[Adopted 5-11-1987 by Ord. No. 412, approved 5-11-1987[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Art. II, Realty Transfer Tax, adopted 3-12-1963 by Ord. No. 245, as amended.
The following words when used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
ASSOCIATION
A partnership, limited partnership or any other form of unincorporated enterprise owned or conducted by two or more persons, other than a private trust or decedent's estate.
CORPORATION
A corporation, joint-stock association, business trust or banking institution which is organized under the laws of this commonwealth, the United States or any other state, territory or foreign country or dependency.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Revenue of this commonwealth.
DOCUMENT
Any deed, instrument or writing which conveys, transfers, demises, vests, confirms or evidences any transfer or demise of title to real estate, but does not include wills, mortgages, deeds of trust or other instruments of like character given as security for a debt and deeds of release thereof to the debtor, land contracts whereby the legal title does not pass to the grantee until the total consideration specified in the contract has been paid or any cancellation thereof unless the consideration is payable over a period of time exceeding 30 years or instruments which solely grant, vest or confirm a public utility easement. "Document" shall also include a declaration of acquisition required to be presented for recording under § 110-18 of this article.
FAMILY FARM CORPORATION
A corporation of which at least 75% of its assets are devoted to the business of agriculture and at least 75% of each class of stock of the corporation is continuously owned by members of the same family. The business of agriculture shall not be deemed to include:
A. 
Recreational activities such as but not limited to hunting, fishing, camping, skiing, show competition or racing;
B. 
The raising, breeding or training of game animals or game birds, fish, cats, dogs or pets or animals intended for use in sporting or recreational activities;
C. 
Fur farming;
D. 
Stockyard and slaughterhouse operations; or
E. 
Manufacturing or processing operations of any kind.
MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY
Any individual, such individual's brothers and sisters, the brothers and sisters of such individual's parents and grandparents, the ancestors and lineal descendents of any of the foregoing, a spouse of any of the foregoing and the estate of any of the foregoing. Individuals related by the half blood or legal adoption shall be treated as if they were related by the whole blood.
PERSON
Every natural person, estate, trust, association or corporation. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a fine or imprisonment, or both, the term "person," as applied to associations, shall include the responsible members or general partners thereof and, as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
REAL ESTATE
A. 
Any lands, tenements or hereditaments within the Borough of Conway, including, without limitation, buildings, structures, fixtures, mines, minerals, oil, gas, quarries, spaces with or without upper or lower boundaries, trees and other improvements, immovables or interests which, by custom, usage or law, pass with a conveyance of land, but excluding permanently attached machinery and equipment in an industrial plant.
B. 
A condominium unit.
C. 
A tenant stockholder's interest in a cooperative housing corporation, trust or association under a proprietary lease or occupancy agreement.
REAL ESTATE COMPANY
A corporation or association which is primarily engaged in the business of holding, selling or leasing real estate, 90% or more of the ownership interest in which is held by 35 or fewer persons and which:
A. 
Derives 60% or more of its annual gross receipts from the ownership or disposition of real estate; or
B. 
Holds real estate, the value of which comprises 90% or more of the value of its entire tangible asset holdings, exclusive of tangible assets which are freely transferable and actively traded on an established market.
RECORDER OF DEEDS
The Recorder of Deeds of Beaver County.
TITLE TO REAL ESTATE
A. 
Any interest in real estate which endures for a period of time, the termination of which is not fixed or ascertained by a specific number of years, including, without limitation, an estate in fee simple, life estate or perpetual leasehold; or
B. 
Any interest in real estate enduring for a fixed period of years but which, either by reason of the length of the term or the grant of a right to extend the term by renewal or otherwise, consists of a group of rights approximating those of an estate in fee simple, life estate or perpetual leasehold, including, without limitation, a leasehold interest or possessory interest under a lease or occupancy agreement for a term of 30 years or more or a leasehold interest or possessory interest in real estate in which the lessee has equity.
TRANSACTION
The making, executing, delivering, accepting or presenting for recording of a document.
VALUE
A. 
In the case of any bona fide sale of real estate at arm's length for actual monetary worth, the amount of the actual consideration thereof, paid or to be paid, including liens or other encumbrances thereon existing before the transfer and not removed thereby, whether or not the underlying indebtedness is assumed, and ground rents, or a commensurate part thereof where such liens or other encumbrances and ground rents also encumber or are charged against other real estate, provided that where such documents shall set forth a nominal consideration, the value thereof shall be determined from the price set forth in or actual consideration for the contract of sale;
B. 
