[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
This Part shall be known and cited as the "Local Services Tax
Ordinance."
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
As used in this Part, unless the context indicates clearly a
different meaning, the following words shall have the meanings set
forth below:
The twelve-month period beginning the first day of January.
The person, persons, public or private agency, association
and/or corporate entity designated by the Jefferson Township Board
of Supervisors to collect the tax and to carry out and administer
the provisions of this Part.
Salaries, wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, fees, gross
receipts or any other income derived from engaging in an occupation.
The same meaning as those terms are given in Section 13 of
the Local Tax Enabling Act, Act 511 of 1965 (53 P.S. § 6313).
Emergency services, which shall include emergency medical
services, police services and/or fire services.
Any person, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated
association, institution, trust, corporation, governmental agency
or any other body engaged in business or situated in the Township,
employing one or more employees engaged in any occupation.
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 compensation, 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, which exemption certificate
has attached to it a copy of all of 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.
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.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which any
compensation is received or charged.
The tax imposed by this Part.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by this Part.
The Township of Jefferson, Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Jefferson.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
1.
For those local services purposes, a tax is hereby levied upon the privilege of engaging an occupation within the Township in the calendar year 2008 and in each succeeding calendar year from the effective date of this Part. Each natural person who exercises such privilege for any length of time in any year shall be assessed and shall pay the tax in the amount equal to the pro-rata share of the annual amount of $52, in accordance with the provisions of this Part, subject to the exemptions set forth in § 24-603, Subsection 2, of this Part.
2.
The tax levied by this Part 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% permanent 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 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.
C.
Any natural person whose total earned income and net profits from
all sources within the Township during the taxable year is not in
excess of $12,000.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
1.
Every employer not registered under the Earned Income Tax Ordinance
provisions[1] or under this provision of the Local Services Tax Ordinance
(and the former Emergency and Municipal Services Tax Ordinance (and
the former Occupational Privilege Tax Ordinance) of the Township shall,
within 15 days after the effective date of this section or within
15 days after first becoming an employer, register with the collector
the employer's name, address and such other information as the collector
may require.
2.
For each taxpayer 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 compensation payable to the
taxpayer with respect to such payroll period. The pro-rata share of
the tax assessed on a taxpayer 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 of the tax, an
employer shall round down the amount of tax deducted for each payroll
period to the nearest 1/100 of a dollar. Each employer shall file
a return on the form prescribed by the collector and pay the collector
the full amount of all such taxes deducted during a calendar quarter
within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter.
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 the collector and the Pennsylvania DCED. 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: first, the political subdivision in which a person maintains
the person's principal office or is principally employed; second,
the political subdivision in which the person resides and works, if
the tax is levied by that political subdivision; and third, the political
subdivision in which a person is employed and which imposes the tax
nearest in miles to the person's home.
5.
Any employer who discontinues business or ceases operation before
December 31 shall, within 15 days after discontinuing business or
ceasing operation, file the return hereinabove required and pay the
collector.
6.
The failure of any employer to deduct the tax shall not relieve the
employee from the duty to file a return and pay the tax. Any employer
who fails to deduct the tax as required by this section or who fails
to pay such tax to the collector shall be liable for such tax in full,
without deduction of the fee hereinafter provided, as though the tax
had originally been levied against such employer. No employer shall
be liable for failure to deduct the tax if the failure to deduct the
tax 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.
7.
The employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain adequate records concerning the employees in the cases described in Subsection 7A and B below.
A.
In the case of concurrent employment, 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 deducted; and a statement from the employee that the pay statement
is from the employee's principal employer and that the employee will
notify other employers of a change in the principal place of employment
within two weeks of its occurrence; and a completed uniform "employee
statement form" approved by the collector and the Pennsylvania DCED.
B.
In the case of an employee claiming the exemption set forth at § 24-603, Subsection 2C, if the employee has provided an exemption certificate to the employer, the collector has not otherwise instructed the employer, the employer has not received notification from the person who claimed the exemption or from the collector 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, and the employer has not paid to the person earned income within the Township in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year.
9.
If a person has claimed the exemption under § 24-603, Subsection 2C, for a given calendar year from the tax but either (a) the employer has received notification from the person who claimed the exemption or from the collector 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 (b) the employer has paid to the person earned income within the Township in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, then the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year; and the employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification described in clause (a) above or for the first payroll period after payments described in clause (b) above have been made, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person, 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 § 24-604, Subsection 6, is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the collector may pursue collection under this chapter.
10.
