[Adopted 11-15-2007 by Ord. No. O-07-19]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Local Services Tax Ordinance."
This article is enacted under the authority
of Act 511 of 1965, as amended, known as "The Local Tax Enabling Act."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6924.101
et seq.
As used in this article, unless the context
clearly indicates a different meaning, the following words shall have
the meanings set forth below:
The twelve-month period beginning January 1 and ending December
31st.
Person, public employee, public agency, or private agency
designated by governing body of the Township of College to collect
and administer the tax.
"Compensation" as determined under Section 303 of the Act
of March 4, 1971 (P.L. 6, No. 2), known as the "Tax Reform Code of
1971,"[1] and regulations in 61 Pa. Code Part I, Subpart B, Article V (relating to personal income tax), not including, however, wages or compensation paid to individuals on active military service. Employee business expenses are allowable deductions as determined under Article III of the Tax Reform Code of 1971. The amount of any housing allowance provided to a member of the clergy shall not be taxable as earned income.
A person, partnership, association, corporation, institution,
governmental body or unit or agency, or any other entity employing
one or more persons for a salary, wage, commission or other compensation,
including self-employed individuals.
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/or net profits from all sources within
the municipality 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 municipality for the year prior to
the calendar year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted
from the tax. In addition to the income exemptions, provision has
been made for certain military exemptions.
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.
Subchapter F.[2]
The Township of College.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession,
or other activity, except corporations, determined under Section 303
of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L. 6, No. 2), known as the "Tax Reform
Code of 1971,"[3] and regulations in 61 Pa. Code Part I, Subpart B, Article V (relating to personal income tax). The term does not include income which is not paid for services provided and which is in the nature of earnings from an investment. For taxpayers engaged in the business, profession or activity of farming, the term shall not include:
Any interest earnings generated from any monetary
accounts or investment instruments of the farming business;
Any gain on the sale of farm machinery;
any gain on the sale of livestock held 12 months
or more for draft, breeding or dairy purposes; and
Any gain on the sale of other capital assets
of the farm. (definition amended December 9, 2002, P.L. 1364, No.
166)
A person, partnership, association or other entity domiciled
outside the municipality.
Any livelihood, job, trade, profession, business or enterprise
of any kind, including services, domestic or otherwise, for which
any earned income and/or net profits are charged and received from
sources within the municipality.
Any county, city, borough, incorporated town, township, school
district, vocational school district and county institutional district
The calendar year before the current year.
The tax imposed by § 184-14 of this article.
Any natural person liable for the tax levied by § 184-14 of this article.
The municipality hereby levies and imposes on
every individual engaging in an occupation within the jurisdictional
limits of the municipality a tax in the amount of $52 per annum, beginning
the first day of January 2008 and continuing on a calendar basis annually
thereafter, until modified or repealed by a subsequent ordinance.
This tax is in addition to all other taxes of any kind or nature heretofore
levied by the municipality.
The tax levied by § 184-14 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 calendar 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 person whose total earned income and/or net profits
from all sources within the municipality is less than $12,000 for
the calendar year in which the local services tax is levied.
A.
Every employer 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. Failure to
register in a timely manner does not relieve the employer of the requirements
of this article.
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 the earned
income 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 $52 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.
C.
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. A tax return must be filed for each calendar
quarter, regardless of whether withholdings were completed or any
tax liability exists.
D.
Any employer who discontinues business or ceases operation
during the calendar year shall, within 15 days after discontinuing
business or ceasing operation, file the return hereinabove required
and pay the tax to the Collector.
E.
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.
F.
Priority of withholding.
(1)
The tax shall be withheld at the place of employment
on the first day the person becomes subject to the tax during each
payroll period.
(2)
In the event a person is engaged in more than one
occupation, i.e., concurrent employment, or an occupation which requires
the person working in more than one political subdivision during the
payroll period, the priority to withhold the local services tax shall
be in the following order:
(a)
The political subdivision in which a person
maintains his or her principal office or is principally employed.
(b)
The political subdivision in which the person
resides and works, if the tax is levied by that political subdivision.
(c)
The political subdivision in which a person
is employed and which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's
home.
G.
The employer shall not deduct the tax but shall maintain adequate records concerning the employees in the cases described in Subsection G(1) and (2) of this section.
(1)
It is the intent of this section that no person shall
be subject to the payment of the Local Services tax in more than one
municipality during each payroll period. No taxpayer shall be required
to pay more than $52 in total during the calendar year. In the case
of concurrent employment, an employer shall refrain from withholding
the local services tax if the employee provides:
(a)
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 local services tax withheld; and
(b)
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.
(2)
In the case of an employee claiming the exemption set forth at § 184-15C, 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/or net profits from all sources
within the municipality 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 municipality an amount equal to or in excess of
$12,000 in that calendar year.
(3)
Withholding required when exemption status ceases. If a person has claimed exemption from the tax under § 184-15C for a given calendar year 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/or net profits from all sources
within the municipality 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 municipality 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 Item a above or for the first payroll period
after payments described in Item 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 subsection 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.
(4)
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 and prior to the first pay period of each calendar year.
(5)
A person seeking exemption from the tax under § 184-15C must annually file an exemption certificate with the employer and the Collector.
