[Adopted 5-25-1959 by Ord. No. 218; amended in its entirety 4-19-1983 by Ord. No. 433]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms and phrases
shall have, for the purpose of this Part 4, the meanings hereinafter
indicated:
The carrying on or the exercising, whether for gain or profit
or otherwise, within the Borough of Sharpsburg, of any trade, business,
including financial business as herein defined, profession, vocation,
service, construction, communication or commercial activity, or making
sales to person or rendering services from or attributable to a Borough
office or place of business in the Borough of Sharpsburg.
[Amended 12-22-2022 by Ord. No. 22-11]
The term "business" shall not include that portion of any business
which is subject to the Borough mercantile tax (if any); the business
or service of any political subdivision; any employment for a wage
or salary; and any business or portion thereof upon which the power
to levy a tax is withheld by law.
The term "business" shall include the services and transactions
of banks and bankers; trust, credit and investment companies, where
not prohibited by law; holding companies; dealers and brokers in money,
credits, commercial paper, bonds, notes, securities and stocks; monetary
metals, factors and commission merchants.
The term "business" shall include such diversified activities
as consultation, repairs, professional advice, preparation of forms,
commission sales, drug prescriptions, rentals, professional treatment
and/or counseling, training, supplying men or material, building,
engineering, planning and installations, men's barbering and
hairstyling and women's beauty salon services, in addition to
any services associated with the above referred to diversified activities.
Owners of two or more residential rental units are subject to the
tax.
The term "business" shall include the receipt of any cash, credits
and property of any kind or nature received in, or attributable to,
the Borough of Sharpsburg from any business or by reason of any sale
made or services rendered or commercial or business transaction occurring
in the Borough of Sharpsburg, but excluding the sales that are subject
to the Borough mercantile tax. The taxpayer shall not deduct the cost
of materials, labor, services or other costs, interest or discount
paid, or any other expense, unless it is provided for in this part.
Shall include natural person, firm, association, copartnership,
corporation, (except such corporations as are exempt from taxation
under an Act of Assembly), limited partnership and unincorporated
association. Whenever used in any clause prescribing or imposing a
penalty, the word "person" as applied to associations shall mean the
partners or members and as applied to corporations shall mean the
officers thereof.
Every person, and every receiver, trustee, assignee or other
person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed
by a court or otherwise, and any other combination of persons carrying
on or exercising for gain or profit or otherwise any trade, business,
profession, vocation, service, construction, communication or commercial
activity, or financial business in the Borough of Sharpsburg must
file a business privilege tax return, except vendors whose entire
business is subject to the Borough mercantile tax or those business
activities which are exempt by law. A partnership is considered to
be a taxable unit. The respective partners are not required to file
separate returns as individuals, but they are jointly and severally
liable for payment of the tax.
Persons subject to this part are categorized as follows:
Taxable activity requiring payment of the tax in accordance
with the rate and terms herein includes any trade, business, profession,
vocation, service, construction, communication or commercial activity,
or financial business that is carried on in the Borough of Sharpsburg
or controlled from a location within the municipality.
1.
Business constituting taxable activity shall include any trade, business,
profession, vocation, service, construction, communication or commercial
activity, or financial business of an intrastate or interstate character
which is generated by a Borough office or location of the taxpayer
or occurs within the Borough or has certain contacts within the Borough
and which is not prohibited by law.
2.
A person who is engaged in a taxable activity in the Borough of Sharpsburg
is subject to this tax, whether or not he is a resident and whether
or not he has a permanent place of business in the Borough. A foreign
corporation is subject to this tax if it carries on a taxable activity
in the Borough, whether or not it is licensed to do business in the
commonwealth.
Receipts from sales made or services rendered to all governmental
bodies, including authorities, and to religious, charitable and educational
corporations and associations shall not be excluded from the tax base.
The part does not grant any exemption to taxpayers transacting business
with such agencies or institutions.
Businesses subject to the mercantile tax are not subject to
the business privilege tax to the extent that all or part of the business
activity is subject to that tax. Where a portion of the business is
subject to the mercantile tax, the remaining portion may be subject
to the business privilege tax as contained herein.
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed and who has paid an occupational privilege tax so levied by the Borough of Sharpsburg or any other municipality may deduct said occupational privilege tax (see Part 5 this chapter) from the amount of tax due and owing under the provisions of this part. Corporations which are not subject to an occupational privilege tax may not deduct occupational privilege tax they have withheld from their employees.
