The Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors, for the
purpose of providing revenue for emergency services, road maintenance
and construction, reductions in property taxes and property tax relief,
does hereby impose on each adult resident and nonresident employed
and/or engaged in an occupation within the jurisdiction of Middle
Smithfield Township a local services tax at a flat rate which said
tax shall be in addition to all other taxes levied and assessed by
the Township pursuant to any other laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Beginning on the effective date of this article, each adult
resident or nonresident employed within the boundaries of Middle Smithfield
Township shall be required to pay an annual local services tax in
the amount of $52.
The local services tax shall not be subject to the imposition
of the Local Tax Enabling Act discount and penalty provisions in regard to the levy
and collection of this local services tax.
The entry of the tax in the tax duplicate and the issuance of
the said duplicate to the duly elected or appointed Tax Collector
(as directed by Middle Smithfield Township) shall constitute his warrant
for the collection of the tax as hereby assessed. Each employer within
Middle Smithfield Township shall cooperate with the Township in identifying
those people employed within the Township.
The following persons shall be exempt from the local services
tax:
A. Any person who served in any war or armed conflict in which the United
States was engaged and honorably discharged or released under honorable
circumstances from active duty, 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
permanent 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.
C. Any person who earns less than $12,000 in earned income and net profits
from all sources within Middle Smithfield Township for the calendar
year in which the local services tax is levied.
(1) A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax
may annually file an exemption certificate with Middle Smithfield
Township, the elected or appointed Township Tax Collector (as directed
by the Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors) and with the
person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects
to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within Middle
Smithfield Township of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for
which the exemption certificate is filed. 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 Middle Smithfield Township
for the year prior to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting
to be exempted from the local services tax. Upon receipt of the exemption
certificate and until otherwise instructed by Middle Smithfield Township,
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, which are provided by the Department of Community
and Economic Development, are readily available to employees at all
times and shall furnish each new employee with a form at the time
of hiring. For purposes of this section, earned income and net profits
shall have the same meanings as in the Local Tax Enabling Act, as
amended.
(2) With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by Middle Smithfield Township that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township 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 Township 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
C(3) below.
(3) If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection
C(2) above, 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
C(2), 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 balance of tax due, and the Township may pursue collection under this article.
Each self-employed individual who performs services of any type
or kind or engages in any occupancy or profession within a primary
place of employment within Middle Smithfield Township shall be required
to comply with this Article and pay the pro rata portion of the local
services tax to the Tax Collector on or before the thirtieth day following
the end of each quarter in a calendar year.
A person claiming the right to a refund for the local services
tax shall follow the regulations governing refunds in accordance with
53 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 8425 and 8426, as amended, and/or
any Township ordinance or resolution governing said refunds.
Any resident or nonresident who fails or refuses to pay the
local services tax or to render accurate information to an assessor
concerning the status of their employment or age, shall, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600 and in default
of payment, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days. The
duly elected or appointed Tax Collector (as directed by the Middle
Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors) and the Township may also
proceed with all other available remedies, including but not limited
to filing an action for the recovery of any tax due or unpaid under
this article, together with interest and penalty.