[Adopted 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 986[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. I, Emergency and Municipal Services Tax, adopted 12-30-1974
by Ord. No. 74-7, as amended 1-18-1978 by Ord. No. 78-1, 12-16-1980
by Ord. No. 80-11, and 1-18-2005 by Ord. No. 962, and stated that
it shall become effective 30 days after its enactment for calendar
year 2008 and on a continuing annual basis for all calendar years
thereafter, unless repealed, modified, or amended by ordinance.
This Article I shall be known and may be cited as "The Borough of Lewisburg 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 Borough Council of the Borough of Lewisburg.
The area within the corporate limits of the Borough of Lewisburg.
January 1 to December 31, inclusive, of any year.
The person, public employee, partnership, association, corporation
or other business entity designated by the Borough of Lewisburg to
collect and administer the local services tax imposed and levied by
this article and also the emergency and municipal services tax and
the occupation privilege tax due during any calendar year prior to
calendar year 2008, whose compensation shall be established from time
to time by resolution of Borough Council.
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, incentive payments,
fees, tips and other compensation received by an individual or his
personal representative for services rendered, whether directly or
through an agent, and whether in cash or in property, not including,
however, wages or compensation paid to persons on active military
service, periodic payments for sickness and disability other than
regular wages received during a period of sickness, disability or
retirement or payments arising under workmen's compensation acts,
occupational disease acts and similar legislation, or payments commonly
recognized as old-age benefits, retirement pay or pensions paid to
persons retired from service after reaching a specific age or after
a stated period of employment or payments commonly known as "public
assistance," or unemployment compensation payments by any governmental
agency or payments to reimburse expenses or payments made by employers
or labor unions for wage and salary supplemental programs, including,
but not limited to, programs covering hospitalization, sickness, disability
or death, supplemental unemployment benefits, strike benefits, social
security and retirement.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, institution,
governmental body or unit, agency or any other entity employing one
or more persons 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, engaged in any occupation, trade
or profession within the corporate limits of the Borough of Lewisburg.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession,
or other activity after provision for all costs and expenses incurred
in the conduct thereof, determined either on a cash or accrual basis
in accordance with the accounting system used in such business, profession,
or other activity, but without deduction of taxes based on income.
Any trade, profession, business or undertaking of any type,
kind or character, including services, domestic or other, carried
on or performed within the corporate limits of the Borough of Lewisburg
for which compensation is charged or received, whether by means of
salary, wages, commission or fees for the services rendered.
The local services tax at the rate imposed and levied by
this article.
The period from January 1 until December 31 in any year;
a calendar year.
An annual tax is hereby imposed, levied and
assessed on each occupation engaged in by individuals with a primary
place of employment within the Borough of Lewisburg during calendar
year 2008 and each calendar year thereafter. Each individual who engages
in an occupation for any length of time during any tax year shall
pay the tax for that year, assessed on a pro rata basis, in accordance
with the provisions of this article. This tax shall be used solely
for the following purposes as the same may be allocated by Borough
Council 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) or as hereafter
amended. The Borough 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 Borough
of Lewisburg, except for the occupation privilege tax, which was rescinded
beginning with calendar year 2005, and the emergency and municipal
services tax, which is hereby rescinded beginning with calendar year
2008.
Beginning with calendar year 2008, and continuing
during each calendar year thereafter, each occupation engaged in by
individuals with a primary place of employment within the Borough
of Lewisburg shall be subject to a tax in the amount of $52 per annum,
said tax to be paid by the individual so engaged. 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.
Exemption. Any individual whose total earned income
and net profits from all sources within the Borough is less than $12,000
during 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
persons are exempt from payment of the tax:
(1)
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, one-hundred-percent disability.
(2)
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 tax year. For the 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.
B.
Procedure to claim exemption.
(1)
An individual seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Borough and with the individual's employer affirming that the individual reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event the Borough utilizes a Collector, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that Collector. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all the individual's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Borough for the year prior to the tax year for which the individual is requesting to be exempted from the tax. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate and until otherwise instructed by the Borough 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.
(2)
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 Borough that the individual has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough 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 Borough 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)
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 clause is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the individual shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the Borough or the Collector may pursue collection under this article.
C.
