[Adopted 1-19-1972 by Ord. No. 516, approved 1-19-1972; amended in its entirety 11-14-2007 by Ord. No. 736,[1] approved 11-14-2007]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of
1-1-2008.
As used in this Article III, unless the context indicates clearly a different meaning, the following words shall have the meanings set forth below:
Person designated by the Borough for the collection of local
services tax imposed by the article.
Salaries, wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, fees, gross
receipts or other income derived from engaging in an Occupation.
Shall have the same meaning as those terms are given in Section
13 of the Local Tax Enabling Act, Act 511 of 1965 (53 P.S. § 6313).[1]
Emergency services, which shall include emergency medical
services, police services and/or fire services.
Any person, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated
association, institution, trust, corporation, governmental agency,
or any other body engaged in business or situated within the Borough
employing one or more employees engaged in any occupation, other than
domestic servants.
An exemption certificate substantially in the form of the
uniform certificate prescribed by the Pennsylvania Department of Community
and Economic Development affirming that the person 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, which exemption certificate has attached to
it a copy of all of the employee's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from
employment within the Borough for the year prior to the fiscal year
for which the employee is requesting to be exempted from the tax.
Emergency services; road construction and/or maintenance;
reduction of property taxes; and, property tax relief through implementation
of a homestead and farmstead exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A,
Part VII, Subpart C, Chapter 85, Subchapter F.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or other, for which any
compensation is received.
The tax levied by § 130-26 of this article.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by § 130-26 of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 53 P.S. § 6924.501.
For local services purposes, a tax is hereby levied upon the privilege of engaging in an occupation within the Borough. Each natural person who exercises such privilege for any length of time in any year shall be assessed and shall pay the tax in the amount equal to the pro rata share of the annual amount of $52 in accordance with the provisions of this Article III, subject to the exemptions set forth in § 130-27 of this article.
The tax levied by § 130-26 shall not be imposed upon the following persons:
A.
Any person who 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-permanent
disability.
B.
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. 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.
C.
Any natural person whose total earned income and net profits from
all sources within the municipality during the taxable year is not
in excess of $12,000.
A.
Every employer not registered under the provisions of Article V, Earned Income Tax, shall, within 15 days after first becoming an employer, register with the Collector the employer's name, address and such other information as the Collector may require.
B.
As to each taxpayer employed for any length of time during any payroll
period of an employer during the calendar year, each employer shall
deduct a pro rata share of the tax from compensation payable to the
taxpayer with respect to such payroll period. The pro rata share of
the tax assessed on a taxpayer 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 of the tax, an
employer shall round down the amount of tax deducted for each payroll
period to the nearest one-hundredth of a dollar. Each employer shall
file a return on a form prescribed by the Collector, and pay the Collector
the full amount of all such taxes deducted during a calendar quarter
within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter.
C.
Any employer who discontinues business or ceases operation before
December 31 of any year, shall within 15 days after discontinuing
business or ceasing operation, file the return hereinabove required
and pay the tax to the Collector.
D.
The failure of any employer to deduct the tax shall not relieve the
employee from the duty to file a return and pay the tax. Any employer
who fails to deduct the tax as required by this section, or who fails
to pay such tax to the Collector, shall be liable for such tax in
full, as though the tax had originally been levied against such employer.
No employer shall be liable for failure to deduct the tax if the failure
to deduct the tax 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.
E.
The employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain adequate records concerning the employees in the cases described in Subsections A and B hereof.
(2)
In the case of an employee claiming the exemption set forth at § 130-27C, if:
(a)
The employee has provided an exemption certificate to the employer;
(b)
The Collector has not otherwise instructed the employer;
(c)
The employer has not received notification from the person who claimed
the exemption or from the Collector that the person 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 person is
otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year;
and
(d)
The employer has not paid to the person earned income within the
Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar
year.
(3)
The employer shall file with the Collector a copy of each exemption certificate, including attachments, received by the employer no later than the end of the first payroll period as to which the employee claims the exemption set forth at § 130-27C.
