[Adopted 11-19-2007 by Ord. No. 1258]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Local Services
Tax Ordinance."
As used in this article, unless the context indicates clearly
a different meaning, the following words shall have the meanings set
forth below:
The Borough of Sewickley.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Sewickley.
The person, persons, agency, association and/or corporate
entity designated by the Borough Council of the Borough of Sewickley
to collect the tax and to carry out and administer the provisions
of this article.
Salaries, wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, fees, gross
receipts or 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).[1]
Includes 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 within the Borough
employing one or more employees engaged in any occupation, other than
domestic servants.
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
Borough 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 Borough 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.
Ch. 85, 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 article.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: Editor's Note: Former 53 P.S. § 6913 was
repealed by Act 32 of 2008, effective 6-30-2012. See now 53 P.S. §
6924.101 et seq. The definitions of "earned income" and of "net profit"
are now in 53 P.S. § 6924.501.
For local services purposes, a tax is hereby levied upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation within the Borough. 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 article, subject to the exemptions set forth in § 299-25 of this article.
The Tax levied by § 299-24 shall not be imposed upon 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 one-hundred-percent
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 Borough during the taxable year is not in excess
of $12,000.
A.
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.
B.
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 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.
C.
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.
D.
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.
E.
The employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain adequate records concerning the employees in the cases described in § 299-26E(1) and (2).
(1)
In the case of concurrent employment, if the employee provides: (a)
a recent pay statement from a principal employer that includes: (i)
the name of the employer; (ii) the length of the payroll period and
(iii) the amount of the tax deducted; and (b) a statement from the
employee that: (i) the pay statement is from the employee's principal
employer; and (ii) that the employee will notify other employers of
a change in the principal place of employment within two weeks of
its occurrence.
(2)
In the case of an employee claiming the exemption set forth at § 299-25C), if: (a) the employee has provided an exemption certificate to the employer; (b) the Collector has not otherwise instructed the employer; (c) 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 borough 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 d) the employer has not paid to the person earned income within the Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year.
(3)
The employer shall file with the Collector a copy of each exemption certificate, including attachments, received by the employer no later than the end of the first payroll period as to which the employee claims the exemption set forth at § 299-25C.
(4)
If a person has claimed the exemption under § 299-25C 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 Borough 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 Borough 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 this § 200-26E(4) 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 article.
(5)
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 § 299-26 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 Borough, be subject to the tax
and the provisions of this article.
The Collector, on behalf of the Borough, 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 Borough in any case where any person
disputes the Borough'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.
A.
Any person who violates a provision of this article r 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 attorneys' fees
incurred by the Borough 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.
B.
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 Borough Treasurer.
C.
The Borough may also commence appropriate actions in equity, at law
or other to prevent, restrain, correct, enjoin or abate violations
of this article.
D.
The initial determination of a violation of this article and the
service of notice of violation are hereby delegated to the Borough
Manager, the Collector and their designees and to any other officer
or agent that the Borough Manager or the Borough 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 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.
The Collector shall provide a taxpayer a receipt of payment
of the tax upon request by the taxpayer.
The tax shall not apply to any subject of tax or person not
within the taxing power of the Borough under the Constitution of the
United States and the laws and Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. If a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction
holds any provision of this article or the application of any provision
to any circumstances to be illegal or unconstitutional, then the other
provisions of this article or the application of such provisions to
other circumstances shall remain in full force and effect.
This article shall continue in force from year to year without
annual reenactment.
The Borough'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 Capital Reserve No. 4 Fire Services.
