[Adopted 5-20-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
This article is adopted to comply with Act 50
of 1998, the Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8421
et seq. (the "Act").
This article shall be known as the "Abbottstown
Borough Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights."
This article shall apply to the following eligible
taxes levied by Abbottstown Borough: earned income and net profits
tax; per capita tax; realty transfer tax; and any other eligible taxes
subject to the Act now or hereafter levied by the Borough. Eligible
taxes shall not include taxes upon real estate.
The Borough shall adopt by resolution a disclosure
statement setting forth the rights of a taxpayer and the obligation
of the Borough during an audit or an administrative review of the
taxpayer's books and records, the administrative and judicial procedures
by which a taxpayer may appeal or seek review of any adverse decision
of the Borough, the procedure for filing and processing claims and
taxpayer complaints, and the enforcement procedures. The Borough shall
notify in the manner provided by law any taxpayer contacted regarding
the assessment, audit, determination review or collection of an eligible
tax of the availability of the disclosure statement, and the Borough
shall make copies of the disclosure statement available to taxpayers
upon request at no charge to the taxpayer.
A taxpayer shall have 30 days from the mailing
date to respond to requests for information by the Borough. The Borough
may grant additional reasonable extensions to its initial request.
The Borough shall not take action against a taxpayer for the tax year
in question until the expiration of the applicable response period,
including any extensions.
A.
Except as provided in § 190-40B, an initial inquiry by the Borough regarding a taxpayer's compliance with any eligible tax may include taxes required to be paid or tax returns required to be filed no more than three years prior to the mailing date of the notice.
B.
The Borough may make a subsequent request for a tax
return or supporting information if after the initial request, the
Borough determines that the taxpayer failed to file a tax return,
underreported income or failed to pay a tax for one or more of the
tax periods covered by the initial request. This subsection shall
not apply if the Borough has sufficient information to indicate that
the taxpayer's failure to file a required return or pay an eligible
tax which was due more than three years prior to the date of the notice.
C.
The Borough has the authority to require a taxpayer
to provide copies of the taxpayer's federal individual tax return
if the Borough can demonstrate that the federal tax information is
reasonably necessary for the enforcement or collection of an eligible
tax and the information is not available from other available sources.
A.
The Borough Council shall from time to time by resolution
appoint a Borough official or employee as the hearing officer to receive
and make determinations on petitions from taxpayers relating to the
assessment, determination or refund of an eligible tax.
B.
The Borough Council shall adopt by resolution regulations
governing the practice and procedure of administrative appeals which
are incorporated herein by reference.
A.
The Borough may enter into a written agreement with
any taxpayer under which the taxpayer is allowed to satisfy liability
for any eligible tax in installment payments if the Borough determines
that the agreement will facilitate collection.
C.
The Borough may alter, modify or terminate the agreement
if the Borough finds that the financial condition of the taxpayer
has significantly changed and:
D.
The Borough may alter, modify or terminate an installment
agreement if the taxpayer fails to do any of the following:
E.
Nothing is this section shall prohibit a taxpayer
from prepaying in whole or in part any eligible tax under any agreement
with the Borough.
