[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall
have, for the purpose of this Part, the meaning herein indicated.
Moreover, a definition itself may contain words or phrases that are,
themselves, defined:
ASSOCIATION
A partnership, limited partnership, or any other unincorporated
group of two or more persons.
BUSINESS
An enterprise, activity, profession or any other undertaking
of any nature whether or not conducted for profit and whether by a
person, partnership, corporation, association, or any other entity.
COLLECTOR or TAX COLLECTOR
The person or agency (whether public or private) designated
and appointed by the Township Board of Supervisors to collect the
local services tax levied herein and to administer the provisions
thereof.
CONCURRENT EMPLOYMENT
A person who engaged in more than one occupation, employed
by more than one employer or is employed in more than one municipality
or political subdivision.
CORPORATION
Any corporation, limited liability company or joint stock
association, organized under the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, or any other State, territory, foreign country or
dependency and whether for profit or nonprofit.
DOMICILE
The place where one lives and has his permanent home and
to which he has the intention of returning whenever he is absent.
Actual residence is not necessarily domicile, for domicile is the
fixed place of abode which, in the intention of the taxpayer, is permanent
rather than transitory. Domicile is the voluntarily fixed place of
habitation of a person, not for a mere special or limited purpose,
but with the present intention of making a permanent home, until some
event occurs to induce him to adopt some other permanent home. In
the case of businesses, the domicile is that place considered as the
center of business affairs and the place where its primary functions
are discharged.
EMPLOYER
Any person, individual, partnership (including limited partnership),
limited liability company, association, corporation, institution,
governmental body, unit or agency or any other business or entity
who or that employs one or more persons on a salary, wage, commission,
or other remuneration or compensation basis and irrespective of whether
that employer operates on a profit or nonprofit basis.
HE, HIS, HIM
The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall
include the feminine and neuter.
OCCUPATION
Any enterprise, activity, trade, profession, or undertaking
of any nature conducted for profit or ordinarily conduct for profit,
whether by an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or
any other business or entity, whereby any wage, salary, commission
or other compensation or form of remuneration is earned or paid.
PERSON
A natural person, partnership, association, corporation,
business, entity, or fiduciary. Whenever used in any clause prescribing
or imposing a penalty, the term “person” as applied to
partnership or associations shall mean the partners or members thereof
and, as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
RESIDENT
A person, partnership, association, corporation or other
business or entity domiciled in the Township of Smithfield.
SALARIES, WAGES, COMMISSIONS AND OTHER COMPENSATION
Includes salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, incentive
payments, fees and tips and any form of income, profits or remuneration
that is/are paid or may accrue or be received by an individual for
services rendered, whether directly or through an agent and whether
in cash or in property. However, this does not include periodic payments
for sick or disability benefits, retirement pay, pensions paid to
persons retired from service after reaching a specific age or after
a stated period of employment, public assistance, unemployment compensation
payments, any wages or compensation paid by the United States to any
person for active military service for the United States and any bonus
or additional compensation paid by the United States or the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or any other State for such military service.
TAX
The local services tax (LST).
TAXPAYER
A person, partnership, association, corporation, business,
entity or fiduciary required hereunder to file a return on salaries,
wages, profits, commissions or other compensation or to pay a tax
thereon.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Smithfield, Monroe County, PA.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
Each employer shall prepare and file a return showing a computation
of the tax either by certified letter or on forms to be supplied by
the Tax Collector to each employer. If the employer fails to file
said return and pay said tax, whether or not he makes collection thereof
from the salary, wages, commissions, profits or other compensation
paid by him to said employees, the employer shall be responsible for
the payment of the tax in full for all employees as though the tax
had originally been levied against the employer. However, no employer
shall be held liable for failure to withhold the local services tax
or for the payment of the withheld tax money to the Township 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. Provided: further that 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 this Part and remits the amount so withheld in accordance with
this Part; and, provided further, that employers shall be required
to remit and pay to the Tax Collector the local services tax 30 calendar
days after the end of each quarter of a calendar year.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
Each employer shall use his employment records for determining
the number of employees from whom said tax shall be deducted, withheld
and paid over said tax to the Tax Collector 30 calendar days after
the end of each quarter of the calendar year, i.e., 30 days after
March 31, 30 days after June 30, 30 days after September 30 and 30
days after December 31 of each year.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The situs of the tax shall be the place of employment determined
as of the day the person first becomes subject to the tax during the
calendar year. In the event a person is engaged in concurrent employment
during a payroll period, the priority of claim to collect the local
services tax shall be in the following order: first, the political
subdivision in which a person maintains the person’s principal
office or is principally employed; second, the political subdivision
in which the person resides and works, if the tax is levied by that
political subdivision; and third, the political subdivision in which
