[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025[1]]
This part shall be known and may be cited as the "New Hanover Township Local Services Tax Ordinance" and shall be referred to herein as the "LST Ordinance."
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Part 4, Occupational Privilege Tax, adopted by Ord. 83-2, 7/20/1983; Ord. 97-7, 10/13/1997, § 24-315; Ord. 17-03, 3/27/2017.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
The following words and phrases, when used in this part, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
COLLECTOR
Any individual, officer, Clerk, bureau, agency or organization as may be appointed by the Berks County Tax Collection Committee to collect the local services tax herein levied.
EMPLOYER
An individual, partnership, association, 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.
HE, HIS, HIM
The singular and plural number as well as male, female and neuter gender.
INDIVIDUAL
Any person, male or female, engaged in any occupation, trade or profession within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover.
OCCUPATION
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type, kind or character, including services, domestic or otherwise, carried on or performed within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover, for which compensation is charged or received, whether by means of salary, wages, commission or fees for services rendered.
TAX
A local services tax in the amount of $52 per year levied on each engagement in any occupation as heretofore defined within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover.
TOWNSHIP OF NEW HANOVER
The area within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Effective January 1, 2026, and continuing thereafter annually on a calendar year basis, the Township of New Hanover hereby imposes on each individual engaged in an occupation within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover a local services tax in the manner and at the rate hereinafter set forth.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Beginning on January 1,2026, each engagement in an occupation subject to this tax, as set forth in § 24-403 hereof, shall be subject to the payment of a local services tax of $52 to be paid by each individual engaging in any such occupation as hereinbefore defined within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
1. 
The said tax as established and imposed in § 24-403 hereof shall be due and withheld during the first quarterly term in which an individual is engaged in an occupation subject to this tax, and shall be reported and payable to the collector in accordance with the following schedule:
Taxes Due and Withheld
Reports Due and Payable
January 1 to March 31
April 30
April 1 to June 30
July 31
July 1 to September 30
October 31
October 1 to December 31
January 31
2. 
If the said tax is not paid within 30 days after due dates specified in Subsection 1, a penalty of 10% shall be added thereto.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Each employer within the Township of New Hanover is hereby charged with the duty of collecting and paying over to the collector from each employee engaged in his services the said tax of $52 per year upon each individual employed by said employer who performs services on behalf of said employer within the geographical limits of the Township of New Hanover or who is engaged in an occupation as hereinbefore defined, for the benefit of said employer or in the service of employer within the geographical limits of the Township of New Hanover. Each employer shall make a return in payment of said tax and is authorized to deduct the said local services tax at rates hereby imposed from each employee in his service, whether said employee is paid by salary, wages or commission. Each employer within the Township of New Hanover shall prepare and file a return showing a computation of the tax on a form to be obtained by him from the collector. Pursuant to the statues of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, each employer in filing his return and making payment by deduction from salary, wages, commissions or other compensations payable by him to his employees shall be entitled to retain a commission at a rate such as may be established by the statutes of this Commonwealth subject to amendment thereof, which is presently calculated at 2% on the gross tax due and payable by each individual, provided that such taxes are collected and paid over by the employer on or before due dates as listed in § 24-405, Subsection 1. It is further provided that if the employer fails to file said return and pay said tax, but makes collection thereof from the salary, wages or commissions paid by him to said employee, the employer shall be responsible for the payment of the tax in full without any deductions or commissions, as though the tax had originally been levied against him.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Each individual who shall have more than one occupation within the Township of New Hanover shall be subject to the payment of the annual local services tax solely upon the privilege of engaging in his principal occupation and his principal occupation employer shall deliver to him a certificate of payment in a form to be furnished to the employer by the collector certifying to any other employer of such individual that said local services tax has been paid by the employee to the employer, and in turn remitted by said employer to the collector. Any employer receiving said certificate of payment of the local services tax by another employer by deduction from the said individual shall not deduct or collect the local services tax imposed by this part.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Each employer in the Township of New Hanover shall use his employment records as of January 1, 2026, and January 1 of each calendar year thereafter, in determining the number of employees from whom the said local services tax shall be deducted and paid over to the collector. Each employer who engages the services of an individual in an occupation to be performed in the Township of New Hanover on or after January 1, 2026, and January 1 of each calendar year thereafter, shall require said employee to furnish to him a certificate of payment from the collector showing that the local services tax has theretofore been paid. In the event that such employee has not previously paid his local services tax, the employer shall deduct same within 30 days after the employee is hired and remit to the collector or on before the due dates listed in § 24-405, Subsection 1.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Each self-employed individual in the Township of New Hanover who performs any services of any kind or any type within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover, whether the same is regarded either as a professional or as a business, shall be required to pay local services tax of $52 for himself and shall be further required to deduct and pay over in the manner hereinbefore set forth in § 24-406, an annual local services tax of $52 for every individual in his employ who is engaged in the performance of any occupation or profession for him within the Township of New Hanover. Any individual engaged in any occupation within the Township of New Hanover who is the employee of another and who is subject to this tax, as hereinbefore defined, shall be liable for the payment of the local services tax of $52 for himself and shall be treated and regarded as a self-employed individual if the location of the business of his employer is beyond the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover. Each employer whose business is located beyond the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover shall be required to furnish to the collector a list of all individuals employed by him who engages in any occupation of any type or character within the corporate limits of the Township of New Hanover during the fiscal year.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Where an individual is engaged in domestic services for others, and has more than one employer in the performance of such services, the employer by whom such domestic is employed on January 1, 2026, and January 1 for each calendar year thereafter, shall be responsible for the collection and payment of the annual local services tax for such domestics to the collector and in the event the domestic is not employed by any individual on January 1, 2026, and January 1 for each calendar year thereafter, the said responsibility for deducting and payment over to the Township of New Hanover for the local services tax shall rest upon the employer of the domestic on the next succeeding date following January 1, 2026, and January 1 for each calendar year thereafter, and said employer shall furnish to said domestic employee a certificate of payment of said local services tax to be exhibited to all other employers of said domestic and the production of said certificate to such other employers shall excuse them from the deduction of any further local services tax from said domestic employee for the year.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
The tax imposed by this part shall be in addition to all other taxes of any kind or nature heretofore or hereafter levied by the Township of New Hanover.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
1. 
