This article shall be known as the "McKees Rocks Borough Amusement Tax Ordinance."
[Adopted 2-8-1983 by Ord. No. 1417]
A. AMUSEMENT ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED PRICE MAYOR PERSONS PLACE OF AMUSEMENT PRODUCER SECRETARY
The following words and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section except when the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
All manner and form of entertainment, diversion, sport, recreation or pastime, including, but not limited to, vaudeville, circus, carnival and/or side shows, all forms of entertainment at fair grounds, street fairs, amusement parks, athletic contests, including, but not limited to, wrestling matches, boxing and sparring shows or exhibitions, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, skating, golfing, tennis, bathing, swimming, archery, shooting, riding, all dancing, comedy shows, all singing, orchestra, band, or any other musical performances of any kind, all dancing performances, shows, or exhibitions, and any other type or form of diversion, sport, pastime, recreation, show, performance, entertainment, exhibition, contest, display or game, whether or not the same be conducted at any bar, grill, tavern, lounge, restaurant, beer garden, roof garden, cabaret, nightclub, club, diner, taproom, lunchroom, saloon or any other place, public or private, and whether or not the same be only part of, or incident to any other activity, conduct, or business then and there occurring, and, including, but not limited to, any other method, direct or indirect, of obtaining any charges, fee, price, donation, money, consideration, or any thing of value whatsoever, from the general public, or a limited or selected number thereof, or any person or number of persons, directly or indirectly in return for other than tangible property or specific personal or professional services. The term "amusement" shall not apply to actual participation in athletics or athletic events where no fixed admission charge is said. The term "amusement" shall include the operating of any mechanical amusement device and music box as defined in Chapter 238, Amusement Devices, of the Code of the Borough of McKees Rocks.
Any partnership, limited partnership or other forms of unincorporated enterprise, owned by two or more persons.
Regular charge in money or money worth, of any character whatsoever, including donations, contributions, dues and membership fees, periodical or otherwise, fixed and enacted, or in any manner received by producers, as herein defined, from the general public, or a limited or selected number thereof, or any person or number of persons, directly or indirectly, for the privilege of attending or engaging in any entertainment, amusement, sport, recreation, pastime, show, performance, exhibition, contest, display or game, provided that when the same is conducted at any bar, grill, tavern, lounge, restaurant, beer garden, roof garden, cabaret, nightclub, club, diner, taproom, lunchroom, or saloon, or such similar place, the charge for such privilege shall be presumed to be included in the price paid for refreshments, goods, services, merchandise, cover charge and entrance fee, and the charge for such privilege shall be deemed to be 50% of the price paid for such refreshments, goods, services, merchandise, cover charge and entrance fee. At the option of the producer, however, the charge for such privilege may be deemed to be the price paid for refreshments, goods, services, merchandise, cover charge and entrance fee, less the producer's actual cost, exclusive of any and all taxes, paid to purchase such refreshments, goods and merchandise. Any producer operating any bar, grill, tavern, lounge, restaurant, beer garden, roof garden, cabaret, nightclub, club, diner, taproom, lunchroom or saloon, shall be required to file, along with the first tax return required to be filed hereunder, a statement prepared by him setting forth the following: 1) any admission or entrance fee or charge paid or required to be paid to gain admittance to the subject establishment; 2) the price customarily charged for each item of refreshment, goods, services or merchandise offered for sale by said producer; 3) producer's actual cost, exclusive of any and all taxes, of any and all refreshments, goods and merchandise offered for sale by producer. Such statement shall be amended by such producer from time to time to reflect any changes in any such charges, fees or prices. Failure to file the said statement shall bar absolutely for all period during which said statement is not filed said producer from attempting to exercise the option granted pursuant to the second sentence of this definition, and during such time or times that said statement is not so filed, the charge for such attendance or engagement shall be conclusively deemed to be included in the price paid for refreshments, goods, services, merchandise, cover charge and entrance fee, and the charge paid for such attendance or engagement shall be conclusively deemed to be 50% of the price paid for such refreshments, goods, services, merchandise, cover charge and entrance fee. The term "dues" shall not apply to the regular established dues or membership fees of private clubs, lodges or fraternal organizations, but any special assessment made by such organizations for any affair at which entertainment is provided shall be subject to tax as set forth in this article. The term "established price" shall, with regard to mechanical amusement devices and music boxes, as the same are defined in Chapter 238, Amusement Devices, shall mean all sums of money inserted therein or paid to operate the same, and with regard to such devices or boxes operated by any slug, token, plate or disc, either the amount paid to obtain such slug, plate, token or disc, or the cash equivalent thereof.