In the case of a gift, sale by execution upon a judgment or upon the foreclosure of a mortgage by a judicial officer, transactions without consideration or for consideration less than the actual monetary worth of the real estate, a taxable lease, an occupancy agreement, a leasehold or possessory interest, any exchange of properties or the real estate of an acquired company, the actual monetary worth of the real estate determined by adjusting the assessed value of the real estate for local real estate tax purposes for the common-level ratio of assessed values to market values of the taxing district as established by the State Tax Equalization Board, or a commensurate part of the assessment where the assessment includes other real estate;
C. 
In the case of an easement or other interest in real estate, the value of which is not determinable under Subsection A or B, the actual monetary worth of such interest; or
D. 
The actual consideration for or actual monetary worth of any executory agreement for the construction of buildings, structures or other permanent improvements to real estate between the grantor and other persons existing before the transfer and not removed thereby or between the grantor, the agent or principal of the grantor or a related corporation, association or partnership and the grantee existing before or effective with the transfer.
Every person who makes, executes, delivers, accepts or presents for recording any document or in whose behalf any document is made, executed, delivered, accepted or presented for recording shall be subject to pay for and in respect to the transaction or any part thereof, or for or in respect of the vellum parchment or paper upon which such document is written or printed, a tax at the rate of 1/2 of 1% of the value of the real estate represented by such document, which tax shall be payable at the earlier of the time the document is presented for recording or within 30 days of acceptance of such document or within 30 days of becoming an acquired company.
The United States, the commonwealth or any of their instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions shall be exempt from payment of the tax imposed by this article. The exemption of such governmental bodies shall not, however, relieve any other party to a transaction from liability for the tax.
A. 
The tax imposed by § 110-14 shall not be imposed upon:
(1) 
A transfer to the commonwealth or to any of its instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions by gift, dedication or deed in lieu of condemnation or deed of confirmation in connection with condemnation proceedings, or a reconveyance by the condemning body of the property condemned to the owner of record at the time of condemnation, which reconveyance may include property line adjustments, provided that said reconveyance is made within one year from the date of condemnation.
(2) 
A document which the commonwealth is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution or statutes of the United States.
(3) 
A conveyance to a municipality, township, school district or county pursuant to acquisition by the municipality, township, school district or county of a tax-delinquent property at a sheriffs sale or Tax Claim Bureau sale.
(4) 
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration which corrects or confirms a transfer previously recorded but which does not extend or limit existing record legal title or interest.
(5) 
A transfer of division in kind for no or nominal actual consideration of property passed by testate or intestate succession and held by cotenants; however, if any of the parties takes shares greater in value than their undivided interest, tax is due on the excess.
(6) 
A transfer between husband and wife, between persons who were previously husband and wife who have since been divorced, provided that the property or interest therein subject to such transfer was acquired by the husband and wife or husband or wife prior to the granting of the final decree in divorce, between parent and child or the spouse of such child, between brother or sister or the spouse of a brother or sister and brother or sister or the spouse of a brother or sister and between a grandparent and grandchild or the spouse of such grandchild, except that a subsequent transfer by the grantee within one year shall be subject to tax as if the grantor were making such transfer.
(7) 
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration of property passing by testate or intestate succession from a personal representative of a decedent to the decedent's devisee or heir.
(8) 
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration to a trustee of an ordinary trust where the transfer of the same property would be exempt if the transfer was made directly from the grantor to all of the possible beneficiaries, whether or not such beneficiaries are contingent or specifically named. No such exemption shall be granted unless the Recorder of Deeds is presented with a copy of the trust instrument that clearly identifies the grantor and all possible beneficiaries.
(9) 
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from a trustee to a beneficiary of an ordinary trust.
(10) 
A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from trustee to successor trustee.
(11) 
A transfer:
(a) 
For no or nominal actual consideration between principal and agent or straw party; or
(b) 
From or to an agent or straw party where, if the agent or straw party were his principal, no tax would be imposed under this article. Where the document by which title is acquired by a grantee or statement of value fails to set forth that the property was acquired by the grantee from or for the benefit of his principal, there is a rebuttable presumption that the property is the property of the grantee in his individual capacity if the grantee claims an exemption from taxation under this clause.