a person is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to
the person’s home. It is the intent of this provision (and ordinance)
that no person shall pay more than $52 is any calendar year as a local
services tax, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions
within which such individual may be employed within any given calendar
year. In case of dispute, a tax receipt of the taxing authority for
that calendar year declaring that the taxpayer has made prior payment
of the local services tax will constitute prima facie certification
of payment of tax to all other political subdivisions.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The Township will adopt regulations (by resolution) for the
processing of refund claims for overpaid local services taxes for
any calendar year. The regulations shall be consistent with 53 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 8425 (relating to refunds of overpayments) and § 8426
(relating to interest on overpayment). Refunds made within 75 calendar
days of a written refund request or 75 calendar days after the last
day the employer is required to remit the local services tax 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. The
Township is required to provide refunds only for amounts overpaid
in a calendar year that exceed $1.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
All self-employed individuals who perform labor or services
of any type or kind, engage in any occupation, trade, or profession
or is otherwise employed within the Township shall be required to
comply with this Part and pay the tax on a pro-rata quarterly basis
or as soon thereafter as he engages in such labor, services, employment,
occupation, trade or profession but no later, however, than December
31 of the year at which time the full amount of the tax shah have
been paid.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
All employers and self-employed individuals residing or having
their domicile or place of business outside of the Township, but who
perform labor or services of any type or kind, or engage in any trade,
occupation or profession within the Township 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 Township. Further, any
individual engaged in an occupation within the Township and as employee
of a nonresident employer may, for the purposes of this Part, be considered
a self-employed person, and, in the event this tax is not paid, the
Township shall have the option of proceeding against either the employer
or employee for the collection of this tax as hereinafter provided.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The Township Board of Supervisors shall be empowered from time
to time to adopt by resolution additional rules and regulations pertaining
to this Part including changing the amount of the tax imposed as such
charges are administrative (and not legislative) in nature.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The tax imposed by this Part remaining unpaid (after it becomes
due) shall bear interest at the rate of 6% per year for each month
or fraction of a month during which the tax remains due and unpaid;
and, the employers and/or persons upon whom said interest charges
are imposed shall be further liable to a penalty of 10% of the amount
of the unpaid tax.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement on any return required by this Part, or who refuses inspection of his books, records or accounts in his custody and control setting forth the number of employees subject to this tax who are in his employment, or whoever fails or refuses to file any return required by this Part or whoever fails to withhold or pay the tax imposed by this Part shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600 for each offense and, in default of payment of said fine, be imprisoned in Monroe County Prison for a period not exceeding 30 days for each offense; and, each day that a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. It is further provided that the action to enforce the fine and penalty herein provided may be instituted against any person in charge of the business or in charge of any employer who has failed or refuses to withhold the tax, to file a return or to remit the tax required by this Part. This provision shall be in addition to the charges for interest and late penalty as per §
24-113 hereof and is also in addition to any other available remedy, whether at law or in equity.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
This Part and the tax herein levied shall be effective for the
calendar year 2011 (beginning January 1, 2011) and shall apply on
a continuing annual basis thereafter, unless the ordinance and/or
rate of said tax is subsequently amended or changed.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The local services tax imposed herein is in addition to any
other taxes of any kind or nature levied by the Township.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
Act 7 of 2007 directs that the PA DCED shall provide suggested
forms and technical assistance to facilitate the administration of
the local services tax for political subdivisions and reduce the burden
of implementation, accounting and compliance for employers and taxpayers.
Nevertheless, the failure of PA DCED to provide such forms or assistance
shall not affect or impair the rights and obligations of the Township,
employers or persons hereunder; and, such local services tax is to
be withheld, remitted any paid notwithstanding such assistance by
or from PA DCED.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The terms, conditions and provisions of this Part are severable.
If any such term, condition or provision of this Part is, for any
reason, found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such unconstitutionality,
illegality or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining
terms, conditions or provisions of this Part; and it is hereby declared
to be the intent of the Township that this Part would have been adopted
and enacted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid term, condition
or provision not been included herein.
[Ord. 199, 11/9/2010]
The terms, conditions and provisions of any other Township ordinance or resolution which are inconsistent herewith shall be deemed vacated and/or repealed (including the occupational privilege tax imposed by Chapter
24, §
24-101 et seq., of the Township Code of Ordinances); but, any other terms, conditions and provisions of those or any other Township ordinance or resolution which are not inconsistent herewith shall remain in full force and effect.