[Adopted 6-3-1974 by Ord. No. 1-1974]
The following words or phrases, when used in this article, shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the
context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Any partnership, limited partnership or other form of unincorporated
enterprise owned, operated or conducted by two or more persons.
Any deed, instrument or writing whereby any lands, tenements
or hereditaments within the geographical limits of Towanda Borough,
or any interest or estate therein, shall be granted, bargained, sold
or otherwise conveyed to the grantee, purchaser or any other person,
but does not include wills, mortgages, transfers between husband and
wife, transfers between parent and child or the spouse of such child,
and leases.
The person named in the document as the party receiving the
interest in the real estate.
The person named in the document as the party from whom the
interest in the real estate is passing.
Every natural person, copartnership, association or corporation.
Whenever used in any clause prescribing or imposing a penalty, the
term "person" as applied to copartnerships or associations shall mean
the partners or members thereof and, as applied to corporations, the
officers and directors thereof.
The Secretary of Towanda Borough, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
The tax levied, assessed and imposed by this article.
The transfer or change of title and/or possession of real
estate from the grantor to the grantee by the surrender of title and/or
possession by the grantor or his agent, and the entry or constructive
entry into possession by the grantee or his agent, which transfer
or change of possession takes place at the site of the real estate
involved, regardless of where the deed is prepared, executed, delivered,
accepted, recorded or where settlement is consummated.
In the case of any document granting, bargaining, selling
or otherwise conveying any land, tenement or hereditament, or interest
or estate therein, the amount of the actual consideration therefor,
including liens or other encumbrances thereon and ground rents, or
a commensurate part of the liens or other encumbrances thereon and
ground rents which also encumber or are charged against other lands,
tenements or hereditaments, provided that where such document shall
set forth a small or nominal consideration, the "value" thereof shall
be determined from the price set forth or actual consideration for
the contract of sale, or in the case of a gift or other document without
consideration, from the actual monetary worth of the property granted,
bargained, sold or otherwise conveyed, which, in either event, shall
not be less than the amount of the highest assessment of such lands,
tenements or hereditaments for local tax purposes.
This article shall be cited as the "Towanda Borough Realty Transfer
Tax Ordinance," and the tax herein and hereby imposed shall be designated
as the "Towanda Borough realty transfer tax."
An excise tax to provide revenue for general Borough purposes
is hereby imposed upon the privilege of transferring real estate or
any interest or estate therein situated wholly or partly within the
geographical limits of Towanda Borough, Bradford County, Pennsylvania,
at the rate of 1% of the value of the real estate transferred. Where
the transfer involves real estate situate partly within and partly
without the boundaries of the geographical limits of Towanda Borough,
the tax so levied shall be only on the part of the value apportioned
to the part of the said real estate situate within the geographical
boundaries of Towanda Borough.
The tax shall become due from and be paid by the grantor at
the time of the delivery of the document. However, if the grantor,
for any reason, shall not pay the tax or is exempt by law, the grantee
shall become liable therefor and remain liable until the tax, penalty
and interest have been discharged or paid according to the provisions
of this article.
A.
On and after the effective date of this article, every grantor or
his agent in any transfer taxable hereunder shall, prior to the delivery
or acceptance of the document, place thereon a certificate signed
by him or for him by a title insurance company, licensed real estate
broker or attorney at law, which shall set forth the value of the
real estate transferred, the amount of real estate transfer tax imposed
hereby, that the same has been paid and the date of payment. No grantor
or his agent shall offer for recording or record any document in the
office of the Recorder of Deeds of Bradford County, Pennsylvania,
which document does not contain said certificate nor unless the tax
hereby imposed shall first have been paid.
B.
No Recorder of Deeds shall accept for recording any document that
is not properly stamped in accordance with the provisions of this
article.
The certificate to be attached to said deed shall be in substantially
the following form:
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CERTIFICATE OF VALUE
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Now,______________________, it is hereby certified that the
value, as defined by the Towanda Borough Realty Transfer Tax Ordinance,
of the real estate transferred by this deed as described herein, is
$___________. The amount of the transfer tax is $___________ and has
been paid.
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Receipt of $___________ is hereby acknowledged.
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Recorder of Deeds, Agent
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A.
The real estate transfer tax, interest and penalties, if any, shall
be paid to the Secretary, who is hereby charged with the collection
thereof.
B.
The Secretary shall collect, on behalf of the Borough, all taxes,
interest and penalties received, collected or recorded hereunder,
and pay over the same to the Borough. All payments made by the Secretary
of the Borough shall be accompanied by an accurate written report
of the collections transmitted.
C.
The Secretary is authorized and empowered to prescribe, adopt and
promulgate rules, regulations and forms relating to any matter or
thing pertaining to the administration and enforcement of this article
and the collection of the tax, interest and penalties hereby imposed,
subject to the approval of the Council of Towanda Borough. The Secretary
is hereby authorized to deputize the Recorder of Deeds of Bradford
County to collect the aforesaid tax at the time of recording any deed
upon which the tax may be due, and for the said services the Recorder
of Deeds shall be paid the sum of 1% of any taxes so collected.
All taxes imposed by this article not paid within 10 days after
the due date shall bear interest from the date due at the rate of
1/2 of 1% per month until paid, and in addition, a penalty of 10%
of the tax is hereby imposed for failure to pay said tax within 10
days after the due date.
All taxes, interest and penalties imposed by this article shall
be recovered as other debts of like character are now by law recoverable.
The tax, together with interest and penalties, hereby imposed,
when due and unpaid, shall be a lien upon the real estate within the
boundaries of the Borough, which is the subject of the transfer, said
lien to be effective as of the date when the tax became due hereunder,
and said lien shall continue until discharged by payment or as provided
by law. The Solicitor of Towanda Borough is hereby authorized and
empowered to file a lien or claim, or otherwise proceed according
to law, for the collection of any unpaid tax, interest or penalty
hereunder.
It shall be unlawful for any person falsely or fraudulently
to do any act or make any return, statement or certificate under this
article, or to fail to pay the tax, interest and penalty, if any,
imposed by this article.
Any person who shall fail, neglect or refuse to comply with
any of the provisions of this article, in addition to any other penalty
herein provided, upon summary conviction shall be sentenced to pay
a fine not to exceed $100 and costs of prosecution for each and every
offense and, further, shall be required to pay the amount of the tax,
together with all interest and penalties, which should have been paid
on the transfer taxed hereunder or to undergo imprisonment for not
more than 30 days for the nonpayment of the same within 10 days from
the imposition thereof, or both.
The tax levied under this article shall become effective the
third day of July 1974 and shall continue in force on a calendar-year
basis without annual reenactment, unless the rate of the tax is subsequently
changed.