(4)
If a person has claimed the exemption under § 130-27C for a given calendar year from the tax but either: (a) the employer has received notification from the person who claimed the exemption or from the Collector that the person 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 person is otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year; or (b) the employer has paid to the person earned income within the Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, then the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year and the employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification described in clause (a) above or for the first payroll period after payments described in clause (b) above have been made, a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person, 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 § 130-28E(4) is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due and the Collector may pursue collection under this Article III.
(5)
Each employer shall ensure that exemption certificate forms are readily
available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee
with an exemption certificate form at the time of hiring.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed, or whose tax for any other reason is not collected under § 130-28 of this article, shall file a return on a form prescribed by the Collector and shall pay a pro rata share of the tax directly to the Collector within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. The pro rata share of the tax assessed on a taxpayer for a calendar quarter shall be determined by dividing the rate of the tax levied for the calendar year by four.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall, by virtue of engaging in an occupation within the Borough, be subject to the tax and the provisions of this Article III.
The Borough Council, by resolution duly adopted, shall appoint the Collector. The Collector, on behalf of the Borough, shall collect and receive the taxes, interest, fines and penalties imposed by this Article III, and shall maintain records showing interest, fines and penalties imposed by this Article III, and shall maintain records showing the amounts received and the dates such amounts were received. The 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 III, including, but not limited to, requirements for collection through employers, requirements for evidence and records, and provisions for the examination and correction of returns. The Collector and agents designated by him may examine the records of any employer or supposed employer or of any taxpayer or supposed 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 Collector and any agent designated by him all means, facilities and opportunity for the examinations hereby authorized.
The Collector shall collect, by suit or otherwise, all taxes, interest, costs, fines and penalties due under this Article III 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 tax and an additional penalty of 1/2 of 1% of the amount of 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, shall, in addition to the interest and penalties set forth herein, the employer and/or taxpayer not remitting the tax shall be liable for the costs of collection, including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs incurred. The Collector may accept payment under protest of the tax claimed by the Borough in any case where any person disputes the Borough's claim for the tax. If a court of competent jurisdiction thereafter decides that there has been overpayment to the Collector, the Collector shall refund the amount of the overpayment to the person who paid under protest.
Any person who has overpaid the tax may obtain a refund by making
a written application for a refund to the Collector no later than
one year after payment of the tax or three years after the due date
for payment of the tax, whichever is later, and satisfactorily proves
to the Collector that he is entitled to the refund. Refunds made within
75 days of a refund request or 75 days after the last day the employer
is required to remit the tax to the Collector for the last quarter
of the calendar year, whichever is later, shall not be subject to
interest imposed under 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8426. A refund shall
be provided only for an amount overpaid in a calendar year that exceeds
$1.
The Collector shall provide a taxpayer a receipt of payment
of the tax upon request by the taxpayer.
The tax shall not apply to any subject of tax or person not
within the taxing power of the municipality under the Constitution
of the United States and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This Article III shall continue in force from year to year without annual reenactment.
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement on any return required
by this article, or whoever refuses inspection of his books, records
or accounts in his custody and control setting forth the number of
employees subject to this tax who are in his employment, or whoever
fails or refuses to file any return required by this article, shall,
upon conviction before any Justice of the Peace or District Justice,
be sentenced to pay a fine or not more than $300 and costs of such
proceedings for each offense, and in default of payment of aid fine,
be imprisoned in the Delaware County Prison for a period not exceeding
30 days for each offense. The continuation of such violation for each
successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person
or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation
may be punished as provided above for each separate offense. It is
further provided that the action to enforce the fine and penalty herein
provided may be instituted against any person in charge of the business
or any employer who has failed or refuses to file a return required
by this article.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to empower the
Borough of Darby 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 hereby imposed under the provisions of this article shall
be held by and court of competent jurisdiction to be in violation
of the Constitution of the United States or any 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 persons or
individuals as hereby provided.
