state, territory,
foreign country or dependency.
Any individual, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, governmental
body or unit or agency or any other entity who or which employs one
or more persons on a salary, wage, commission or any other type of
compensation basis, or who or which pays any remuneration or anything
of value for services or forbearance. Where used in this article,
a "partnership" shall mean and include the individual partners and
members of a partnership or association, and a "business entity as
a corporation" shall mean and include the officers of the same.
A natural person.
A corporation, employer, individual or any other entity which
is domiciled outside the geographic limits of the Township of North
Versailles.
Any enterprise, activity, profession, any undertaking or
forbearance of any nature conducted for profit, or ordinarily conducted
for profit by an individual, whereby any wage, salary, commission,
something of value, a forbearance or other remuneration is earned,
given and/or paid.
A corporation, employer, individual or any other entity which
is domiciled within the geographic limits of the Township of North
Versailles.
An individual, corporation or partnership required to file
a return and/or to remit a tax under this article.
Any of these words or combinations include salaries, wages,
commissions, bonuses, incentive payments, fees, gratuities that may
accrue or be paid or received by an individual for services rendered
or for forbearance, whether directly or through an agent, and whether
in cash, property or anything of value. The words shall not include
periodic payments for sick or disability benefits and those commonly
recognized as old-age benefits, retirement benefits or retirement
pay or pensions paid to individuals retired from service or employment
or after a stated period of employment. It shall further not apply
to public assistance or unemployment compensation payments. It shall
further not apply to compensation paid by the United States to individuals
for active service in the Army, Navy or Air Force of the United States,
or to any bonus or additional compensation paid by the United States
or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any other State of the United
States for such military service.
A tax is hereby imposed in the maximum amount authorized by
the statue referenced above,[1] which is currently set at $52 per year per individual
for the year 2008, at the rate of $1 per week during the calendar
year of 2008, and for every year thereafter until repealed or amended
by Township Board of Commissioners. The tax is levied for the purposes
of police, fire and emergency services. The tax is imposed on all
individual residents and nonresidents who hold an occupation in the
Township of North Versailles.
[1]
Editor's Note: The statute referenced in the Preamble of Ord.
No. 1037 is the Local Tax Enabling, which is now found at 53 P.S.
§ 6924.101 et seq.
A.
Individuals subject to this tax under this article who or which earn
less than $500 annually from all sources shall be exempt from paying
the tax under this article. In order to be entitled to the exemption
an affidavit by each employer for the applicable year must be filed
with the Tax Collector that the individual subject to the tax is anticipated
to earn less than $500 for the applicable tax year due to the seasonal
nature of employment or other applicable reason.
A.
Every employer who employs one or more individuals for a wage whose
wages are subject to the tax imposed by this article shall deduct
the amount of tax levied by this article from such wages as defined
which are paid to the individual from each payment made during the
year as measured from the enactment of this article, from January
1 of each succeeding year or from the date of hiring for each employee
hired subsequent to the enactment of this article.
B.
The tax shall be paid by the employer to the Tax Collector on a form
to be supplied by the Tax Collector, if any, which shall include no
less information than the employer's name, address and tax identification
number, the employee's name, home address and social security
number. The tax shall be remitted to the Tax Collector within 30 days
of deduction from an individual's wages.
C.
Every employer shall be liable for the amount of the tax due whether
the employer deducts the tax or not, and shall be liable to the Township
of North Versailles for the full amount of the tax and all penalties,
charges, interest, fees and costs as may be due or which may become
due.
A.
The Township Board of Commissioners of the Township of North Versailles
shall designate a Tax Collector by simple resolution from time to
time, who or which shall have full authority to collect such tax and
to enforce and administer the terms of this article. The compensation
of the Tax Collector shall likewise be set by Township Board of Commissioners
by simple resolution from time to time.
B.
The Tax Collector shall collect and receive all taxes and other collections
authorized and imposed under this article. The Tax Collector shall
further furnish receipts for payments, keep and maintain accurate
records showing the identities and addresses of all employers and
individuals, dates and amounts of payments and when such payments
are remitted to the Township of North Versailles. The Tax Collector
shall further keep such other records as may be ordered by Township
Board of Commissioners from time to time.