[Amended 5-26-2022 by Ord. No. 22-04]
Every business subject to this tax shall, on or before the 15th
day of April of each year, commencing January 1, 1959, file a return
under oath or affirmation with the Tax Collector. Such return shall
be on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and shall indicate the
taxable gross receipts of such person under this part during the previous
calendar year, ending on December 31.
1.
If any person who is a taxpayer under this part during the preceding
year shall have acquired the assets or business of, shall have merged
with another person, the person subject to such tax shall be liable
for and shall include in his return the gross receipts of such other
person taxable under this part for the applicable portion of such
year.
2.
Tax forms as required hereunder may be obtained from the Tax Collector.
Failure to receive the forms will not excuse a taxpayer for failure
to file his return. Said return must be filed in accordance with the
terms and provisions of the within ordinance with the Tax Collector.
3.
If the person who is a taxpayer under the terms and provisions of
this part is an individual, he shall sign the return. If the taxpayer
is a partnership, the return shall be signed by at least one of the
general partners. If the taxpayer is a corporation, the return shall
be signed by an officer of the corporation.
Payment of the tax hereunder may be made in cash or by check
or money order drawn to the order of the Borough of Sharpsburg. Cash
payments must be made only to the Municipal Secretary, receipt of
which shall be acknowledged by the issuance of a signed receipt by
the Secretary.
The rate of tax shall be 1 1/2 mills on gross receipts
and/or volume derived during the preceding calendar year.
Persons subject to both the business privilege tax and the mercantile
tax shall file separate returns for each and pay the tax for each
such tax as required.
If the tax is not paid when due, a penalty of 10% per annum
shall be added to the amount of the tax. If any return required under
this part shall not be filed when due, the person or taxpayer responsible
for such return shall, in addition to the tax due and any penalty
for nonpayment of the tax, pay an additional penalty of 1% of the
amount of unpaid taxes for each month or fraction thereof beyond the
date which such return was due, until such return shall have been
filed.
All taxes imposed by this part, together with all penalties
imposed under this part, shall be recoverable by the Municipal Solicitor
as other debts of like amount are recoverable.
Any information gained by any official or agent of the Borough
of Sharpsburg as a result of any returns, investigations, hearings
or verifications required or authorized by this part shall be strictly
confidential, except for official purposes, and except in accordance
with any proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law. Any
disclosure of any such information contrary to the provisions of this
section shall constitute a violation of this part.
Any person or taxpayer convicted of violating any provision
or requirements of this part or of failing, neglecting or refusing
to pay any tax or penalties imposed under this part or knowingly making
any incomplete, false or fraudulent returns, or of attempting to do
anything to avoid the payment of the whole or any part of the tax
imposed under this part shall be liable to an additional fine or penalty
not exceeding $300 for each and every offense, plus the costs of prosecution,
or to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days. Provided that
such fine and/or penalty shall be in addition to any other penalty
imposed by any other section of this part.
This part shall not apply to any person or property as to whom
or which it is beyond the legal power of the Borough Council to impose
the tax or duties herein provided for.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of this part is for
any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, invalid or unenforceable,
such unconstitutionality, illegality, invalidity or unenforceability
shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences,
clauses, sections or parts of this part. It is hereby declared as
the intent of the Borough Council that this part would have been adopted
had such unconstitutional, illegal, invalid or unenforceable sentence,
clause, section or part thereof not been included herein.
The taxable year shall be the period from January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of each and every year; however, any person or taxpayer subject to this part shall file a return in accordance with § 24-408 of this part.
[Added 10-21-1987 by Ord.
No. 456]
The Tax Collector or any other person designated by the Borough for that purpose is hereby charged with the enforcement of the provisions of the Business Privilege Tax Ordinance (§§ 24-401 to 24-419 this chapter). The Collector is hereby authorized to examine the books, papers, tax returns and records of any taxpayer in order to verify the accuracy of any return made, or if no return is made, to ascertain the amount of tax due by any person under this chapter. Every such taxpayer is hereby directed and required to give to the Tax Collector or such other authorized person the means, facilities and opportunity for such examinations and investigations as are hereby authorized. The Tax Collector is hereby authorized to examine any person under oath concerning any receipts which were, or should have been, included for taxation, and to this end, the Borough Council or its Tax Collector may compel the production of books, papers, records and tax returns and the attendance of all persons before the Council or its Tax Collector or such other person as is authorized, whether as parties or witnesses, whom the Tax Collector believes to have knowledge of such receipts.
