[Adopted 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 18-2007[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. II, Occupational Privilege Tax, adopted 12-13-1967 by
Ord. No. 75, as amended. Ord. No. 18-2007 also provided that the tax
imposed by said ordinance shall be effective on January 1, 2008, and
all calendar years thereafter unless repealed or modified by ordinance
of the Township of South Fayette, and further provided that nothing
in said ordinance shall be construed to repeal the imposition and
collection of an occupation privilege tax, plus applicable penalties
and interest, for calendar year 2005 and all prior calendar years,
or of an emergency and municipal services tax, plus applicable penalties
and interest, for calendar years 2006 and 2007, as the same exist
prior to said amendment.
This Article II shall be known and cited as the "Local Services Tax Ordinance."
The following words and phrases, when used in
this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section,
except where the context or language clearly indicates or requires
a different meaning:
The person, public employee or private agency designated
by the political subdivision to collect and administer the tax herein
imposed.
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Compensation as this term is defined in Section 13 (relating
to earned income taxes) of the Local Tax Enabling Act, the Act of
December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, § 13, as amended, 53 P.S.
§ 6913, as amended.
An individual, partnership, association, limited liability
corporation, limited liability partnership, corporation, governmental
body, agency or other entity employing one or more individuals on
a salary, wage, commission or other compensation basis, including
a self-employed individual.
Indicates the singular and plural number, as well as male,
female and neuter genders.
Any person, male or female, who attains or is over the age
of 18 years on the first day of January, engaged in any occupation,
trade or profession within the corporate limits of the political subdivision.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession;
or other activity, as this term is defined in Section 13 (relating
to earned income taxes) of the Local Tax Enabling Act, the Act of
December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, § 13, as amended, 53 P.S.
§ 6913, as amended.
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type,
kind or character, including services, domestic or other, earned on
or performed within the corporate limits of the political subdivision
for which compensation is charged or received; whether by means of
salary, wages, commission or fees for services rendered.
The area within the corporate limits of the South Fayette
Township.
The local services tax at the rate fixed in § 220-12 of this article.
The period from January 1 until December 31 in any year;
a calendar year.
A.Â
For specific revenue purposes, an annual tax is hereby
levied and assessed, commencing January 1, 2008, upon the privilege
of engaging in an occupation with a primary place of employment within
the South Fayette Township during the tax year. Each natural individual
who exercises such privilege for any length of time during any tax
year shall pay the tax for that year in the amount of $52, assessed
on a pro rata basis, in accordance with the provisions of this article.
B.Â
This tax may be used solely for the following purposes
as the same may be allocated by the Board of Commissioners from time
to time:
(1)Â
Emergency services, which shall include emergency
medical services, police services and/or fire services;
(2)Â
Road construction and/or maintenance;
(3)Â
Reduction of property taxes; or
(4)Â
Property tax relief through implementation of a homestead
and farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 85, Subch.
F (relating to homestead property exclusion).
C.Â
The political subdivision shall use no less than 25%
of the funds derived from the tax for emergency services.
D.Â
This tax is in addition to all other taxes of any
kind or nature heretofore levied by the political subdivision. The
tax shall be no more than $52 on each individual for each calendar
year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions within
which an individual may be employed.
A.Â
Exemption. Any individual whose total earned income
and net profits from all sources within the political subdivision
is less than $12,000 for any calendar year in which the tax is levied
is exempt from the payment of the tax for that calendar year. In addition,
the following individuals are exempt from payment of the tax:
(1)Â
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 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 disability.
(2)Â
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 subparagraph,
"reserve component of the armed forces" shall mean the United States
Army Reserve, United States 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.
B.Â
Procedure to claim exemption.
(1)Â
An individual seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax may annually file an exemption certificate with the political subdivision and with the individual's employer affirming that the individual reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the political subdivision of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event the political subdivision utilizes a tax collection officer, 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 employment within the political subdivision 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 political subdivision or except as required by Subsection B(2), 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 hiring. The exemption certificate form shall be the uniform form provided by the political subdivision.
(2)Â
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 political subdivision that the individual has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the political subdivision 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 municipality 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 B(3).
(3)Â
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 B(2), 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 B(2), 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 subsection is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the individual shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the political subdivision may pursue collection under this article.
C.Â
Refunds. The Board of Commissioners, in consultation
with the Collector and DCED, 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 and
interest on overpayments. 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
Board of Commissioners or the Collector shall determine eligibility
for exemption and provide refunds to exempt individuals.
A.Â
Each employer within the political subdivision, as
well as those employers situated outside the political subdivision
but who engage in business within the political subdivision, is hereby
charged with the duty of collecting the tax from each of his employees
engaged by him or performing for him within the political subdivision
and making a return and payment thereof to the Collector. Further,
each employer is hereby authorized to deduct this tax for each employee
in his or her employ, whether said employee is paid by salary, wage
or commission and whether or not all such services are performed within
the political subdivision.
B.Â
An individual subject to the tax shall be assessed by the employer a pro rata share of the tax for each payroll period in which the individual is engaging in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the individual for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the rate of the tax levied for the calendar year by the number of payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year. For purposes of determining the pro rata share, an employer shall round down the amount of the tax collected each payroll period to the nearest one-hundredth of a dollar. Collection of the tax shall be made on a payroll period basis for each payroll period in which the individual is engaging in an occupation, except as provided in Subsection D of this section. For purposes of this Subsection B, combined rate shall mean the aggregate annual rate of the tax levied by the school district and the municipality.
C.Â
No individual shall be subject to the payment of the
local services tax by more than one political subdivision during each
payroll period.