Each employer shall ensure that exemption certificate forms are readily
available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee
with an exemption certificate form at the time of hiring.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
Every taxpayer who is self-employed or whose tax for any other reason is not collected under § 24-604 of this Part shall file a return on a form prescribed by the collector and shall pay a pro-rata share of the tax directly to the collector within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. The pro-rata share of the tax assessed on a taxpayer for a calendar quarter shall be determined by dividing the rate of the tax levied for the calendar year by four.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall, by virtue of
engaging in an occupation within the Township, be subject to the tax
and the provisions of this Part.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
The collector, on behalf of the Township, shall collect and
receive the taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed by this Part
and shall maintain records showing the amounts received and the dates
such amounts were received. The collector shall prescribe and issue
all forms necessary for the administration of the tax and may adopt
and enforce regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration
of this Part, including but not limited to requirements for deductions,
requirements for evidence and records and provisions for the examination
and correction of returns. The collector and agents designated by
him or her may examine the records of any employer or supposed employer
or of any taxpayer or supposed taxpayer in order to ascertain the
tax due or verify the accuracy of any return. Every employer or supposed
employer and every taxpayer or supposed taxpayer shall give the collector
and any agent designated by him the means, facilities and opportunity
for the examinations hereby authorized.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
The collector shall collect, by suit or otherwise, all taxes,
interest, costs, fines and penalties due under this Part and unpaid.
If, for any reason, any tax is not paid when due, interest at the
rate of 6% per year on the amount of unpaid tax and an additional
penalty of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of unpaid tax, for each month or
fraction of a month during which the tax remains unpaid, shall be
added and collected. Whenever suit is brought for the recovery of
unpaid tax, the taxpayer shall, in addition, be liable for the costs
of collection, including attorneys' fees, as well as for interest
and penalties. The collector may accept payment under protest of the
tax claimed by the Township in any case where any person disputes
the Township's claim for the tax. If a court of competent jurisdiction
thereafter decides that there as been overpayment to the collector,
the collector shall refund the amount of the overpayment to the person
who paid under protest.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
Any person who has overpaid the tax may obtain a refund by making
a written application for a refund to the collector no later than
one year after payment of the tax or three years after the due date
for payment of the tax, whichever is later, and by satisfactorily
proving to the collector that he or she is entitled to the refund.
Refunds made within 75 days of a refund request or 75 days after the
last day the employer is required to remit the tax to the collector
for the last quarter of the calendar year, whichever is later, shall
not be subject to interest imposed under 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8426.
A refund shall be provided only for an amount overpaid in a calendar
year that exceeds $1.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
The collector shall provide a taxpayer a receipt of payment
of the tax upon request by the Taxpayer.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
1.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provision of this
Part or any regulation adopted pursuant to it or who fails to comply
therewith or with any of the requirements thereof shall, upon being
found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township, pay a civil penalty of not less than $100 nor more
than $600 for each violation, plus costs and reasonable attorneys'
fees incurred by the Township in the enforcement proceedings. The
civil enforcement proceeding shall be initiated by complaint or by
such other means as may be provided by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil
Procedure. A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion
thereof in which a violation is found to exist or for each Section
of this Part found to have been violated. All fines and penalties
collected for violation of this Part shall be paid to the Township
Treasurer. The initial determination of a violation of this Part and
the service of notice of violation are hereby delegated to the Township
Board of Supervisors, the collector and their designees and to any
other officer or agent that the Township Board of Supervisors shall
deem appropriate.
2.
The Township may also commence appropriate actions in equity to prevent,
restrain, correct, enjoin or abate violations of this Part.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
1.
The tax shall not apply to any subject of tax or person not within
the taxing power of the Township under the Constitution of the United
States and the laws and Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
2.
If a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction holds any
provision of this Part or the application of any provision to any
circumstances to be illegal or unconstitutional, the other provisions
of this Part or the application of such provision to other circumstances
shall remain in full force and effect. The intention of the Township
Board of Supervisors is that the provisions of this Part shall be
severable and that this Part would have been adopted if any such illegal
or unconstitutional provisions had not been included.
3.
This Part shall continue in effect on a calendar-year basis without
annual reenactment.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
This Part and the tax hereby imposed are adopted and levied
pursuant to the authority conferred by the Local Tax Enabling Act,
53 P.S. § 6901 et seq., as amended.
[Ord. 258, 11/30/2007]
The Township's use of the funds derived from the tax imposed
under this Part shall be limited to those permitted purposes set forth
in the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S.A. § 6901 et seq.,
as amended.
This Part shall become effective with respect to the calendar
year 2008 and each year thereafter.