(12) 
A transfer made pursuant to the statutory merger or consolidation of a corporation or statutory division of a nonprofit corporation, except where the Borough of Conway reasonably determines that the primary intent for such merger, consolidation or division is avoidance of the tax imposed by this article.
(13) 
A transfer from a corporation or association of real estate held of record in the name of the corporation or association where the grantee owns stock of the corporation or an interest in the association in the same proportion as his interest in or ownership of the real estate being conveyed and where the stock of the corporation or the interest in the association has been held by the grantee for more than two years.
(14) 
A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority to a grantee of property conveyed by the grantee to that agency or authority as security for a debt of the grantee or a transfer to a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority.
(15) 
A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority to a grantee purchasing directly from it, but only if:
(a) 
The grantee shall directly use such real estate for the primary purpose of manufacturing, fabricating, compounding, processing, publishing, research and development, transportation, energy conversion, energy production, pollution control, warehousing or agriculture; and
(b) 
The agency or authority has the full ownership interest in the real estate transferred.
(16) 
A transfer by a mortgagor to the holder of a bona fide mortgage in default in lieu of a foreclosure or a transfer pursuant to a judicial sale in which the successful bidder is the bona fide holder of a mortgage, unless the holder assigns the bid to another person.
(17) 
Any transfer between religious organizations or other bodies or persons holding title for a religious organization if such real estate is not being or has not been used by such transferor for commercial purposes.
(18) 
A transfer to a conservancy which possesses a tax-exempt status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [68A Stat. 3, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)] and which has as its primary purpose preservation of land for historic, recreational, scenic, agricultural or open space opportunities.
(19) 
A transfer of real estate devoted to the business of agriculture to a family farm corporation by a member of the same family which directly owns at least 75% of each class of the stock thereof.
(20) 
A transfer between members of the same family of an ownership interest in a real estate company or family farm corporation.
(21) 
A transaction wherein the tax due is $1 or less.
(22) 
Leases for the production or extraction of coal, oil, natural gas or minerals and assignments thereof.
B. 
In order to exercise any exclusion provided in this section, the true, full and complete value of the transfer shall be shown on the statement of value. For leases of coal, oil, natural gas or minerals, the statement of value may be limited to an explanation of the reason such document is not subject to tax under this article.
Except as otherwise provided in § 110-16, documents which make, confirm or evidence any transfer or demise of title to real estate between associations or corporations and the members, partners, shareholders or stockholders thereof are fully taxable. For the purposes of this article, corporations and associations are entities separate from their members, partners, stockholders or shareholders.
A. 
A real estate company is an acquired company upon a change in the ownership interest in the company, however effected, if the change:
(1) 
Does not affect the continuity of the company; and
(2) 
Of itself or together with prior changes, has the effect of transferring, directly or indirectly, 90% or more of the total ownership interest in the company within a period of three years.
B. 
With respect to real estate acquired after February 16, 1986, a family farm corporation is an acquired company when, because of voluntary or involuntary dissolution, it ceases to be a family farm corporation or when, because of the issuance or transfer of stock or because of the acquisition or transfer of assets that are devoted to the business of agriculture, it fails to meet the minimum requirements of a family farm corporation under this article.
C. 
Within 30 days after becoming an acquired company, the company shall present a declaration of acquisition with the Recorder of Deeds for real estate it holds located within the Borough of Conway for the affixation of documentary stamps and recording. Such declaration shall set forth the value of real estate holdings of the acquired company in the Borough of Conway.
A. 
Where there is a transfer of a residential property by a licensed real estate broker, which property was transferred to him within the preceding year as consideration for the purchase of other residential property, a credit for the amount of the tax paid at the time of the transfer to him shall be given to him toward the amount of the tax due upon the transfer.
B. 
Where there is a transfer by a builder of residential property which was transferred to the builder within the preceding year as consideration for the purchase of new, previously unoccupied residential property, a credit for the amount of the tax paid at the time of the transfer to the builder shall be given to the builder toward the amount of the tax due upon the transfer.
C. 
Where there is a transfer of real estate which is demised by the grantor, a credit for the amount of tax paid at the time of the demise shall be given the grantor toward the tax due upon the transfer.
D. 
Where there is a conveyance by deed of real estate which was previously sold under a land contract by the grantor, a credit for the amount of tax paid at the time of the sale shall be given the grantor toward the tax due upon the deed.
E. 
If the tax due upon the transfer is greater than the credit given under this section, the difference shall be paid. If the credit allowed is greater than the amount of tax due, no refund or carry-over credit shall be allowed.