D.Â
In the case of concurrent employment, an employer
shall refrain from withholding the tax if the employee provides a
recent pay statement from a principal employer that includes the name
of the employer, the length of the payroll period and the amount of
the tax withheld and a statement from the employee that the pay statement
is from the employee's principal employer, and the employee will notify
other employers of a change in principal place of employment within
two weeks of its occurrence. The employee's statement shall be provided
on the form approved by DCED.
E.Â
The tax shall be no more than $52 on each individual
for each calendar year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions
within which an individual may be employed. The political subdivision
shall provide a taxpayer a receipt of payment upon request by the
taxpayer.
F.Â
No employer shall be held liable for failure to withhold the tax or for the payment of the withheld tax money to the political subdivision if the failure to withhold taxes arises from incorrect information submitted by the employee as to the employee's place or places of employment, the employee's principal office or where the employee is principally employed. Further, an employer shall not be liable for payment of the local services tax in an amount exceeding the amount withheld by the employer if the employer complies with the provisions of Subsection B of § 220-13B of this article and this section and remits the amount so withheld in accordance with this article.
G.Â
Employers shall be required to remit the local services
taxes 30 days after the end of each quarter of a calendar year.
Each employer shall prepare and file a return
showing a computation of the tax on forms to be supplied to the employer
by the Collector. If an employer fails to file the return and pay
the tax, whether or not the employer makes collection thereof from
the salary, wages or commissions paid by him or her to an employee,
except as provided hereafter in this article, the employer shall be
responsible for the payment of the tax in full as though the tax had
been originally levied against the employer.
In each tax year, each employer shall use his
or her employment records to determine the number of employees from
whom such tax shall be deducted and paid over to the Collector on
or before the 30th day following the end of each calendar quarter
of each such tax year.
Each self-employed individual who performs services
of any type or kind or engages in any occupation or profession within
a primary place of employment within the political subdivision shall
be required to comply with this article and pay the pro rata portion
of the tax due to the Collector on or before the 30th day following
the end of each quarter.
A.Â
The situs of the tax shall be the place of employment
on the first day the individual becomes subject to the tax during
each payroll period. In the event an individual is engaged in more
than one occupation, that is concurrent employment, or an occupation
which requires the individual working in more than one political subdivision
during a payroll period, the priority of claim to collect the local
services tax shall be in the following order:
(1)Â
First, the political subdivision in which an individual
maintains his or her principal office or is principally employed;
(2)Â
Second, the political subdivision in which the individual
resides and works if the tax is levied by that political subdivision;
(3)Â
Third, the political subdivision in which an individual
is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the individual's
home.
B.Â
In case of dispute, a tax receipt of the taxing authority
for that calendar year declaring that the taxpayer has made prior
payment constitutes prima facie certification of payment to all other
political subdivisions.
All employers and self-employed individuals
residing or having their places of business outside of the political
subdivision but who perform services of any type or kind or engage
in any occupation or profession within the political subdivision do,
by virtue thereof, agree to be bound by and subject themselves to
the provisions, penalties and regulations promulgated under this article
with the same force and effect as though they were residents of the
political subdivision. Further, any individual engaged in an occupation
within the political subdivision and an employee of a nonresidential
employer may, for the purpose of this article, be considered a self-employed
individual, and in the event his or her tax is not paid, the political
subdivision shall have the option of proceeding against either the
employer or employee for the collection of this tax as hereinafter
provided.
A.Â
The Collector shall be appointed by resolution of
the political subdivision. It shall be the duty of the Collector to
accept and receive payments of this tax and to keep a record thereof
showing the amount received by him from each employer or self-employed
individual, together with the date the tax was received.
B.Â
The Collector is hereby charged with the administration
and enforcement of this article and is hereby charged and empowered,
subject to municipal approval, to prescribe, adopt and promulgate
rules and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration
and enforcement of this article, including provisions for the examination
of payroll records of any employer subject to this article, the examination
and correction of any return made in compliance with this article
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 consistent
with the Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights under Act 50 of 1998 (Municipalities
may detail theft appeal processes.).
C.Â
The Collector is hereby authorized to examine the
books and payroll records of any employer in order to verify the accuracy
of any return made by an employer or, if no return was made, to ascertain
the tax due. Each employer is hereby directed and required to give
the Collector the means, facilities and opportunity for such examination.
A.Â
In the event that any tax under this article remains
due or unpaid 30 days after the due dates above set forth, the Collector
may sue for the recovery of any such tax due or unpaid under this
article, together with interest and penalty.
B.Â
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due, interest
at the rate of 6% on the amount of such tax shall be calculated beginning
with the due date of the tax and a penalty of 5% shall be added to
the flat rate of such tax for nonpayment thereof. Where suit is brought
for the recovery of this tax or other appropriate remedy undertaken,
the individual liable therefor shall, in addition, be responsible
and liable for the costs of collection.
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement
on any return required by this article, or whoever refuses inspection
of the books, records or accounts in his or her custody and control
setting forth the number of employees subject to this tax who are
in his or her employment, or whoever fails or refuses to file any
return required by this article shall be guilty of a violation and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more
than $600 and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of
such fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days. The
action to enforce the penalty herein prescribed may be instituted
against any individual in charge of the business of any employer who
shall have failed or who refuses to file a return required by this
article.
A.Â
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower the political subdivision to levy and collect the tax hereby
imposed on any occupation not within the taxing power of the political
subdivision under the Constitution of the United States and the laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.Â
If the tax hereby imposed under the provisions of
this article shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be in violation of the Constitution of the United States or of
the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as to any individual,
the decision of the court shall not affect or impair the right to
impose or collect said tax or the validity of the tax so imposed on
other individuals or individuals as herein provided.