This article shall be known as the "Realty Transfer Tax Ordinance"
of the City of Lower Burrell.
A realty transfer tax for general revenue purposes is hereby
imposed upon the transfer of real estate or interest in real estate
situated within the City, regardless of where the documents making
the transfer are made, executed or delivered, or where the actual
settlements on such transfer took place, as authorized by Article
XI-D, Local Real Estate Transfer Tax, 72 P.S. § 8101-C et
seq.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ASSOCIATION
A partnership, limited partnership or any other form of unincorporated
enterprise owned or conducted by two or more persons other than a
private trust or decedent's estate.
CITY
The City of Lower Burrell.
CORPORATION
A corporation, joint-stock association, business trust or
banking institution which is organized under the laws of this commonwealth,
the United States or any other state, territory, foreign country or
dependency.
DOCUMENT
Any deed, instrument or writing which conveys, transfers, demises, vests, confirms or evidences any transfer or demise of title of real estate, but does not include wills, mortgages, deeds of trust or other instruments of like character given as security for a debt and deeds of release thereof to the debtor, land contracts whereby the legal title does not pass to the grantee until the total consideration specified in the contract has been paid or any cancellation thereof unless the consideration is payable over a period of time exceeding 30 years, or instruments which solely grant, vest or confirm a public utility easement. "Document" shall also include a declaration of acquisition required to be presented for recording under §
266-7.
FAMILY FARM CORPORATION
A corporation of which at least 75% of its assets are devoted
to the business of agriculture and at least 75% of each class of stock
of the corporation is continuously owned by members of the same family.
The business of agriculture shall not be deemed to include:
A.
Recreational activities such as, but not limited to, hunting,
fishing, camping, skiing, show competition or racing;
B.
The raising, breeding or training of game animals or game birds,
fish, cats, dogs or pets or animals intended for use in sporting or
recreational activities;
D.
Stockyard and slaughterhouse operations; or
E.
Manufacturing or processing operations of any kind.
MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY
Any individual, such individual's brothers and sisters, the
brothers and sisters of such individual's parents and grandparents,
the ancestors and lineal descendants of any of the foregoing, a spouse
of any of the foregoing, and the estate of any of the foregoing. Individuals
related by the half blood or legal adoption shall be treated as if
they were related by the whole blood.
PERSON
Every natural person, association, or corporation, whenever
used in any clause prescribing and imposing a fine or imprisonment,
or both. The term "person," as applied to associations, shall include
the responsible members or general partners thereof, and as applied
to corporations, the officers thereof.
REAL ESTATE
A.
All lands, tenements or hereditaments within this City, including
without limitation, buildings, structures, fixtures, mines, minerals,
oil, gas, quarries, spaces with or without upper or lower boundaries,
trees and other improvements, immovables or interests which by custom,
usage or law pass with a conveyance of land, but excluding permanently
attached machinery and equipment in an industrial plant.
C.
A tenant-stockholder's interest in a cooperative housing corporation,
trust or association under a proprietary lease or occupancy agreement.
REAL ESTATE COMPANY
A corporation or association which is primarily engaged in
the business of holding, selling or leasing real estate, 90% or more
of the ownership interest in which is held by 35 or fewer persons
and which:
A.
Derives 60% or more of its annual gross receipts from the ownership
or disposition of real estate; or
B.
Holds real estate, the value of which comprises 90% or more
of the value of its entire tangible asset holdings exclusive of tangible
assets which are freely transferable and actively traded on an established
market.
TITLE TO REAL ESTATE
A.
Any interest in real estate which endures for a period of time,
the termination of which is not fixed or ascertained by a specific
number of years, including without limitation an estate in fee simple,
life estate or perpetual leasehold; or
B.
Any interest in real estate enduring for a fixed period of years
but which, either by reason of the length of the term or the grant
of a right to extend the term by renewal or otherwise, consist of
a group of rights approximating those of an estate in fee simple,
life estate or perpetual leasehold, including without limitation a
leasehold interest or possessory interest under a lease or occupancy
agreement for a term of 30 years or more or a leasehold interest or
possessory interest in real estate in which the lessee has equity.
TRANSACTION
The making, executing, delivering, accepting or presenting
for recording of a document.
VALUE
A.
