[Adopted 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 445[1] (Ch. 134, Art. II, of the 1982 Code)]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance, which is effective
1-1-2008, superseded the emergency and municipal services tax adopted
12-19-2005 by Ord. No. 414.
This article is enacted under authority of the
Local Tax Enabling Act, P.L. 1257, No. 511, December 31, 1965, as
hereafter amended, supplemented, modified or reenacted by the General
Assembly of Pennsylvania.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6924.101
et seq.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly
appears from the context:
Salaries, wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, fees or any
other earned income and net profits.
Any person, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated
association, institution, trust, corporation, governmental agency
or any other body engaged in business or situated in the Township
of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania, employing one or more employees
engaged in any occupation.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which monetary
compensation is received or charged.
Berks Earned Income Tax Bureau.
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.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by this article.
Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
A local services tax for emergency services
(which shall include emergency medical services, police services,
and/or fire 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 Subch. F, in the amount of $52, is hereby imposed upon a taxpayer
engaging in an occupation within the Township in the year 2008 and
in each succeeding calendar year in which this tax is in effect. Each
natural person who exercises such privilege for any length of time
in any calendar year beginning with the year 2008 shall pay the tax
in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers, by
virtue of engaging in an occupation within the Township of Muhlenberg,
shall be subject to the tax and the provisions of this article.
The following persons may apply and shall be
eligible for an exemption from the imposition of the local services
tax:
A.
All taxpayers
whose total compensation from all sources is less than $12,000 per
annum.
B.
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 and, 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.
C.
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.
Taxpayers seeking to claim an exemption from
the local services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate
with the Township and with the employer.
A.
Each employer
shall register with the Local Services Tax Collector ("Tax Collector")
the employer's name, address and other information the Tax Collector
may require within 15 days after the effective date of this article
or within 15 days after first becoming an employer.
B.
Each employer
shall assess each taxpayer a pro rata share of the tax for each payroll
period. The pro rata share shall be determined by dividing the tax
levied by the number of payroll periods established by the employer
for the calendar year.
C.
For each taxpayer
employed for any length of time after the effective date of this article,
each employer shall deduct the tax from compensation payable to the
taxpayer, file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector
and pay to such Tax Collector the amount of taxes deducted on a quarterly
basis as follows: April 30, July 30, October 30 and January 30 for
the preceding quarter of the current tax year. For each taxpayer for
whom no prior deduction has been made, who is employed after the effective
date of this article, each employer shall withhold from the taxpayer,
for the first payroll period after employment, a lump sum equal to
the amount of tax that was not withheld from the taxpayer, 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 taxpayer subject to withholding
of the tax under this article is subsequently severed in that calendar
year, the taxpayer shall be liable for any outstanding balance of
tax due, and the Township may pursue collection under this article
and the Act.
D.
As to taxpayers
who present official receipts evidencing prior payment of the tax
imposed hereby either directly or by collection though employers,
the employer shall not deduct that pro rata share of the tax, but
the employer shall withhold from the taxpayer, for the first payroll
period, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld
from the taxpayer to equal the necessary amount due from that taxpayer
to date to equal what all other employees have paid, 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.
E.
If a taxpayer
who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax levied
under this article becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year
under this article, the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder
of that calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the taxpayer,
for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification, a
lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the
taxpayer due to the exemption claimed by the taxpayer, 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.
F.
Any employer
who discontinues business or ceases operation before December 31 of
any year during which this tax is in effect shall file the return
hereinabove required and pay the tax to the Tax Collector within 15
days after discontinuing business or ceasing operations.
G.
The failure of
any employer to deduct the tax as required in this section shall not
relieve the taxpayer 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 Tax Collector shall be liable
for such tax in full, without deduction of the commission hereinafter
provided, as though the tax had originally been levied against such
employer.
H.
Each employer
may deduct and retain a commission equal to 2% of the total amount
of tax collected through the employer pursuant to this section.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed or whose
tax for any other reason is not collected under this article shall
file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and shall
pay the tax directly to such Collector. Each such taxpayer who first
becomes subject to the tax after the effective date of this article
shall file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and
pay to such Tax Collector the amount of taxes due and owing on a quarterly
basis as follows: April 30, July 30, October 30 and January 30 for
the preceding quarter of the current tax year.
The Tax Collector shall collect and receive
the taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed by this article and
shall maintain records showing the amounts received and the dates
such amounts were received. The Tax 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. The Tax Collector and agents designated
by him/her may examine the records of any employer and/or supposed
employer or of any 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 Tax Collector and
any agent designated by him/her all means, facilities and opportunities
for the examination hereby authorized.
The Tax 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, penalty at the rate of 6% per year on the amount of unpaid taxes
and additional interest of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of the 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
cost of collection as well as for interest and penalties. The Tax
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 has been overpayment to the Tax Collector, such Tax Collector
shall refund the amount of the overpayment to the person who paid
under protest. Any action instituted for such judicial determination
shall be instituted within two years of the last day of the period
for which the tax is disputed or claim made. All refunds shall be
made in conformity with the procedure prescribed by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township.[1]
All requests for the refund of overpaid local
services tax shall be made in writing to the Tax Collector and shall
contain sufficient written evidence, including copies of paystubs,
to establish to the Tax Collector that an overpayment has occurred.
The Tax Collector shall make a determination on the request for a
refund within 75 days of the request. All refunds shall be made within
75 days of the request. Any appeal of the Tax Collector's determination
shall be made directly to the Board of Commissioners of the Township
within 30 days of the Tax Collector's decision.
A.
Any person who
fails, neglects or refuses to make any declaration or return required
by this article as amended; any employer who fails, neglects or refuses
to register or to pay the tax deducted from his employees or fails,
neglects or refuses to deduct or withhold the tax from his employees;
any person who refuses to permit the officer or any agent designated
by him to examine his books, records and papers; and any person who
knowingly makes any incomplete, false or fraudulent return or attempts
to do anything whatsoever to avoid the full disclosure of the amount
of his net profits or earned income in order to avoid the payment
of the whole or any part of the tax imposed by this article, as amended,
shall, upon conviction thereof before any Magisterial District Judge
or court of competent jurisdiction in Berks County, Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500 for
each offense and costs and, in default of payment of said fine and
costs, to be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 30 days.
B.
The failure of
any person to receive or procure forms required for making the declaration
or returns required by this article, as amended, shall not excuse
him from making such declaration or return.
