[Adopted 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 1198 (Ch. 236, Art. I, of the 1999 Code)]
This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough of
Homestead Local Services Tax Ordinance."
The following words and phrases, when used in this Part, shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the
context or language clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
The Borough of Homestead, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
The person, public employee or private agency designated
by the Borough to collect and administer the tax herein imposed.
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Compensation, as this term is defined in § 501
of the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6924.501, as amended.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see AO)]
An individual, partnership, association, limited liability
corporation, limited liability partnership, corporation, governmental
body, agency or other entity employing one or more persons on a salary,
wage, commission or other compensation basis, including a self-employed
person.
Indicates the singular and plural number, as well as male,
female and neuter genders.
Any person, male or female, engaged in any occupation, trade
or profession within the Borough.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession,
or other activity, as this term is defined in § 501 of the
Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6924.501, as amended.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see AO)]
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type,
kind or character, including services, domestic or other, carried
on or performed within the Borough for which compensation is charged
or received, whether by means of salary, wages, commission or fees
for services rendered.
The local services tax at the rate fixed in § 24-903 of this Part.
The period from January 1 until December 31 in any year;
a calendar year.
Within the corporate limits of the Borough.
For specific revenue purposes, an annual tax is hereby levied
and assessed, commencing January 1, 2008, upon the privilege of engaging
in an occupation with a primary place of employment within the Borough
during the tax year. Each natural person who exercises such privilege
for any length of time during any tax year shall pay the tax for that
year in the amount of $40, assessed on a pro rata basis, in accordance
with the provisions of this Part. This tax may be used solely for
the following purposes as the same may be allocated by the Borough
Council from time to time: 1) emergency services, which shall include
emergency medical services, police services and/or fire services;
2) road construction and/or maintenance; 3) reduction of property
taxes; or 4) property tax relief through implementation of a homestead
and farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 85,
Subchapter F[1] (relating to homestead property exclusion). The Borough
shall use no less than 25% of the funds derived from the tax for emergency
services. This tax is in addition to all other taxes of any kind or
nature heretofore levied by the Borough. The tax shall be no more
than $52 on each person for each calendar year, irrespective of the
number of political subdivisions within which a person may be employed.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8581 et seq.
1.
Exemption. Any person whose total
earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough
is less than $12,000 for any calendar year in which the tax is levied
is exempt from the payment of the tax for that calendar year. In addition,
the following persons are exempt from payment of the tax:
A.
Any person who has 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 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 the 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.
2.
Procedure to claim exemption.
A.
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Borough and with the person's employer 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. In the event the Borough utilizes a Collector, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that Collector. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all 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. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate and until otherwise instructed by the Borough or except as required by Subsection 2B, the employer shall not withhold the tax from the person during the calendar year or the remainder of the calendar year for which the exemption certificate applies. Employers shall ensure that the exemption certificate forms are readily available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee with a form at the time of hiring.
B.
With respect to a person who claimed an exemption from the tax for a given calendar year, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the Borough 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 upon an employer's payment to the person of earned income within the Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, an employer shall withhold the local services tax from the person under Subsection 2C.
C.
If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection 2B, the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under Subsection 2B, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person under this subsection, 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 subsection is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balances of tax due, and the Borough may pursue collection under this Part.
3.
Refunds. The Borough Manager,
in consultation with the Collector and DCED, shall establish procedures
for the processing of refund claims for any tax paid by any person
who is eligible for exemption, which procedures shall be in accord
with provisions of the general municipal law relating to refunds of
overpayments and interest on overpayments. (NOTE: With respect to
refunds, see 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8425; with respect to interest,
see 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8426.) Refunds made within 75 days of
a refund request or 75 days after the last day the employer is required
to remit the tax for the last quarter of the calendar year, whichever
is later, shall not be subject to interest. No refunds shall be made
for amounts overpaid in a calendar year that do not exceed $1. The
Borough Manager or the Collector shall determine eligibility for refunds
to exempt persons and provide refunds.
1.
Employers.
A.
Each employer within the Borough,
as well as those employers situated outside the Borough but who engage
in business within the Borough, is hereby charged with the duty of
collecting the tax from each of his employees engaged by him or performing
for him within the Borough and making a return and payment thereof
to the Collector. Further, each employer is hereby authorized to deduct
this tax from each employee in his or her employ, whether said employee
is paid by salary, wage or commission and whether or not all such
services are performed within the Borough.
B.
A person subject to the tax shall be assessed by the employer a pro rata share of the tax for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the person for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the combined 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, an employer shall round down the amount of the tax collected each payroll period to the nearest one-hundredth of a dollar. Collection of the tax shall be made on a payroll-period basis for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation, except as provided in Subsection 1D of this section. For purposes of this subsection, "combined rate" shall mean the aggregate annual rate of the tax levied by the Steel Valley School District and the Borough.
C.
No person shall be subject to
the payment of the tax by more than one political subdivision during
each payroll period.
D.
In the case of concurrent employment,
an employer shall refrain from withholding the tax if the employee
provides a recent pay statement from a principal employer that includes
the name of the employer, the length of the payroll period and the
amount of the tax withheld and a statement from the employee that
the pay statement is from the employee's principal employer and the
employee will notify other employers of a change in principal place
of employment within two weeks of its occurrence. The employee's statement
shall be provided on the form approved by DCED.
E.