In the case of any bona fide sale of real estate at arm's length
for actual monetary worth, the amount of the actual consideration
therefor, paid or to be paid, including liens or other encumbrances
thereon existing before the transfer and not removed thereby, whether
or not the underlying indebtedness is assumed, and ground rents, or
a commensurate part thereof where such liens or other encumbrances
and ground rents also encumber or are charged against real estate;
provided, that where such documents shall set forth a nominal consideration,
the "value" thereof shall be determined from the price set forth in
or actual consideration for the contract of sale;
B.
In the case of a gift, sale by execution upon a judgment or
upon the foreclosure of a mortgage by a judicial officer, transactions
without consideration or for consideration less than the actual monetary
worth of the real estate, a taxable lease, an occupancy agreement,
a leasehold or possessory interest, any exchange of properties, or
the real estate of an acquired company, the actual monetary worth
of the real estate determined by adjusting the assessed value of the
real estate for local real estate tax purposes for the common level
ratio factor developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue for
Pennsylvania realty transfer tax base calculations;
C.
In the case of an easement or other interest in real estate, the value of which is not determinable under Subsection
A or
B, the actual monetary worth of such interest; or
D.
The actual consideration for or actual monetary worth of any
executory agreement for the construction of buildings, structures
or other permanent improvements to real estate between the grantor
and other persons existing before the transfer and not removed thereby
or between the grantor, the agent or principal of the grantor of a
related corporation, association or partnership and the grantee existing
before or effective with the transfer.
The United States, the Commonwealth or any of their instrumentalities,
agencies or political subdivisions shall be exempt from payment of
the tax imposed by this article. The exemption of such governmental
bodies shall not, however, relieve any other party to a transaction
from liability for the tax.
The tax imposed by §
266-9 shall not be imposed upon:
A. A transfer to the commonwealth, or to any of its instrumentalities,
agencies or political subdivisions, by gift, dedication or deed in
lieu of condemnation or deed or confirmation in connection with condemnation
proceedings, or a reconveyance by the condemning body of the property
condemned to the owner of record at the time of condemnation which
reconveyance may include property line adjustments, provided said
reconveyance is made within one year from the date of condemnation.
B. A document which the City is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution
or statutes of the United States.
C. A conveyance to a municipality, township, school district or county
pursuant to acquisition by the municipality, township, school district
or county of a tax delinquent property at sheriff sale or tax claim
bureau sale.
D. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration which corrects
or confirms a transfer previously recorded, but which does not extend
or limit existing record legal title or interest.
E. A transfer or division in kind for no or nominal actual consideration
of property passed by testate or intestate succession and held by
covenants; however, if any of the parties take shares greater in value
than their undivided interest, tax is due on the excess.
F. A transfer between husband and wife, between persons who were previously
husband and wife who have since been divorced, provided the property
or interest therein subject to such transfer was acquired by the husband
and wife or husband or wife prior to the granting of the final decree
in divorce, between parent and child or the spouse of such child,
between brother or sister or spouse of a brother or sister, and between
a grandparent and grandchild or the spouse of such grandchild, except
that a subsequent transfer by the grantee within one year shall be
subject to tax as if the grantor were making such transfer.
G. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration of property passing
by testate or intestate succession from a personal representative
of a decedent to the decedent's devisee or heir.
H. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration to a trustee of
an ordinary trust where the transfer of the same property would be
exempt if the transfer was made directly from the grantor to all of
the possible beneficiaries, whether or not such beneficiaries are
contingent or specifically named. No such exemption shall be granted
unless the Recorder of Deeds is presented with a copy of the trust
instrument that clearly identifies the grantor and all possible beneficiaries.
I. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from a trustee
to a beneficiary of an ordinary trust.
J. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from trustee to
successor trustee.
K. A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration between principal
and agent or straw party; or from or to an agent or straw party where,
if the agent or straw party were his principal, no tax would be imposed
under this article.
L. Where the document by which title is acquired by a grantee or statement
of value fails to set forth that the property was acquired by the
grantee from, or for the benefit of, his principal, there is a rebuttable
presumption that the property is the property of the grantee in his
individual capacity if the grantee claims an exemption from taxation
under this section.
M. A transfer made pursuant to the statutory merger or consolidation
of a corporation or statutory division of a nonprofit corporation,
except where the department reasonably determines that the primary
intent for such merger, consolidation or division is avoidance of
the tax imposed by this article.
N. A transfer from a corporation or association of real estate held
of record in the name of the corporation or association where the
grantee owns stock of the corporation or an interest in the association
in the same proportion as his interest in or ownership of the real
estate being conveyed and where the stock of the corporation or the
interest in the association has been held by the grantee for more
than two years.
