[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that it shall
be effective for the calendar year 1-1-2008 and each year thereafter.
This article is enacted under and pursuant to authority of the
Pennsylvania Local Tax Enabling Act, P.L. 1257, No. 511, December
31, 1965, 53 P.S. § 6901 et seq. (1982), as hereafter amended,
supplemented, modified or reenacted by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears from
the context:
"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).
Any person, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated
association, institution, trust, corporation, governmental agency
or any other body engaged in business or situated in the Township
of Bristol employing one or more employees engaged in any occupation
other than domestic servants. •
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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. 1251, § 13, as amended (53 P.S. §
6913, as amended).
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which monetary
compensation is received or charged.
Tax collector of the Township of Bristol.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by this article.
A.
A tax for purposes of 1) road construction and/or maintenance; 2) fire and/or emergency services; and/or 3) reduction of property taxes, the Township of Bristol hereby levies a tax upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation during the fiscal year. Each individual who exercises such privilege shall pay the tax in the amount of $52 in accordance with this article. This tax may be used solely for the following purposes as the same may be allocated from time to time: 1) emergency services, which shall include emergency medical services, police services and/or fire services; 2) road construction and/or maintenance; 3) reduction of property taxes; or 4) property tax relief through implementation of a homestead and farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 85, Subchapter F (relating to homestead property exclusion). The political subdivision shall use no less than 25% of the funds derived from the tax for emergency services. This tax is in addition to all other taxes of any kind or nature heretofore levied by the Township.
B.
Any taxpayer who earns an annual earned income and net profits, from all employment sources, of less than $12,000 shall be exempt from payment of the tax hereunder only upon following the exemption procedures set forth in § 180-44D.
C.
Any person
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 person 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 100% permanent disability
shall be exempt from payment of the tax. Any person 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 shall be exempt
from payment of the tax. For purposes of this subsection, "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.
D.
A person
seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax may annually
file an exemption certificate with the Tax Collector and with the
person's employer affirming that the person 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. 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 Township for the year prior
to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted
from the local services tax. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate
and until otherwise instructed by the Tax Collector, the employer
shall not withhold the tax from the person 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.
(1)
With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the Tax Collector that the person 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 person is otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year, or upon an employer's payment to the person of earned income within that political subdivision 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 person under Subsection D(2).
(2)
If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection D(1), the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under Subsection D(1), a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person 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 a person subject to withholding of the tax under this clause is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the Township levying the tax may pursue collection under this article.
A.
Each employer
within the Township, as well as those employers situated outside the
Township but who engage in business within the Township, is hereby
charged with the duty of collecting the tax from each of his/her employees
engaged by him/her or performing for him/her with the Township 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.
A person
subject to the tax shall be assessed by the employer a pro rata share
of the tax for each payroll period in which the person is engaging
in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the person
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 person is engaging in an
occupation, except as provided in Paragraph D of this section. For
purposes of this subsection, "combined rate" shall mean the aggregate
annual rate of the tax levied by the school district and the municipality.
C.
No person
shall be subject to the payment of the local services tax by more
than one Township/Borough during each payroll period.
D.
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.
The tax
shall be no more than $52 on each person for each calendar year, irrespective
of the number of townships/boroughs within which a person may be employed.
The Township shall provide a taxpayer a receipt of payment upon request
by the taxpayer.
F.
No employer shall be held liable for failure to withhold the tax or for the payment of the withheld tax money to the Township 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§ 180-44D of this article and this section and remits the amount so withheld in accordance with this article.
G.
Employers
shall be required to remit the local services taxes 30 days after
the end of each quarter of a calendar year.
H.
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.
I.
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.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed or whose tax for any other reason is not collected under § 180-45 of this article shall file a return on a form prescribed by the Tax Collector and shall pay the tax directly to said Collector. Each such taxpayer who first becomes subject to the tax after the effective date of this article and on or before March 31 of the then current tax year shall file the return and pay the tax on or before April 30 of the current tax year, and each such taxpayer who first becomes subject to the tax after March 31 of the current tax year shall file the return and pay the tax on or before July 31 or October 31 of the current tax year or January 31 of the following year, whichever of such payment dates first occurs at least 30 days after the taxpayer becomes subject to the tax.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall, by virtue of
engaging in an occupation within the Township of Bristol, be subject
to the tax and the provisions of this article.
The Tax Collector shall collect and receive the taxes, interests,
fines and penalties imposed by this article and shall maintain records
showing the amounts received and the dates such amounts were received.
The Tax Collector shall prescribe and issue all forms necessary for
the administration of the tax and may adopt and enforce regulations
relating to any matter pertaining to the administration of this article.
The Tax Collector and agents designated by him may examine the records
of any employer and/or supposed employer or of any taxpayer in order
to ascertain the tax due or verify the accuracy of any return. Every
employer or supposed employer and every taxpayer or supposed taxpayer
shall give the Tax Collector and any agent designated by him all means,
facilities and opportunity for the examinations hereby authorized.
The Tax Collector shall collect, by suit or otherwise, all taxes,
interests, costs, fines and penalties due under this article and unpaid.
If for any reason any tax is not paid when due, interest at the rate
of 6% per year on the amount of unpaid taxes and an additional penalty
of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of the unpaid tax for each month or fraction
of month during which the tax remains unpaid shall be added and collected.
Whenever suit is brought for the recovery of unpaid tax, the taxpayer
shall, in addition, be liable for the costs of collection as well
as for interest and penalties. The Tax Collector may accept payment
under protest of the tax claimed by the Township of Bristol in any
case where any person disputes the Township's claim for the tax. If
a court of competent jurisdiction thereafter decides that there has
been overpayment to the Tax Collector, the Tax Collector shall refund
the amount of the overpayment to the person who paid under protest.
Any action instituted for such judicial determination shall be instituted
within two years of the last day of the period for which the tax is
disputed or claim made. All refunds shall be made in conformity with
the procedure prescribed by the court.
An employer or taxpayer who makes a false or untrue statement
on any return required by this article, or who refuses inspection
of his records in his custody and control setting forth his employees
subject to this tax, or who fails or refuses to file a return required
by this article, or who violates any other provisions of this article,
shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
more than $600, plus costs of prosecution, and in default of payment
of such fine and costs, shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed
30 days.
