[Adopted 3-18-1981 as part of Ord. No. 313[1]]
The tax enacted hereunder shall be known as the "mercantile
license tax."
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates a different meaning:
The Collector of business privilege and mercantile license
taxes of the Township of Lower Moreland.
Includes both cash and credit transactions as provided by
law.
The twelve-month period beginning the first day of January
and ending the last day of December; provided, nevertheless, that,
in 1981, "tax year" shall mean the period beginning on May 1, 1981,
and ending the last day of December 1981.
An individual, partnership, limited partnership, association
or corporation or any other legal entity which engages in a taxable
activity.
This term, as hereinbefore defined, shall not include the following:
employees, agencies of the government of the United States or of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or nonprofit corporations or associations
organized solely and exclusively for religious, educational or charitable
purposes and not conducting any regular or established business competing
commercially with any other person, subject to the tax herein imposed,
or any person vending or disposing of articles of his own manufacture
for shipment or delivery from the place of the manufacture thereof
or any farmer vending or disposing of his own produce or other transaction
exempted by law or those persons, entities, transactions and other
matters exempted by the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act[1] or other applicable
law.
Any person who is a dealer in or a vendor of goods, wares and
merchandise who is not a wholesale dealer or vendor or wholesale and
retail dealer or vendor as hereinafter defined.
This term, as hereinbefore defined, shall not include the following:
employees, agencies of the government of the United States or of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or nonprofit corporations or associations
organized solely and exclusively for religious, educational or charitable
purposes and not conducting any regular or established business competing
commercially with any other person, subject to the tax herein imposed,
or any person vending or disposing of articles of his own manufacture
for shipment or delivery from the place of the manufacture thereof
or any farmer vending or disposing of his own produce or other transaction
exempted by law or those persons, entities, transactions and other
matters exempted by the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act[2] or other applicable
law.
The Secretary of the Township of Lower Moreland.
Any act or instance of helping or benefiting another for
a consideration.
Any business that is conducted at one location for less than
60 consecutive calendar days.
The Township of Lower Moreland.
Any person who sells to dealers in or vendors of goods, wares
and merchandise and to other persons.
This term, as hereinbefore defined, shall not include the following:
employees, agencies of the government of the United States or of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or nonprofit corporations or associations
organized solely and exclusively for religious, educational or charitable
purposes and not conducting any regular or established business competing
commercially with any other person, subject to the tax herein imposed,
or any person vending or disposing of articles of his own manufacture
for shipment or delivery from the place of the manufacture thereof
or any farmer vending or disposing of his own produce or other transaction
exempted by law or those persons, entities, transactions and other
matters exempted by the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act[3] or other applicable
law.
Any person who sells to dealers in, or vendors of goods, wares
and merchandise and to no other persons.
This term, as hereinbefore defined, shall not include the following:
employees, agencies of the government of the United States or of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or nonprofit corporations or associations
organized solely and exclusively for religious, educational or charitable
purposes and not conducting any regular or established business competing
commercially with any other person, subject to the tax herein imposed,
or any person vending or disposing of articles of his own manufacture
for shipment or delivery from the place of the manufacture thereof
or any farmer vending or disposing of his own produce or other transaction
exempted by law or those persons, entities, transactions and other
matters exempted by the provisions of the Local Tax Enabling Act[4] or other applicable
law.
A.
The license and tax provisions of this article apply to any persons
who are wholesale or retail vendors or dealers in goods or who conduct
restaurants or other places where food or beverages are sold, except
for those persons who engage in any business trade, occupation, profession
or vocation in which there is offered any service or services to the
general public or a limited number of the general public for a consideration
and who are thus subject to the business privilege tax.
B.
This article applies not only to businesses in existence at the beginning
of the license year but also to businesses begun during the tax year
or carried on in the Township for any part of the tax year.
A.
If the taxpayer has a place of business in the Township and one or
more places of business outside the Township, only those receipts
properly allocable to the place of business in the Township are taxable.
For this purpose, a person may be considered to have a place of business
outside the Township if services are rendered at a fixed location
outside the Township which are of such duration, size and complexity
that the person would be considered doing business at such location.
B.