In determining the term of a lease, it shall be presumed that a right or option to renew or extend a lease will be exercised if the rental charge to the lessee is fixed or if a method for calculating the rental charge is established.
The tax herein imposed shall be fully paid and have priority out of the proceeds of any judicial sale of real estate before any other obligation, claim, lien, judgment, estate or costs of the sale and of the writ upon which the sale is made, and the Sheriff or other officer conducting said sale shall pay the tax herein imposed out of the first moneys paid to him in connection therewith. If the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to pay the entire tax herein imposed, the purchaser shall be liable for the remaining tax.
A. 
The payment of the tax imposed by this article shall be evidenced by the affixing of a documentary stamp or stamps to every document by the person making, executing, delivering or presenting for recording such document. Such stamps shall be affixed in such manner that their removal will require the continued application of steam or water, and the person using or affixing such stamps shall write or stamp or cause to be written or stamped thereon the initials of his name and the date upon which such stamps are affixed or used so that such stamps may not again be used, provided that the Borough of Conway may prescribe such other method of cancellation as it may deem expedient.
B. 
The use of documentary license meter impressions or similar indicia of payment in lieu of stamps as required by this article may be permitted in the discretion of the Borough of Conway.
A. 
The Borough of Conway shall prescribe, prepare and furnish stamps to the Recorder of Deeds of Beaver County of such denominations and quantities as may be necessary for the payment of the tax imposed and assessed by this article.
B. 
The Borough of Conway shall allow the county a commission equal to 1% of the face value of the stamps sold. The Recorder of Deeds shall pay the commission herein allowed to the general fund of the county. The Borough of Conway shall pay the premium or premiums on any bond or bonds required by law to be procured by the Recorder of Deeds for the performance of his duties under this article.
C. 
All moneys paid into the Borough of Conway during the effective period of this article shall be credited to the general fund for general revenue purposes.
No document upon which tax is imposed by this article shall at any time be made the basis of any action or other legal proceeding, nor shall proof thereof be offered or received in evidence in any court of this commonwealth or recorded in the office of any Recorder of Deeds unless a documentary stamp or stamps as provided in this article have been affixed thereto.
A. 
Every document lodged with or presented to the Recorder of Deeds for recording shall set forth therein and as a part of such document the true, full and complete value thereof or shall be accompanied by a statement of value executed by a responsible person connected with the transaction, showing such connection and setting forth the true, full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such document is not subject to tax under this article. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any excludable real estate transfers which are exempt from taxation based on family relationship. Other documents presented for the affixation of stamps shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the document and statement of value executed by a responsible person connected with the transaction showing such connection and setting forth the true, full and complete value thereof or the reason, if any, why such document is not subject to tax under this article.
B. 
The Recorder of Deeds who shall record any document upon which tax is imposed by this article without the proper documentary stamp or stamps affixed thereto as required by this article as is indicated in such document or accompanying statement of value shall, upon summary conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $50 and costs of prosecution and, in default of payment thereof, undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
A. 
If any part of any underpayment of tax imposed by this article is due to fraud, there shall be added to the tax an amount equal to 50% of the underpayment.
B. 
In the case of failure to record a declaration required under this article on the date prescribed therefor, unless it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause, there shall be added to the tax 5% of the amount of such tax if the failure is for not more than one month, with an additional 5% for each additional month or fraction thereof during which such failure continues, not exceeding 50% in the aggregate.
C. 
In the event that the tax is not paid when due, there shall be added, in addition to the tax, interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the unpaid balance, which interest shall accrue from the date of delivery of the document.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) 
Accept or present for recording or cause to be accepted or presented for recording any document without the full amount of tax thereon being duly paid;
(2) 
Make use of any documentary stamp to denote payment of any tax imposed by this article without cancelling such stamp as required by this article or as prescribed by the Borough of Conway;
(3) 
Fail, neglect or refuse to comply with or violate the rules and regulations prescribed, adopted and promulgated by the Department or the Borough of Conway under the provisions of this article;
(4) 
Fraudulently cut, tear or remove from a document any documentary stamp;
(5) 
Fraudulently affix to any document upon which tax is imposed by this article any documentary stamp which has been cut, torn or removed from any other document upon which tax is imposed by this article, or any documentary stamp of insufficient value, or any forged or counterfeited stamp, or any impression of any forged or counterfeited stamp, die, plate or other article;
(6) 
Willfully remove or alter the cancellation marks of any documentary stamp or restore any such documentary stamp with intent to use or cause the same to be used after it has already been used, or knowingly buy, sell, offer for sale or give away any such altered or restored stamp to any person for use, or knowingly use the same;
(7) 
Knowingly or willfully prepare, keep, sell, offer for sale or have in his possession any forged or counterfeited documentary stamps; or
(8) 
Make a false statement of value or declaration of acquisition when the maker does not believe the statement or declaration to be true.