The Mayor of the Borough of McKees Rocks.
Every natural person, copartnership, association or corporation or quasi-municipal corporation. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, or both, the term "person," as applied to copartnerships or associations, shall mean the partners or members thereof, and as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
Any place, indoors or outdoors within the Borough of McKees Rocks, where the general public, or a limited or selected number thereof, or any person or number of persons, may attend or engage in any amusement as herein defined.
Any person as herein defined, conducting any place of amusement, as herein defined, where the general public or a limited or selected number thereof, or any person or number of persons, may attend or engage in any amusement as herein defined.
The Secretary of the Borough of McKees Rocks.
B.
The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
A.
On and after the effective date of this article, it shall be unlawful for any producer to continue to conduct, or thereafter to begin to conduct any form of amusement at any permanent or temporary place of amusement, or any itinerant form of amusement, within the Borough of McKees Rocks, unless an amusement permit or permits shall have been issued to him, and the tax herein imposed paid in accordance with the provisions herein made, except that any producer conducting any permanent place of amusement existing and operating on the effective date hereof need not procure such a permit prior to January 1, 1974, if said producer has already procured such a permit under any preceding amusement tax ordinance.
B.
Every producer desiring to continue to conduct or hereafter to begin to conduct any amusement within the Borough of McKees Rocks shall file an application for a permanent, temporary or itinerant amusement permit or permits, as the case may be, with the Secretary. Every application for such permit or permits shall be made upon a form prescribed, prepared, and furnished by and procured from the Secretary, and shall set forth the name under which the applicant conducts or intends to conduct a permanent or temporary place of amusement, whether or not the applicant is the holder of a mercantile license in effect when the application is made, and, if so, the number of such license, and such other information as the Secretary may require. If the applicant has or intends to have more than one place of amusement within the Borough of McKees Rocks, the application shall state the location of each place of amusement, and in the case of itinerant form of amusement, the date and length of time such amusement is to be conducted at each place. In the case of an application for a permit for a temporary place of amusement, the application shall state the name and address of the owners, lessee or custodian of the premises upon which such amusement is to be conducted. If the applicant is an association or corporation, applicant shall state the names and addresses of the principal officers thereof, and any other information prescribed by the Secretary for purposes of identification shall be stated. The application shall be signed and verified by oath or affirmation by the producer, if a natural person, and in the case of an association, by a member or partner thereof, and in the case of a corporation by an executive officer thereof, or some person specifically authorized by the corporation to sign the application, to which shall be attached the written evidence of his authority.
(1)
Upon approval of the application, the Secretary shall grant and issue to each applicant an amusement permit for each place of amusement within the Borough of McKees Rocks set forth in his application.
(2)
Amusement permits shall not be assignable, and shall be valid only for the persons in whose names issued and for the conduct of amusements at the places designated therein, and shall at all times be conspicuously displayed at the places for which issued. The producer of an itinerant form of amusement shall notify the Secretary promptly of any change in the originally contemplated itinerary, either as to date or time of the conduct of the amusement at each place.
C.
The Secretary may, after hearing, suspend, or revoke an amusement permit whenever he finds that the holder thereof has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this article. Upon suspending or revoking any amusement permit, the holder thereof shall surrender to the Secretary immediately all permits or duplicates thereof issued to the holder and the holder shall surrender promptly all such permits to the Secretary as required. Whenever the Secretary desires to suspend or revoke an amusement permit, he shall notify the holder immediately of the date, place and time fixed for hearing thereon.
D.
The permits heretofore referred to shall be issued according to the following criteria:
(1)
Permits for permanent places of amusement shall be procured yearly on or before January 1 of each year, and the applicant shall be required to apply for the same annually.
(2)
Permits for temporary places of amusement shall be procured at least five days in advance of the date upon which the initial conduct of the place of amusement is scheduled to occur, and said permit shall be valid only for a period of 60 days from the date of issuance. The said permit may, upon application, be renewed for one period of 30 days.