C.
Taxes collected by the Tax Collector shall be deposited in such account
or accounts as may be approved by Township Board of Commissioners
from time to time. The Tax Collector shall report to Township Board
of Commissioners every 30 days, or as often as Board of Commissioners
directs, on all activities and include all such information as Township
Board of Commissioners may direct and order from time to time.
The Tax Collector is charged and authorized to collect all taxes
and other payments due pursuant to this article, and is further authorized
as follows:
A.
The Tax Collector is authorized and empowered to administer and enforce
the provisions of this article and all rules and regulations prescribed,
adopted or promulgated by Township Board of Commissioners from time
to time relating to the collection, enforcement and administration
hereof. Consistent with such rules and regulations, the Tax Collector
shall have the power and authority to collect and deposit taxes and
other payments as directed by Township Board of Commissioners, to
examine, reexamine and correct any and all returns filed hereunder,
and to compute, settle, resettle and discharge all taxes and other
charges hereby levied.
B.
The Tax Collector or any agent, employee or official so designated
by the Township of North Versailles is authorized and empowered to
examine the books, papers, documents and records of any employer or
taxpayer in order to verify the accuracy of any return made, or if
no return was made to determine and verify the amount due. Employers
are obligated and directed to give to the Tax Collector or the duly
authorized agent of the Township of North Versailles the means, facilities
and opportunity for such examination and investigations as are hereby
authorized. The Tax Collector or such other agent of the Township
of North Versailles is hereby authorized to examine any person under
oath concerning any income or wages which was or should have been
earned, paid or recorded and taxes which were or should have been
remitted. The Tax Collector is authorized and empowered to compel
the production of books, papers and records and the attendance of
all persons whether as parties or witness who the Tax Collector reasonably
believes have knowledge of such income. The Tax Collector is authorized
and empowered to seek search warrants and issue subpoenas to fulfill
the duties imposed on the Tax Collector under this article.
C.
All information learned by the Tax Collector in the performance of
the duties imposed hereunder shall be confidential, except for official
purposes and except where disclosure of the information is required
for a proper judicial order, decree or relief, or as may be otherwise
provided by law. Any person who violates the provisions of this section
shall be guilty of a summary offense and punishable by a fine of not
more than $500 for each offense, or to undergo imprisonment for not
more than 30 days for nonpayment of such fine, penalty and costs.[1]
D.
It is the intent of the Township of North Versailles that the tax
imposed by this article shall apply to the fullest extent permissible
under law and within the legal powers of the Township of North Versailles
to impose the tax and the duties provided herein.
A.
All taxes and payments due the Township of North Versailles remaining
unpaid after they become due shall bear interest at the maximum rate
as permitted under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; such
persons or employers shall further be subject to a penalty of 10%
of the amount due during which time the tax remains unpaid.
B.
All sums due under this article shall be recoverable by the Township
of North Versailles in the same manner as debts, taxes or other obligations
due the Township are recoverable with full rights in the Township
of North Versailles as are authorized by state law.
C.
The Township of North Versailles has heretofore enacted an Attorney
Fee Ordinance, Ordinance No. 867.[1] The Tax Collector is authorized and empowered to employ
and utilize the services of an attorney and to invoke and impose the
fees and costs enabled by that ordinance in the collection of the
taxes and charges due under this article.
Any entity or individual who or which violates any provision
of this article shall be subject to a civil fine or penalty in the
amount of $600, costs of prosecution and attorney fees as provided
herein for each violation. Each day that a violation continues shall
constitute a separate offense.
The provisions of this article are severable. If any sentence,
clause or provision is for any reason held to be unconstitutional,
illegal or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or impair any
of the remaining provisions of this article. It is hereby declared
to be the intent of the Township of North Versailles that it would
have enacted the balance of this article irrespective of the invalid
portion. Any ordinances conflicting with this article are hereby repealed
so far as the same may affect this article, including the Occupation
Privilege Tax Ordinance, as reenacted by Ordinance No. 857, which
is repealed, conditional on the validity of this article, and the
EMST tax referenced above, which is hereby reenacted as the LST tax.