(6)
Each employer within the municipality, and each employer
located outside the municipality who engages in business within the
municipality, is hereby charged with the duty of collecting the tax
from each of the employees engaged by the employer and performing
work for the employer within the municipality.
Every taxpayer who is self-employed and has not filed an exemption certification with the Collector or whose tax for any other reason is not collected under § 184-16 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 $52 for the calendar year by four.
Both resident and nonresident taxpayers shall,
by virtue of engaging in an occupation within the municipality, be
subject to the tax and the provisions of this article.
The Collector, on behalf of the municipality,
shall collect and receive the taxes, interest, fines and penalties
imposed by this article; shall maintain records showing interest,
fines and penalties imposed by this article; 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 shall enforce regulations adopted by
the governing body relating to any matter pertaining to the administration
of this article, 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 any
designated agents 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 designated agent all means, facilities and opportunity
for the examinations hereby authorized. Any such examination shall
be conducted within this municipality or at the office where the tax
return is processed.
The municipality or it's collector of the tax
may collect unpaid taxes from the taxpayer or employer owing such
taxes by suit as provided for by Act 511 of 1965, as amended, know
as "The Local Enabling Tax Act."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6901
et seq.
[Amended 12-21-2017 by Ord. No. O-17-07]
A.
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due, a one-time penalty
of 10% of the unpaid tax shall be added, plus interest at the rate
of 0.5% per month of the unpaid tax for each month or fraction thereof
during which the tax remains unpaid. Where suit is brought for the
recovery of any such tax, the taxpayer or employer liable for the
tax shall, in addition, be liable for the costs of collection and
the interest and penalties herein imposed. Costs of collection to
be paid to the Collector, as designated by resolution, are as follows:
[Amended 1-3-2023 by Res. No. R-23-08]
|
Activity
|
Cost To Taxpayer
|
|---|---|
|
First notice - late payment, underpayment, nonpayment, late
filing, failure to file
|
$0
|
|
Second notice - late payment, underpayment, nonpayment, late
filing, failure to file
|
$25
|
|
Returned check or returned electronic payment
|
$25 in addition to bank service fee(s)
|
|
Stop payment of check or electronic payment
|
$25 in addition to bank service fee(s)
|
|
Establishment of payment plan
|
$5 per payment
|
|
Notice prior to wage attachment
|
$25
|
|
Preparation of District Justice complaint (civil or criminal)
|
$100
|
|
Preparation of District Justice hearing (civil or criminal)
|
$100
|
|
Attendance at District Justice hearing (civil or criminal)
|
$100 per hour
|
|
Preparation for appeal to the Court of Common Pleas
|
$150
|
|
Attendance at Court of Common Plea proceeding or artibration
|
$100 per hour
|
|
Initiation of and attendance at execution sale
|
$100 per hour
|
|
Preparation of filing bankruptcy proof of claim
|
$100 per hour
|
|
District Justice, Court of Common Pleas, Bankruptcy Court -
filing fees and costs
|
Actual fees and costs
|
|
Fees and costs incurred to engage legal counsel with collection
efforts - District Justice, Court of Common Pleas, Bankruptcy Court
|
Actual fees and costs
|
|
Fees and costs incurred for audit resulting in the assessment
of tax, interest, or penalties
|
Actual fees and costs
|
|
Generation of employer's local services tax return(s) from
Earned Income Tax data for tax returns failed to be filed by employer
|
$50 per hour
|
|
Coding of incomplete employer's quarterly local services
tax return(s) (worksite allocations, incorrect account numbers, and/or
incomplete details)
|
$50 per hour
|
B.
The above-referenced costs of collection may be amended by resolution.
C.
The fees and penalties imposed under this section shall be in addition
to any other penalty imposed by any other section in this article.
A.
Any taxpayer or employer who fails, neglects, or refuses
to make a return required, any employer who fails, neglects or refuses
to register or to pay the tax deducted from employees, or fails, neglects,
or refuses to deduct or withhold the tax from employees, taxpayer
or employer who refuses to permit the Collector to examine the books,
records, and papers, and taxpayer or employer who knowingly makes
any incomplete, false or fraudulent return or attempts to do anything
whatsoever to avoid the full disclosure of the amount of tax due in
order to avoid the payment of the whole or any part of the tax imposed
shall, upon conviction thereof before the District Magistrate, be
sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500 for each offense, and
costs, and, in default of said fines and costs, be imprisoned for
a period not exceeding 30 days.
B.
The failure of taxpayer or employer to receive or
procure forms required for filing the required return does not excuse
the taxpayer or employer from the filing requirement.
A.
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 calendar 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 the taxpayer 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.
B.
Refund requests must be submitted on the form approved
by the Collector. It should be noted that incomplete refund requests
will be deferred until the missing or incomplete information is provided.
Refunds in the deferred status are not subject to the payment of interest
requirement.
The Collector shall provide a taxpayer a receipt
of payment of the tax upon request by the taxpayer. A stamped self-addressed
envelope shall be furnished by the taxpayer if a receipt via return
mail is desired.
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 shall continue in force from one
calendar year to another without annual reenactment.