(3)
Permits for itinerant places of amusement shall be procured at least five days in advance of the date upon which the initial conduct of the place of amusement is scheduled to occur, and said permit shall be valid only for a period of 15 days from the date of issuance. The said permit may, upon application, be renewed for one period of seven days.
(4)
Producers.
[Amended 7-12-1983 by Ord. No. 1421]
(a)
All producers conducting temporary places of amusement shall be required, upon order of the Secretary, to pay in advance an amount determined by the Secretary to equal 1/3 of the tax estimated to be due from such producer hereunder, said 1/3 amount not to exceed $2,500, and said producer shall also, upon order of the Secretary, be required to pay on or before the 10th day preceding the expiration of said permit an amount determined by the Secretary to equal the total tax estimated to be due from such producer, less the amount paid by said producer in advance as aforesaid, all of which amounts shall be credited to the actual tax due hereunder by such producer, and any overpayment shall promptly be refunded to such producer without interest.
(b)
All producers conducting itinerant places of amusement shall be required, upon order of the Secretary, to pay in advance an amount determined by the Secretary to equal the tax estimated to be due from such producer hereunder, said amount not to exceed $2,500, which amount shall be credited to the actual tax due hereunder by such producer, and any overpayment shall be promptly refunded to such producer without interest.
A.
A tax is hereby imposed for the period commencing upon the effective date hereof and continuing for each succeeding tax year thereafter upon the admission fee or privileged to attend or engage in any amusement at the rate of 5% of the established price charged the general public, or a limited or selected group thereof, or any person or number of persons, by any producer for such privilege, which shall be paid by the person acquiring such privilege.
[Amended 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 1768]
B.
In the case of persons admitted free or at reduced rates to any place of amusement, at a time when and under circumstances under which an established price is charged to other persons, the tax imposed by this article shall be computed on the established price charged to such other persons of the same class for the same or similar accommodations, to be paid by the person so admitted.
C.
In the case of persons having permanent use of boxes or seats in any place of amusement, or a lease for the use of such box or seat in such place of amusement, the tax imposed by this article shall be computed on the established price for which a similar box or seat is sold for each performance or exhibition at which the box or seat is used or reserved by or for the lessee or holder, such tax to be paid by the lessee or holder.
A.
Producers shall collect the tax imposed by this article and shall be liable to the Borough of McKees Rock as agents thereof for the payment of the same to the Borough of McKees Rocks, as hereinafter provided in this article.
B.
Where permits are obtained for conducting temporary amusements by persons who are not the owners, lessees or custodians of the places where the amusements are to be conducted or where the temporary amusement is permitted by the owner, lessee or custodian of any place to be conducted without the procurement of a permit or permits required by this article, the tax imposed by this article shall be paid by the owner, lessee, or custodian of such place where such temporary amusement is held or conducted unless paid by the producer conducting the amusement.
For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of tax payable by producers to the Borough of McKees Rocks, it shall be the duty of:
A.
Every producer, except as hereinafter provided, conducting a place of amusement, on or before the 25th day of each calendar month after the effective date of this article, to transmit to the Secretary on a form furnished by and procured from the Secretary, a report, under oath or affirmation, of the amount of tax collected by said producer during the preceding month.
B.
Every producer conducting a temporary place of amusement or itinerant form of amusement shall file such report with the Secretary or any duly authorized agent of his promptly after each performance. All reports required under this section shall show such information as the Secretary shall prescribe.
(1)
Every producer, at the time of making every report required by this section, shall compute and pay to the Secretary the taxes collected by him and due to the Borough of McKees Rocks during the period for which the report is made, provided the amount of all taxes imposed for each calendar month under the provisions of this article shall in the case of places of permanent amusement be due and payable on or before the 25th day of the next succeeding month, and, in the case of temporary or itinerant forms of amusement, shall be due and payable on the day the reports in such cases are required to be made under this section, and all such taxes shall bear interest at the rate of 1% per month or fractional part of a month from the date they are due and payable until paid.
[Amended 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 1768]
(2)
If any producer shall neglect or refuse to make any report and payment as herein required, an additional 10% of the amount of the tax shall be added by the Secretary and collected.