Generally, receipts will be considered allocable to the place of business in the Township if any significant aspect of the transaction occurs at or arises out of that place of business. For example, if a contract is made at the place of business in the Township, the receipts arising from that contract may be allocable to the Township even though all or part of the contract is to be performed outside the Township. The fact that the receipts from any transaction may be subject to tax in a jurisdiction outside the Township does not necessarily mean that those receipts are not allocable to the Township and subject to this tax. However, in appropriate cases, the principles set out in § 188-39 below, may be applied to allocate business within and without the Township.
In general, the gross receipts upon which the tax is imposed is the value of all cash, credits or property received by a person which is attributable to the carrying on of business in the Township, undiminished by any costs of doing business. A receipt generally will be considered attributable to the Township if any part of the transaction or service giving rise to the receipt takes place within the Township. The broad reach of this general rule is limited in certain situations by this article and by state and federal law as more fully explained in § 188-39.
A tax return may be filed on a cash basis or on an accrual basis,
but the return must be prepared in accordance with the method of accounting
regularly employed in keeping the books of the taxpayer. A person
who keeps his books on the cash basis will report his gross receipts
on the basis of amounts actually received during the period used as
the measure of the tax. A taxpayer who keeps his books on the accrual
basis will report the receipts from all sales made or services rendered
during the period used as the measure of the tax, irrespective of
the date when such moneys are collected from the customer. In either
case, the taxpayer must file on a calendar year basis beginning January
1 and ending December 31, regardless of the taxpayer's fiscal year;
provided, nevertheless, that, in 1981, the taxpayer must file on a
tax year beginning on May 1, 1981, and ending December 31, 1981.
A.
Refunds, credits or allowances given by a person to a customer on
account of defects in services rendered or in goods, wares and merchandise
sold or returned may be deducted from the amount of the gross receipts
of the person.
B.
Adjustments allowed to customers may be deducted from gross receipts
if they are deducted on the face of the invoice as a medium of adjusting
the price or fee for the service and if they are not reimbursed to
the person by his supplier or some other person.
C.
Federal, state and local taxes are not included in gross receipts
if they are collected from the customer and are separately stated
on the evidence of charge or sale.
This article excludes from the definition of gross receipts
the receipts from the sale of goods, wares and merchandise, wholesale
and retail, from a place of business regularly maintained outside
the Township by the taxpayer to a place of business regularly maintained
outside the Township by the customer, provided that such sales are
not made for the purpose of evading the tax. Sales or deliveries to
a residence located outside the Township do not qualify for this exclusion.
Also, this exclusion does not apply to factors or commission merchants
except with respect to sales of goods which they have taken title
to and sold for their own account.
Under certain circumstances, receipts from sales in interstate or foreign commerce may be exempt from tax in whole or in part, even though they are allocable to a place of business in the Township under § 188-34 above. Receipts are not automatically exempt from tax merely because the sale involves interstate or foreign commerce. The controlling principles in determining whether any such receipts are subject to tax are that there is some nexus between the business activity carried on in the Township and the imposition of the tax and that there is a fair method of allocation of receipts to the business carried on in the Township which will avoid an undue burden on interstate commerce. The burden is generally on the taxpayer to establish that the receipts are exempt from tax. Bearing these principles in mind, the following methods of allocation will be followed by the Township:
A.
Receipts directly payable or paid to a place of business located
within the Township shall be considered allocable to the Township
and subject to tax.
B.
If the Collector determines, either upon his own initiative or upon application by the taxpayer, that the receipts covered by Subsection A above do not properly reflect all receipts attributable to the activity carried on in the Township, then, to the extent possible (bearing in mind the accounting system used by the taxpayer and any other information reasonably capable of being derived from the books and records of the taxpayer), a separate accounting shall be made with respect to each place of business in the Township and all receipts attributable to the place of business shall be considered allocable to the Township and subject to tax.
C.
If the Collector determines, either on his own initiative or upon application by the taxpayer, that the provisions of Subsections A and B above do not properly reflect all receipts attributable to the activity carried on in the Township, a different method of allocation may be used, with due regard to the extent of the receipts, property and wages of the taxpayer within the Township, the nature of the business concerned, the number of jurisdictions in which the receipts may be taxed and such other factors as may be considered relevant.