Refunds. The Borough Manager, in consultation with
the Collector and DCED, shall establish procedures for the processing
of refund claims for any tax paid by any person who is eligible for
exemption, which procedures shall be in accord with provisions of
the General Municipal Law relating to refunds of overpayments (see
53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8425 or as hereafter amended) and interest
on overpayments (see 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8426 or as hereafter
amended). 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 Borough Manager or the
Collector shall determine eligibility for exempt persons and provide
refunds.
A.
Each employer within the Borough of Lewisburg, as
well as those employers situated outside the Borough of Lewisburg
but who engage in business within the Borough of Lewisburg, is hereby
charged with the duty of collecting the tax from each of his employees
engaged by him or performing for him within the Borough of Lewisburg
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 employ, whether said employee is paid by salary, wage or commission
and whether or not all such services are performed within the Borough
of Lewisburg.
B.
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 engaged in an occupation. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on the individual for a payroll period shall be determined by dividing the combined 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 1/100 of a dollar. Collection of the tax shall be made on a payroll period basis for each payroll period in which the individual is engaged in an occupation, except as provided in Subsection 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 Borough.
C.
No individual shall be subject to the payment of the
local services tax by more than one political subdivision 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 individual
for each calendar year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions
within which an individual may be employed. The Borough or the Collector
shall provide a taxpayer with 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 Borough or the Collector 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 § 324-5 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
tax within 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 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
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 with
a primary place of employment within the Borough of Lewisburg 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 of a calendar year.
A.
Each individual who shall have more than one occupation
within the Borough of Lewisburg shall be subject to the payment of
the tax on his principal occupation, and his principal employer shall
deduct the tax and deliver to him evidence of deductions on a form
to be furnished to the employer by the Collector, which form shall
be evidence of deduction having been made and when presented to any
other employer shall be authority for such employer to not deduct
the tax from the employee's salary, wages or commissions but to include
such employee on his return by setting forth the name and address
of the employee and the name and account number of the employer who
deducted the tax.
B.
Situs of tax; priority of claim.
(1)
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 to work 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:
(a)
First, the political subdivision in which an
individual maintains his principal office or is principally employed;
(b)
Second, the political subdivision in which the
individual resides and works if the tax is levied by that political
subdivision; and
(c)
Third, the political subdivision in which an
individual is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles
to the individual's home.
(2)
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 Borough
of Lewisburg but who perform services of any type or kind or engage
in any occupation or profession within the Borough of Lewisburg 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
Borough of Lewisburg. Further, any individual engaged in an occupation
within the Borough of Lewisburg 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 tax is not paid, the Borough or the
Collector shall have the option of proceeding against either the employer
or employee for the collection of this tax as hereinafter provided.
A.
The Collector shall be appointed by resolution of
Borough Council. It shall be the duty of the Collector to accept and
receive payments of the 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.
The Collector is hereby charged with the administration
and enforcement of this article and is hereby charged and empowered,
subject to Borough Council 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 person aggrieved by any
decision of the Collector shall have the right to appeal to the Court
of Common Pleas of Union County as in other cases provided.
C.
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.
In the event that the tax under this article or any
part thereof remains due or unpaid 30 days after the due dates hereinabove
set forth in this article, the Collector may sue for the recovery
of any such tax due or unpaid under this article, together with interest
and penalty accruing thereon. Nothing herein shall prevent the Borough
of Lewisburg from recovering any such tax due or unpaid, together
with all interest and penalty accruing thereon, the same as other
debts of like amount are recoverable.
B.
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 the 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, refuses inspection of the
books, records or accounts in his custody and control setting forth
the number of employees subject to the tax who are in his employment,
or fails or refuses to file any return required by this article shall
be guilty of a violation of this article and, upon conviction therefor
in a summary proceeding, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more
than $600 for each offense, plus costs of prosecution, and, in default
of payment of said fine and costs, be imprisoned for a period not
exceeding 30 days for each offense. The action to enforce payment
of the tax, interest and penalty thereon, fine and costs as provided
in this article may be instituted against any person in charge of
the business of any employer who failed or refuses to pay the tax
or to file a return required by this article.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed
to empower the Borough of Lewisburg to levy and collect the tax hereby
imposed on any occupation not within the taxing power of the Borough
under the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.\
B.
If the tax imposed and levied under the provisions
of this article or any sentence, clause, paragraph, section or provision
of this article is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal
or invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction in general or as
to any individual, such unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity
shall not affect or impair any of the remaining sentences, clauses,
paragraphs, sections or provisions of this article or affect or impair
the right to impose or collect said tax or the validity of such tax
so imposed on other persons or individuals as herein provided.