B. 
Any person violating any of the provisions of Subsection A, upon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a summary offense.
A. 
If any person shall fail to pay any tax imposed by this article for which he is liable, the Department or the Borough of Conway is hereby authorized and empowered to make a determination of additional tax and interest due by such person based upon any information within its possession or that shall come into its possession. All of such determinations shall be made within three years after the date of the recording of the document.
B. 
Promptly after the date of such determination, the Department or the Borough of Conway shall mail a copy thereof to the person against whom it was made. Within 90 days after the date upon which the copy of any such determination was mailed, such person may file with the Department or the Borough of Conway a petition for redetermination of such taxes. Every petition for redetermination shall state specifically the reasons which the petitioner believes entitle him to such redetermination, and it shall be supported by affirmation that it is not made for the purpose of delay and that the facts set forth therein are true. It shall be the duty of the Department or the Borough of Conway within six months after the date of the filing of any petition for redetermination to dispose of the petition. Notice of the action taken upon any petition for redetermination shall be given to the petitioner promptly after the date of redetermination by the Department or the Borough of Conway.
A. 
Any tax determined to be due by the Borough of Conway and remaining unpaid after demand for the same, and all penalties and interest thereon, shall be a lien in favor of the Borough of Conway upon the property, both real and personal, of such person, but only after said lien has been entered and docketed of record by the prothonotary of the county where such property is situated.
B. 
At any time after it makes a determination of additional tax, penalty or interest, the Borough of Conway may transmit to the prothonotary of the county certified copies of all liens for such taxes, penalties and interest, and it shall be the duty of each prothonotary receiving the lien to enter and docket the same of record in his office, which lien shall be indexed as judgments are now indexed. After the Borough of Conway's determination becomes final, a writ of execution may directly issue upon such lien without the issuance and prosecution to judgment of a writ of scire facias, provided that, not less than 10 days before the issuance of any execution on the lien, notice shall be sent by certified mail to the taxpayer at his last known post office address. No prothonotary shall require as a condition precedent to the entry of such liens the payment of any costs incident thereto.
C. 
The lien imposed hereunder shall have priority from the date of its recording as aforesaid and shall be fully paid and satisfied out of the proceeds of any judicial sale of property subject thereto before any other obligation, judgment, claim, lien or estate to which said property may subsequently become subject, except costs of the sale and of the writ upon which the sale was made and real estate taxes and municipal claims against such property, but shall be subordinate to mortgages and other liens existing and duly recorded or entered of record prior to the recording of the tax lien. In the case of a judicial sale of property subject to a lien imposed hereunder upon a lien or claim over which the lien imposed hereunder has priority, as aforesaid, such sale shall discharge the lien imposed hereunder to the extent only that the proceeds are applied to its payment, and such lien shall continue in full force and effect as to the balance remaining unpaid.
D. 
The lien imposed hereunder shall continue for five years from the date of its entry of record and may be renewed and continued in the manner now or hereafter provided for the renewal of judgments.
A. 
Whenever the amount due upon determination, redetermination or review is less than the amount paid to the Borough of Conway on account thereof, the Borough of Conway shall enter a credit in the amount of such difference to the account of the person who paid the tax.
B. 
Where there has been no determination of unpaid tax, the Borough of Conway shall have the power and its duty shall be to hear and decide any application for refund and, upon the allowance of such application, to enter a credit in the amount of the overpayment to the account of the person who paid the tax. Such application must be filed within two years after the date of payment.
The Solicitor of the Borough of Conway, upon approval of the Council of the Borough of Conway, may sue for the recovery of taxes, interest and penalties due and unpaid.
The Borough of Conway may from time to time prescribe, adopt, promulgate and enforce rules and regulations relating to any matter pertaining to the administration, interpretation and enforcement of this article by a resolution of the Council of the Borough of Conway.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Real Estate Transfer Tax Ordinance" of the Borough of Conway.