D.
All receipts from interstate commerce, whether taxable or nontaxable
under the foregoing rules, must be included on the return filed by
the taxpayer and a deduction for the nontaxable receipts shall be
allowed thereon.
A person who may engage in a business with gross receipts from wholesale or retail sales of merchandise or restaurant as well as receipts from services is not required to obtain both a mercantile license under this article and a registration certificate under Article II, Business Privilege Tax. Either a mercantile license or a business privilege registration, whichever is appropriate to the majority of the taxpayer's gross receipts, shall be obtained.
A.
A separate license must be obtained each year for each place of business
in the Township. The license must be obtained on or before the 15th
day of each tax year, as defined above, if the business was begun
prior to that tax year. If a business is begun or a new place of business
established during the tax year, the license must be obtained prior
to commencing business. The license shall be valid for the location
for which it was issued and the applicant only and shall not be assignable.
B.
Term. The license is issued for a tax year, as defined above, of
each year. A license obtained at any time during the year is valid
only from the date of issue until the end of the year with respect
to which it is issued.
C.
License fee. Before the issuance of a license, the applicant shall
make payment to the Collector of a registration fee for each place
of business. The fee shall be $10.
D.
Late charges. All license fees due under this article and not paid
by the 15th day of the tax year, as defined above, shall bear interest
at the rate of 1% per month or fractional part of a month from the
day they are due and payable until paid. If any person shall neglect
or refuse to obtain a license as herein required, an additional penalty
of 10% of the license fee shall be added by the Collector and collected.
A.
The application for license forms shall be available from the Collector
appointed by Township or at the Township building at 640 Red Lion
Road. Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania 19006. Failure to obtain or
receive the application form shall not excuse any person from obligation
to file and obtain the license or the mercantile license tax return
or payment of the applicable tax hereunder.
B.
Each application for a license shall be signed by the applicant,
if a natural person, and, in the case of an association or a partnership,
by a member or partner thereof, and, in the case of a corporation,
by an officer thereof.
C.
All applications for license shall be filed with the Collector at
the address specified by the Collector.
Every person engaging in a wholesale, retail or wholesale and
retail business in the Township shall pay an annual mercantile license
tax for the tax year at the rate of 1 1/2 mills on his gross
receipts for retail and at the rate of one mill on his gross receipts
for wholesale; provided, however, that in no event shall the annual
mercantile license tax herein imposed be less than $10.
A return must be filed and an estimated tax must be paid for each tax year at the time set forth in § 188-45 below. The estimated tax is computed on the estimated gross receipts for the tax year, which is determined as described in § 188-46 below. At the end of each tax year, the actual gross receipts for the year must be determined and an appropriate adjustment made in the tax due. This adjustment will be shown on the final return for the tax year. The final return for the prior tax year will be combined with and thus filed at the same time as the estimated return for the current year and a single payment made in an amount equal to the estimated tax for the current year, increased or decreased by the adjustment for actual gross receipts for the prior year.
Every person subject to this article shall file a return as
follows:
A.
If the person has commenced business prior to January 1 of a tax
year after 1981, the return shall be filed on or before May 1 of the
tax year; provided, nevertheless, that, in 1981, the return shall
be filed on or before July 1, 1981, for the 1981 tax year.
B.
If the person commences business after the start of any tax year,
as defined above, the return shall be filed within 40 days from the
date of commencing business.
C.
If the person is engaged in a business which is temporary, seasonal
or itinerant in its nature, the return shall be filed within seven
days of the completion of such business.
D.
If the person discontinues, terminates or otherwise ceases business
activity at the registered location, the return shall be filed within
30 days of such cessation of business activity.
The estimated gross receipts for any tax year shall be determined
as follows:
A.
If the taxpayer has been engaged in business in the Township for
a full year prior to January 1 of a tax year after 1981, the actual
gross receipts for that prior year shall be the estimated gross receipts
for the tax year; provided, nevertheless, that as to the tax year
1981 (May 1 through December 31, 1981), the actual gross receipts
for the period January 1, 1980, through December 31, 1980, multiplied
by 2/3 shall be the estimated gross receipts for tax year 1981.