The tax shall be no more than
$52 on each person for each calendar year, irrespective of the number
of political subdivisions within which a person may be employed. The
Borough shall provide a taxpayer a receipt of payment upon request
by the taxpayer.
F.
No employer shall be held liable for failure to withhold the tax or for the payment of the withheld tax money to the Borough if the failure to withhold taxes 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. Further, an employer shall not be liable for payment of the local services tax in an amount exceeding the amount withheld by the employer if the employer complies with the provisions of Subsection 2 of § 24-904 of this Part and this section and remits the amount so withheld in accordance with this Part.
G.
Employers shall be required
to remit the taxes 30 days after the end of each quarter of a calendar
year.
2.
Self-employed individuals. Each
self-employed individual who performs services of any type or kind
or engages in any occupation or profession within a primary place
of employment within the Borough shall be required to comply with
this Part and pay the pro rata portion of the tax due to the Collector
on or before the 30th day following the end of each quarter.
Each employer shall prepare and file a return showing a computation
of the tax on forms to be supplied to the employer by the Collector.
If an employer fails to file the return and pay the tax, whether or
not the employer makes collection thereof from the salary, wages or
commissions paid by him or her to an employee, except as provided
hereafter in this Part, the employer shall be responsible for the
payment of the tax in full as though the tax had been originally levied
against the employer.
In each tax year, each employer shall use his or her employment
records to determine the number of employees from whom such tax shall
deducted and paid over to the Collector on or before the 30th day
following the end of each calendar quarter of each such tax year.
1.
The situs of the tax shall be
the place of employment on the first day the person becomes subject
to the tax during each payroll period. In the event a person is engaged
in more than one occupation, that is, concurrent employment, or an
occupation which requires the person working in more than one political
subdivision during a payroll period, the priority of claim to collect
the local services tax shall be in the following order:
A.
First, the political subdivision
in which a person maintains his or her principal office or is principally
employed;
B.
Second, the political subdivision
in which the person resides and works if the tax is levied by that
political subdivision;
C.
Third, the political subdivision
in which a person is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in
miles to the person's home.
2.
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.
All employers and self-employed individuals residing or having
their places of business outside of the Borough but who perform services
of any type or kind or engage in any occupation or profession within
the Borough do, by virtue thereof, agree to be bound by and subject
themselves to the provisions, penalties and regulations promulgated
under this Part with the same force and effect as though they were
residents of the Borough. Further, any individual engaged in an occupation
within the Borough and an employee of a nonresidential employer may,
for the purpose of this Part, be considered a self-employed person,
and in the event his or her tax is not paid, the Borough shall have
the option of proceeding against either the employer or employee for
the collection of this tax as hereinafter provided.
1.
The Collector shall be appointed
by resolution of the Borough Council. It shall be the duty of the
Collector to accept and receive payments of this tax and to keep a
record thereof showing the amount received by him from each employer
or self-employed person, together with the date the tax was received.
2.
The Collector is hereby charged
with the administration and enforcement of this Part and is hereby
charged and empowered, subject to Borough Council approval, to prescribe,
adopt and promulgate rules and regulations relating to any matter
pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this Part, including
provisions for the examination of payroll records of any employer
subject to this Part, the examination and correction of any return
made in compliance with this Part and any payment alleged or found
to be incorrect or as to which overpayment is claimed or found to
have occurred. Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Collector
shall have the right to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny
County as in other cases provided.
3.
The Collector is hereby authorized
to examine the books and payroll records of any employer in order
to verify the accuracy of any return made by an employer or, if no
return was made, to ascertain the tax due. Each employer is hereby
directed and required to give the Collector the means, facilities
and opportunity for such examination.
1.
In the event that any tax under
this Part remains due or unpaid 30 days after the due dates above
set forth, the Collector may sue for the recovery of any such tax
due or unpaid under this Part, together with interest and penalty.
2.
If for any reason the tax is
not paid when due, interest at the rate of 6% on the amount of such
tax shall be calculated beginning with the due date of the tax, and
a penalty of 5% shall be added to the flat rate of such tax for nonpayment
thereof. Where a suit is brought for the recovery of this tax or another
appropriate remedy is undertaken, the individual liable therefor shall,
in addition, be responsible and liable for the costs of collection.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see AO)]
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement on any return required
by this Part, or whoever refuses inspection of the books, records
or accounts in his or her custody and control setting forth the number
of employees subject to this tax who are in his or her employment,
or whoever fails or refuses to file any return required by this Part
shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment
of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
The action to enforce the penalty herein prescribed may be instituted
against any person in charge of the business of any employer who shall
have failed or who refuses to file a return required by this Part.
1.
Nothing contained in this Part
shall be construed to empower the Borough to levy and collect the
tax hereby imposed on any occupation not within the taxing power of
the Borough under the Constitution of the United States and the laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
2.
If the tax hereby imposed under
the provisions of this Part shall be held by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be in violation of the Constitution of the United
States or of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as to any
individual, the decision of the court shall not affect or impair the
right to impose or collect said tax or the validity of the tax so
imposed on other persons or individuals as herein provided.
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 occupational
privilege tax, plus applicable penalties and interest, for calendar
year 2006 and all prior calendar years, or of an emergency and municipal
services tax for calendar year 2007, as the same existed prior to
this amendment.
The tax imposed by this Part shall be effective on January 1,
2008, and all calendar years thereafter, unless repealed or modified
by ordinance of the Borough Council.