C.
Every producer conducting any permanent or temporary place of amusement shall be required to submit to the Secretary or his authorized representative all schedules of all federal and state income tax returns and all schedules of any other state, federal or local tax returns required to be filed by such producer, upon which schedules there is required to be shown all or any part of the established price upon which the within tax is based. Such schedules shall be submitted to the Secretary on or before the 60th day following the close of said producer's fiscal year. In addition thereto, every producer shall be required to make available to the Secretary or his authorized representatives all of said producer's books, records, ledgers, account statements or books, all tax returns, cash register tapes, vouchers, receipts, bills, deposit slips and statements, cancelled checks, bank statements, or any other matter, thing, document or writing required by the Secretary or his said representatives and reasonably necessary to enable the Secretary or his said representative to audit, verify, compute, determine, check, investigate or otherwise inquire into the tax paid or required to be paid hereunder, or relative to any return filed or required to be filed hereunder. Each producer shall be required, upon demand of the Secretary or his authorized representative, and incident to any audit, verification, computation, determination, check, investigation or inquiry conducted hereunder, to execute an authorization permitting, authorizing and requiring the government of the United States or of any state or political subdivision thereof, or any board, commission, department, bureau, service or agency of any of the above, to furnish to the Secretary or his authorized representative any tax return in which there is included any schedule upon which there is required to be shown all or any part of the established price upon which the within tax is based. It shall be the express duty of each and every producer to maintain his books, records, ledgers, and accounts in accordance with reasonably accepted accounting practice and in form and manner reasonably calculated to enable the Secretary to audit, verify, compute, determine, check, investigate, or otherwise inquire into the tax paid or required to be paid hereunder, or relative to any return filed or required to be filed hereunder, and to keep the same for a period of at least seven years after the due date of such tax for the return period to which the records relate, and to keep the same at producer's usual place of business in McKees Rocks, or at producer's registered office or principal place of business, if said registered office or principal place of business is located within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
All such taxes shall be recoverable by the Borough Solicitor as other debts of like amount and now by law recoverable or by such other actions as may be necessary for the recovery of the same.
All taxes, interest and penalties received, collected or recovered under the provisions of this article shall be paid into the Treasury of the Borough of McKees Rocks for the use and benefit of said Borough.
The Secretary is hereby charged with the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article and is hereby empowered to prescribe, adopt, promulgate, and enforce reasonable rules and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this article, to audit, verify, compute, to reexamine, determine, check, investigate or inquire into returns, and payments alleged or found to be incorrect, or as to which an overpayment is claimed, or found to have occurred. The Secretary or his delegate is authorized to make all inquiries relative to the determination and assessment of all taxes required to be paid hereunder and to determine and assess all deficiencies in taxes required to be paid hereunder. The term "taxes" as used herein includes all penalties and interest.
The provisions of this article are severable, and, if any of its provisions shall be held illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, the decision of the court shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions of this article. It is hereby declared to be the intention of Council of the Borough of McKees Rocks that this article would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional provisions had not been included herein.
This article has been passed under the authority vested in Council of the Borough of McKees Rocks by the Act of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 53 P.S. § 6924.101 et seq., and its amendments, commonly known and called "The Local Tax Enabling Act," the terms and provisions of which are hereby accepted and adopted, and in accordance with the provisions thereof, the Secretary is hereby duly constituted and appointed by the Council of the Borough of McKees Rocks as the agent of said Council for the assessment and collection of the tax imposed under said Act and amendments thereto and the provisions of this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person, copartnership, association, or corporation who shall fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with any of the terms or provisions of this article or any regulation or requirement pursuant thereto and authorized thereby shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Borough correctional facility for a period not exceeding 10 days or to the county correctional facility for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this article in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
This article shall become effective on January 1, 1983.
From and after the effective date hereof, Ordinance Nos. 1052, 1064, 1071, 1098, 1109, 1117, 1141, 1155, 1170, 1182, 1191, 1199, 1207, 1214, 1231, 1242, 1256, 1272, 1301 and 1306 are hereby repealed, except that the Borough of McKees Rocks shall have the right to collect thereunder any delinquent or unpaid taxes due thereunder, and to assert and enforce any rights, powers, duties, obligations or liability existing thereunder.