B.
If the taxpayer has been engaged in business in the Township prior
to January 1 of the tax year but for less than one full year, the
estimated gross receipts for any tax year after 1981 shall be the
average monthly gross receipts for the prior year multiplied by 12;
provided, nevertheless, that, as to tax year 1981 (May 1 through December
31, 1981), the estimated gross receipts shall be the average monthly
gross receipts for 1980 multiplied by eight in such case.
C.
If the taxpayer commences business in the Township during the tax
year, the estimated gross receipts shall be determined by multiplying
the gross receipts for the first month of business by the number of
months remaining in the tax year.
D.
In the case of a temporary, seasonal or itinerant business for which a return is filed as provided in § 188-45C above, no estimate is computed. Instead, the tax is imposed on the actual gross receipts during the period covered by the return.
E.
Any person who engages in business with gross receipts from wholesale
or retail sales of merchandise or from a restaurant and from service
who registers under the mercantile tax requirements, as opposed to
the business privilege tax requirements, shall combine and report
gross receipts in a single return but at the rates applicable, respectively,
to gross receipts under the business privilege tax or mercantile license
taxes.
A.
At the time of filing the tax return on May 1 of any tax year after
1981 and on July 1 in tax year 1981, except as hereinbefore provided,
the person shall pay in a single payment an amount equal to the estimated
tax for the current tax year and any balance due for actual gross
receipts for the prior year at the rates applicable, respectively,
under the business privilege tax or mercantile license taxes.
B.
Any person with a decrease in actual gross receipts from that estimated
on the prior year's return shall be entitled to a credit on the estimated
tax for the current year in an amount equal to the overpayment of
tax for the prior year.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Collector to collect and receive all
fees, taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed by this article
and to maintain a record of all payments received, the date thereof
and to issue receipts therefor.
B.
The Collector shall pay all fees, taxes, interest, fines and penalties
collected, received or recovered under the provisions of this article
into the treasury of the Township for the use and benefit of the Township.
A.
The Collector may request such books and accounting records as will
enable him to determine the accuracy of the taxpayer's return. The
taxpayer claiming exemptions or exclusions for any portion of his
gross receipts must maintain complete records of such items; otherwise,
such claims will be disallowed.
B.
The Collector is authorized to examine not only the books, papers
and records of any taxpayer or supposed taxpayer in order to verify
the accuracy of any return made or, if no return was made, to ascertain
whether a tax should be imposed and, if so, the amount of such tax,
but he is further authorized to examine any person connected with
any business concerning any gross receipts of the business which were
or should have been returned for taxation and, for this purpose, may
compel the production of books, papers, records and the attendance
of all persons before him, whether as parties or witnesses, whom he
believes to have knowledge of such business or gross receipts.
No assessment of any tax may be made more than five years after
the date on which such taxes should have been paid, unless a fraudulent
return or no return is filed, in which case there shall be no limitations.
Suits for recovery of taxes may be brought within six years of the
date of assessment of date due, whichever is later, by the Collector
or Township Solicitor as other debts due the Township are by law recoverable.
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due, interest at
the rate of 1% of the amount of unpaid tax for each month or fraction
thereof during which the tax remains unpaid shall be added to the
tax. A penalty in the amount of 10% of the tax due shall be added
if the taxpayer has neglected or refused to file a return or make
any payment.
[Amended 3-21-1990 by Ord. No. 392]
Any person who fails, refuses or neglects to comply with any
of the provisions of this article may be punishable by a fine of not
more than $600, plus costs of prosecution, upon conviction before
a District Justice. Examples of violations which may result in such
penalty are:
A.
Failing or refusing to obtain a license.
B.
Making any false or untrue statement on a return.
C.
Failing or refusing to appear before the Collector, in person, with
his books, records or accounts for examination when required under
the provisions of this article to do so or to permit inspection of
the books, records or accounts of any business in the custody or control
of the person when the right to make such inspection by the Collector
is requested.
D.
Failing or refusing to file a return required by the mercantile license
tax provisions of this article.