O. A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority
to a grantee of property conveyed by the grantee to that agency or
authority as security for a debt of the grantee or a transfer to a
nonprofit industrial development agency or authority.
P. A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority
to a grantee purchasing directly from it, but only if: the grantee
shall directly use such real estate for the primary purpose of manufacturing,
fabricating, compounding, processing, publishing, research and development,
transportation, energy conversion, energy production, pollution control,
warehousing or agriculture; and the agency or authority has the full
ownership interest in the real estate transferred.
Q. A transfer by a mortgagor to the holder of a bona fide mortgage in
default in lieu of a foreclosure or a transfer pursuant to a judicial
sale in which the successful bidder is the bona fide holder of a mortgage,
unless the holder assigns the bid to another person.
R. Any transfer between religious organizations or other bodies or persons
holding title for a religious organization if such real estate is
not being or has not been used by such transferor for commercial purposes.
S. A transfer to a conservancy which possesses a tax exempt status pursuant
to § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [68A
Stat. 3, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)] and which has as its primary
purpose preservation of land for historic, recreational, scenic, agricultural
or open space opportunities.
T. A transfer of real estate devoted to the business of agriculture
to a family farm corporation by a member of the same family which
directly owns at least 75% of each class of the stock thereof.
U. A transfer between members of the same family of an ownership interest
in a real estate company or family farm corporation.
V. A transaction wherein the tax is $1 or less.
W. Leases for the production or extraction of coal, oil, natural gas
or minerals and assignments thereof. In order to exercise any exclusion
provided in this section, the true, full and complete value of the
transfer shall be shown on the statement of value. A copy of the Pennsylvania
Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value may be submitted for this purpose.
For leases of coal, oil, natural gas or minerals, the statement of
value may be limited to an explanation of the reason such document
is not subject to tax under this article.
Except as otherwise provided in §
266-11, documents which make, confirm or evidence any transfer or demise of title to real estate between associations or corporations and the members, partners, shareholders or stockholders thereof are fully taxable. For the purposes of this section, corporations and associations are entities separate from their members, partners, stockholders and shareholders.
In determining the term of a lease, it shall be presumed that
a right or option to renew or extend a lease will be exercised if
the rental charge to the lessee is fixed or if a method for calculating
the rental charge is established.
The tax herein imposed shall be fully paid, and have priority
out of the proceeds of any judicial sale of real estate before any
other obligation, claim, lien, judgment, estate or costs of the sale
and of the writ upon which the sale is made, except the state realty
transfer tax, and the sheriff, or other officer, conducting said sale,
shall pay the tax herein imposed out of the first moneys paid to him
in connection therewith. If the proceeds of the sale are insufficient
to pay the entire tax herein imposed, the purchaser shall be liable
for the remaining tax.
Every document lodged with or presented to the Recorder of Deeds
for recording shall set forth therein and as a part of such document
the true, full and complete value thereof, or shall be accompanied
by a statement of value executed by a responsible person connected
with the transaction showing such connection and setting forth the
true, full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such
document is not subject to tax under this article. A copy of the Pennsylvania
Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value may be submitted for this purpose.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any excludable real
estate transfers which are exempt from taxation based on family relationship.
Other documents presented for the affixation of stamps shall be accompanied
by a certified copy of the document and statement of value executed
by a responsible person connected with the transaction showing such
connection and setting forth the true, full and complete value thereof
or the reason, if any, why such document is not subject to tax under
this article.
The tax imposed by this article shall become a lien upon the
lands, tenements or hereditaments, or any interest therein, lying,
being situated, wholly or in part within the boundaries of the City,
which lands, tenements, hereditaments or interest therein, are described
in or conveyed by or transferred by the deed which is the subject
of the tax imposed, assessed and levied by this article, said lien
to begin at the time when the tax under this article is due and payable,
and continue until discharged by payment, or in accordance with the
law, and the solicitor is authorized to file a municipal or tax claim
in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, in accordance
with the provisions of the Municipal Claims and Liens Act of 1923,
53 P.S. § 7101 et seq., its supplements and amendments.
All taxes imposed by this article together with interest and
penalties prescribed herein, shall be recoverable as other debts of
like character are recovered.
The Recorder of Deeds of Westmoreland County is charged with
enforcement and collection of tax and is empowered to promulgate and
enforce reasonable regulations for enforcement and collection of the
tax. The regulations which have been promulgated by the Pennsylvania
Department of Revenue under 72 P.S. § 8101-C et seq. are
incorporated into and made a part of this article.