Borough of Folcroft, PA Business Privilege Tax

Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who has commenced his business prior to the full calendar year prior to the tax year shall compute his annual estimated gross volume of business upon the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during said immediately preceding calendar year. (As example, for the tax year 1979, if a person is in business as of January 1, 1978, and continues to be in business for the full calendar year, then the figures for 1978 shall be the basis for the computation for his annual estimated gross volume of business.)

Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who has commenced or who commences his business before the beginning of the tax year but after the beginning of the full calendar year prior to the tax year, shall compute his estimated annual gross volume of business for the tax year upon the gross volume of business transacted by him during prior calendar year, taking the monthly average during said period and multiplying the same by 12. In the event that he shall be in business fewer than 90 days in the prior calendar year, he shall be permitted to use sufficient days in calendar year in which the tax year begins to equal 90 successive days after commencement of business, to take a monthly average thereon, and to multiply the average by 12.

Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who has commenced or commences his business subsequent to the beginning of the tax year, if there shall be less than three months from the commencement of his business to the end of the tax year, shall compute his annual gross volume of business upon the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during the tax year; if there shall be more than three months from the commencement of his business to the end of the tax year, he shall compute his estimated gross volume of business for such tax year upon the gross volume of business transacted by him during the period from the commencement of his business to the end of the tax year, taking the monthly average during the first three months of business and multiplying the same by the number of months from the commencement of business to the end of the tax year.

Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who engages in a business temporary, seasonal or itinerant by nature, shall compute his estimated gross amount of business to be transacted by him for the period said person engages in such temporary, seasonal or itinerant business within the Borough by a method to be determined by the Tax Administrator.

The Tax Administrator is hereby authorized to accept payment under protest of the amount of business privilege tax claimed by the Borough in any case where the taxpayer disputes the validity or amount of the Borough's claim for tax. If it is thereafter judicially determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that the Borough has been overpaid, the amount of the overpayment shall be refunded to the taxpayer. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to cases in which the facts are similar to those in a case litigated in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Persons, business and receipts exempted.

Persons and business. Persons employed for a wage or salary, nonprofit corporations or associations organized for religious, charitable or educational purposes, agencies of the government of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the business of any political subdivision, or of any authority created or organized under and pursuant to any act of assembly, are exempt from the provisions of this article.

No such tax shall be assessed and collected on a privilege, transaction, subject, or occupation which is subject to a state tax or license fee or which has been held by the Courts of Pennsylvania to be the basis for the exemption from the imposition of a privilege tax by a municipality.

Utilities. No such tax shall be assessed and collected on the gross receipts from utility service of any person or company whose rates of service are fixed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; or on any public utility service rendered by any such person or company or on any privilege or transaction involving the rendering of any such public utility service.

State tax on tangible property. No such tax shall be assessed and collected on the privilege of employing such tangible property as is subject to a state tax except on sales of admission to places of amusement or on sales or other transfers of title or possession of property.

The first $25,000 of gross volume of business shall be exempt from this tax.

Determination of gross or whole volume business. Gross or whole volume of business upon which the tax hereunder is computed shall include the gross consideration credited or received for or on account of sales made, rentals and/or services rendered, subject only to the following allowable deductions and exemptions:

The dollar volume of business transacted by wholesale and retail dealers derived from the resale of goods, wares and merchandise taken by any dealer as trade-in or as part payment for other goods, wares and merchandise, except to the extent that the resale price exceeds the trade-in allowance.

Refunds, credits, or allowances given by a taxpayer to a purchaser on account of defects in goods, wares or merchandise sold, or on account of goods, wares or merchandise returned.

Any commissions paid by a broker to another broker on account of a purchase or sales contract initiated, executed or cleared with such other broker.

Bad debts where the deduction is also taken in the same year for Federal Income Taxation purposes.

Taxes collected as agent for the United States of America, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Borough of Folcroft.

Partial exemptions. Where gross or whole volume of business in its entirety cannot be subjected to the tax imposed by this article by reason of the provision of law, the Tax Administrator, with the approval of the Borough Council of the Borough of Folcroft, shall establish rules and regulations and methods of allocation and evaluation so that only the part of the gross or whole volume of business which is properly attributable and allowable to doing business in the Borough of Folcroft shall be taxed hereunder.

Rate when same tax is imposed by two taxing bodies. If any person is liable for the same tax on the same subject imposed under the Local Tax Enabling Act of 1965, December 21, P.L. 1257,[1] and its amendments to the Borough and one or more political subdivisions of the state, then and in that event the tax shall be apportioned by such percentage as may be agreed upon by such political subdivisions, but in no event shall the combined taxes of both subdivisions exceed a maximum rate of tax as fixed by the enabling act permitting the imposition of such taxes.

[1]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6924.101 et seq.

Records. The taxpayer, to obtain the foregoing enumerated exclusions and deductions, shall keep books and records of his business so as to show clearly, accurately, and separately the amount of such sales and services as are excluded from the tax and the amounts of such sales and services which he is entitled to deduct from the gross volume of business as hereinbefore provided.

§ 550-6 Returns.

Forms; certification. Every return shall be made upon a form furnished by the Tax Administrator. Every person making a return shall certify the correctness thereof by affidavit.

Estimated returns; final returns. Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article shall be required to file two tax returns each year, an estimated return and a final return, unless otherwise provided for in this article. Each time an estimated return is required to be filed, the final return shall be filed the following year. If it is determined that the amount of tax paid in the estimated return was greater than required by the final return, the taxpayer shall be entitled to either apply the overpayment to the estimated return for the year in which the final return in question is being filed or, in the alternative, is entitled to a refund. In the event that the estimated tax was less than the amount finally determined to be owed in the final return, the taxpayer shall be liable to pay said tax upon the filing of the final return, plus interest at the rate of 5% per annum. In the event that the amount paid at the time of the filing of the estimated return is 80% or less than the amount due in the final return, the penalty shall also be paid by the taxpayer in the amount of 5% of the total tax due for the entire tax year, including the estimated tax paid as well as the final tax paid.

Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article who commenced his business on or before January 1 of the full calendar year previous to the beginning of any tax year shall, on or before the 31st day of March of the tax year, file with the Tax Administrator an estimated return setting forth his name, his business, his business address, and such other information as may be necessary in arriving at the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during the preceding calendar year, and the amount of tax due.

Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article who has commenced his business before the beginning of the tax year but after January 1 of the full calendar year previous to the beginning of the tax year shall, on or before the 31st day of March of the tax year, file with the Tax Administrator an estimated return setting forth his name, his business, business address, and such other information as may be necessary in arriving at the estimated gross amount of business transacted by him as calculated under § 550-5B hereof and the amount of tax due.

Every person subject to the tax imposed by this article who commences business subsequent to the beginning of any tax year shall, within 100 days from the date of commencing said business, file with the Tax Administrator either an estimated return or a final return, in accordance with § 550-5C hereof, setting forth his name, his business and business address, and such other information as may be necessary in arriving at the estimated or actual gross amount of business transacted by him as calculated under § 550-5B(3) hereof in the amount of tax due.

Every person subject to the payment of the tax imposed by this article who engages in a business temporary, seasonal or itinerant by its nature, shall, at the time application is made for the business privilege license, file a return with the Tax Administrator setting forth his name, his business, his business address, and such other information as may be necessary in arriving at the estimated gross amount of business to be transacted by him as calculated in accordance with § 550-5D.