COLLECTOR — The person, persons, agency, association and/or
corporate entity designated by the Municipal Council of the Municipality
of Bethel Park to collect the tax and to carry out and administer
the provisions of this article.
EARNED INCOME and NET PROFITS — Shall have the same meanings
as those terms are given in Section 13 of the Local Tax Enabling Act,
Act 511 of 1965 (53 P.S. § 6313).
EMPLOYER — Any person, partnership, limited partnership,
unincorporated association, institution, trust, corporation, governmental
agency, or any other body engaged in business or situated within the
Municipality employing one or more employees engaged in any occupation,
other than domestic servants.
EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE — 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 earned income and net profits
from all sources within the Municipality 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 Municipality
for the year prior to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting
to be exempted from the tax.
LOCAL SERVICES — 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. Chapter 85 Subchapter F.
OCCUPATION — Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business
or enterprise of any kind, including services, domestic or other,
for which any compensation is received.
For local services purposes, a tax is hereby levied upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation within the Municipality. 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 annual amount of $52 in accordance with the provisions of this article, subject to the exemptions set forth in Section 62.68 of this article and the conditions set forth in Section 62.67.2.
If a school district located within the boundaries of the Municipality
exercises its right under the Local Tax Enabling Act to levy the tax
in the amount of $5, the amount of the tax payable to the Municipality
under this article shall be reduced to $47.
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 one-hundred-percent
permanent disability.
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.
Every employer shall, within 15 days after the effective date
of this article or within 15 days of first becoming an employer thereafter,
register with the collector the employer's name, address and such
other information as the collector may require.
As to 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 a 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.
Any employer who discontinues business or ceases operation before
December 31 of any year shall, within 15 days after discontinuing
business or ceasing operation, file the return hereinabove required
and pay the tax to the collector.
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, 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.
The employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain adequate
records concerning the employees in the cases described in Sections
62:69.5(1) and 62.69.5(2).
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 Municipality 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 shall file with the collector a copy of each exemption
certificate, including attachments, received by the employer no later
than the last day of the first month of any year when such taxpayer
first becomes subject to the tax.
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.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed, or whose tax for any other reason is not collected under Section 62.69 of this article, 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.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall, by virtue of
engaging in an occupation within the Municipality, be subject to the
tax and the provisions of this article.
The collector, on behalf of the Municipality, shall collect
and receive the taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed by this
article, and shall maintain records showing interest, fines and penalties
imposed by this article, 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 article, including, but not
limited to, requirements for collection through employers, requirements
for evidence and records, and provisions for the examination and correction
of returns. The collector and agents designated by him 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 all means, facilities and opportunity for the examinations
hereby authorized.
The collector shall collect, by suit or otherwise, all taxes,
interest, costs, fines and penalties due under this article 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 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 as well
as for interest and penalties. The collector may accept payment under
protest of the tax claimed by the Municipality in any case where any
person disputes the Municipality's claim for the tax. If a court of
competent jurisdiction thereafter decides that there has been overpayment
to the collector, the collector shall refund the amount of the overpayment
to the person who paid under protest.
The situs of the tax shall be the place of employment on the
first day the person becomes subject to the tax. In the event a person
is engaged in more than one occupation, that is, concurrent employment,
the priority of claim to collect the Tax shall be in the following
order:
In case of dispute, a tax receipt of the taxing authority for
that calendar year declaring that the taxpayer has made prior payment
constitutes prima facie certification of payment to all other political
subdivisions.
Any person who violates a provision of this article, or who
fails to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof,
shall be, upon conviction thereof, sentenced to pay a fine of not
more than $600 for each violation, plus costs and reasonable attorney
fees incurred by the Municipality in the enforcement proceedings,
and in default of payment of said fine and costs, to imprisonment
to the extent permitted by law for the punishment of summary offenses.
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
article found to have been violated. All fines and penalties collected
for violation of this article shall be paid to the Municipal Treasurer.
The Municipality may also commence appropriate actions in equity,
at law or other to prevent, restrain, correct, enjoin or abate violations
of this article.
The initial determination of a violation of this article and
the service of notice of violation are hereby delegated to the Municipal
Manager, the collector and their designees and to any other officer
or agent that the Municipal Manager or the Municipal Council shall
deem appropriate.
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 satisfactorily proves
to the Collector that he 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, 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.
The tax shall not apply to any subject of tax or person not
within the taxing power of the Municipality under the Constitution
of the United States and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Municipality's use of the funds derived from the tax shall
be limited to local services. No less than 25% of the funds shall
be used for emergency services.
Except as set forth hereafter, all ordinances or parts of ordinances
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Nothing herein shall be
construed to repeal the imposition and collection of an occupation
privilege tax, plus applicable penalties and interest, for all prior
calendar years.