Exemption. Any individual whose total earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township is less than $12,000 for any calendar year in which local services tax is levied is exempt from the payment of the local services tax for that calendar year. In addition, the following individuals are exempt from payment of the local services tax:
A. 
Any individual 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 individual is blind, paraplegic or a double, triple or quadruple amputee or has a service-connected disability declared by the United States Veterans' Administration or its successor to be a total 100% disability.
B. 
Any individual 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 paragraph, "reserve component of the armed forces" shall mean the United States Army Reserve, United State 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. 
An individual seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Township and with the individual's employer affirming that the individual reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event the Township utilizes a collector, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that officer. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all the employee's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from the employment within the Township 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 Township or except as required by Subsection 2.B below, the employer shall not withhold the tax from the individual 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 the hiring.
B. 
With respect to an individual who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax, upon notification to an employer by the individual or by the Township that the individual 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 individual is otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year, or upon an employer's payment to the individual 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 individual under Subsection 2.C below.
C. 
If an individual who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection 2.B above, the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the individual, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under Subsection 2.B above, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the individual due to the exemption claimed by the individual 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 an individual subject to withholding of the tax under this paragraph is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the individual shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the Township may pursue collection under this part.
D. 
Except as provided in Subsection 2.B above, it is the intent of this subsection that employers shall not be responsible for investigating exemption certificates, monitoring tax exemption eligibility or exempting any employee from a local services tax.
3. 
Refunds. The Township Manager, in consultation with the collector, shall establish procedures for the processing of refund claims for any tax paid by any individual who is eligible for exemption, which procedures shall be in accord with provisions of the general municipal law relating to refunds of overpayments (see 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8425) and interest on overpayments (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 Township Manager or the collector shall determine eligibility for refunds to exempt individuals and provide refunds.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
1. 
It shall be the duty of the collector to collect and receive the taxes, fines or penalties imposed by this part. It shall also be his duty to keep a record showing the amount received by him from each self-employed individual paying the tax and the date of such receipt; it further shall be his duty to keep a record showing the amount received by him from any employer paying the tax on behalf of his employees by the deduction made by such employer from the salaries, wages, commissions or other forms of compensation.
2. 
The collector is hereby charged with the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this part, is hereby empowered to prescribe, adopt, promulgate and enforce rules and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this part, including a provision for the examination of the payroll records of any employer within the Township of New Hanover; and further for the reexamination and correction of any returns 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 individual aggrieved by any decision of the collector shall have the right to appeal as in other cases provided.
3. 
The collector is hereby authorized to examine the books and payroll of any employer in order to verify the accuracy of any return made by any employer on behalf of his employees, of if no return was made, to ascertain the local services tax due. Each employer in the Township of New Hanover is hereby directed and required to give to the collector the means, facilities and opportunities for such examinations and investigations as are hereby authorized.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
1. 
In the event any individual subject to the payment of this tax is employed in more than one political subdivision during the year which levies a local services tax, the priority of claim to collect such local services tax shall, in accordance with the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6901 et seq., be in the following order:
A. 
First, the political subdivision in which the individual maintains his principal office or is principally employed.
B. 
Second, the political subdivision in which the individual resides and works, if such tax is levied by that political subdivision.
C. 
Third, the political subdivision in which an individual is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the individual's home. The place of employment shall be determined as of the date the taxpayer first becomes subject to the tax during the calendar year.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
1. 
In the event that any tax under this part remains due and unpaid for 60 days after the due dates set forth in § 24-405, Subsection 1, the collector may sue in the name and on behalf of the Township of New Hanover for the recovery of any such tax due and 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 said tax shall be calculated, beginning 30 days after the due dates above set forth together with the penalty set forth in § 24-405, Subsection 2. Where suit is brought for the recovery of any local services tax, the individuals liable therefore shall, in addition, be responsible and liable for the cost of collection and the interest and penalties therein imposed.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
Any individual, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of any provision of this part, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, shall pay a judgment of not more that $600 plus all court costs. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by a magisterial district judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure, at which time, in addition to any penalties, the violator shall be liable for any attorney's fees and costs incurred by the Township. Each day that a violation continues or each section of this part which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate violation.
[Ord. No. 25-07, 12/4/2025]
The collector shall have power in case of the neglect or refusal of any individual, copartnership, association or corporation to make payment of the amount of the tax due by him, after 60 days from the date of the tax notice, to levy the amount of said tax, any penalty due thereon and costs, not exceeding costs and charges allowed for constables for similar services by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such delinquent, wherever situate or found, upon giving at least 10 days public notice of such sale by posting 10 written or printed notices and by one advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation published in the County. The collector shall have all powers regarding the collection of delinquent local services taxes as are set forth in the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6901 et seq.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Pursuant to P.L. 197, No. 32, enacted 7-2-2008, sections of the Local Tax Enabling Act formerly codified in 53 P.S. § 6901 et seq. have been revised and renumbered. See now 53 P.S. § 6924.101 et seq.