[Adopted 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 698 (Ch. XXIV, Part 4, of
the 1975 Borough Code)]
The title and text of this article is the "Local Services Tax
of Borough of Palmyra, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania," and provides
as follows:
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 person, public employee or private agency designated
by the political subdivision to collect and administer the tax herein
imposed.
The Department of Community and Economic Development of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Compensation as this term is defined in 53 P.S. § 6924.501.[1]
An individual, partnership, association, limited liability
corporation, limited liability partnership, corporation, governmental
body, agency or other entity employing one or more persons on a salary,
wage, commission or other compensation basis, including a self-employed
person.
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 Palmyra.
The net income from the operation of a business, profession,
or other activity, as this term is defined in 53 P.S. § 6924.501.[2]
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 Palmyra Borough for
which compensation is charged or received; whether by means of salary,
wages, commissions, fees or net profits for services rendered.
The area within the corporate limits of Palmyra Borough,
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
The local services tax at the rate levied in this article.
The period from January 1 until December 31 in any year.
For specific revenue purposes, an annual tax is hereby levied
and assessed, commencing January 1, 2008, upon the privilege of engaging
in an occupation within the Borough of Palmyra during the tax year.
Each individual who exercises such privilege for any length of time
during any tax year shall pay the tax for that year in the amount
of $52, assessed on a pro rata basis, in accordance with the provisions
of this article. This tax may be used solely for the following purposes
as the same may be allocated by the Borough Council of the Borough
of Palmyra from time to time: emergency services, which shall include
emergency medical services, police services and/or fire services;
road construction and/or maintenance; reduction of property taxes;
or property tax relief through implementation of a homestead and farmstead
exclusion in accordance with 53 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 85, Subch. F (relating
to homestead property exclusion). Palmyra 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 Palmyra. The tax shall be no more than $52
on each person for each calendar year, irrespective of the number
of political subdivisions within which an individual may be employed.
A.
Exemption. Any person whose total earned income and net profits from
all sources within Palmyra Borough is less than $12,000 for any calendar
year in which the local services 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 taxable
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)
A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax may annually file an exemption certificate with the Borough of Palmyra and with the person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within Palmyra Borough of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event that the Borough of Palmyra utilizes a tax collection officer, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that officer. 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 Palmyra Borough 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 Collector of the local services tax for Palmyra Borough or except as required by Subsection B(2), 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. The exemption certificate form shall be the uniform form provided by the Borough of Palmyra.
(2)
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 Palmyra Borough that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within Palmyra 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 upon an employer's payment to the person of earned income within Palmyra 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 person under Subsection B(3).
(3)
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 B(2), 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 B(2), 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 local services tax under this subsection is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and Palmyra Borough may pursue collection under this article.
(4)
Except as provided in Subsection B(2), it is the intent of this subsection that employers shall not be responsible for investigating exemption certificates, monitoring tax exemption eligibility or exempting any employee from the local services tax.
(5)
Employers shall be responsible for retaining a copy of all exemption
certificates filed by employees within a given calendar year for a
minimum of three years.
(6)
Employers who have failed to withhold the local services tax from
an employee or employees, and do not have copies of the employee exemption
certificate or certificates, will be held responsible for the payment
of the local services tax as if the tax had been originally levied
against the employer.
C.
Refunds. The Borough of Palmyra, 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 and interest on
overpayments. 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 of Palmyra or
the Collector shall determine eligibility for exemption and provide
refunds to exempt persons.
A.
Each employer within Palmyra Borough, as well as those employers
situated outside Palmyra Borough but who engage in business within
the Borough of Palmyra, is hereby charged with the duty of collecting
the tax from each of the employees engaged by the employer or performing
work for the employer within Palmyra Borough and making a return and
payment thereof to the Collector. Further, each employer is hereby
authorized to deduct this tax for each employee who is employed by
the employer, whether said employee is paid by salary, wage or commission
and whether or not all such services are performed within Palmyra
Borough.
B.
Each 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 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 for an employee shall be made on a payroll-period basis for each payroll period in which the person is engaging in an occupation, beginning with the first payroll period in which the person is engaging in the 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 municipality.
C.
No person 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 person for each calendar
year, irrespective of the number of political subdivisions within
which a person may be employed. The political subdivision 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 local services tax or for the payment of the withheld tax money to Borough of Palmyra 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 employee complies with the provisions of § 325-37B 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.
A.
Employers and self-employed individuals are required to make and
file a local services tax quarterly return 30 days after the end of
each quarter of a calendar year. The local services tax quarterly
return shall list the name, address, social security number of the
employee; the physical address of the employee's place of employment;
the number of payroll periods for which the local services tax was
withheld and the amount of local services tax being remitted for each
employee.
B.
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.
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.
All self-employed individuals and individuals whose employer
is not required to withhold the local services tax (certain state
and federal agencies) who performs services of any type or kind or
engages in any occupation or profession with a primary place of employment
within the political subdivision 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.
A.
The situs of the local services tax shall be the place of employment
on the first day the person becomes subject to the tax during each
payroll period. In the event a person is engaged in more than one
occupation, that is, concurrent employment, or an occupation which
requires the person working 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 when each of the municipalities
imposes a local services tax:
(1)
First, the political subdivision in which a person maintains his
or her principal office or is principally employed;
(2)
Second, the political subdivision in which the person resides and
works if the tax is levied by that political subdivision;
(3)
Third, the political subdivision in which a person is employed and
which imposes the tax nearest in miles to the person's home.
B.
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.
The final determination of priority payment shall be made under the
provisions of this article and the provisions of the law.
C.
In the event that a person is engaged in an occupation which requires
the person working in more than one political subdivision during the
payroll period, in a case where only one of the political subdivisions
imposes the local services tax, the priority of the claim to collect
the tax shall be in the following order:
(1)
If the political subdivisions have entered into an agreement that
provides for payment to a specific political subdivision, that political
subdivision shall receive payment of the tax.
(2)
If only one of the political subdivisions imposes the local services
tax, the payment shall be made to that municipality.
All employers and self-employed individuals residing or having
their places of business outside of Palmyra Borough but who perform
services of any type or kind or engage in any occupation or profession
within Palmyra Borough 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 Palmyra. Further, any individual
engaged in an occupation within Palmyra Borough and an employee of
a nonresidential employer may, for the purpose of this article, be
considered a self-employed person, and in the event his or her local
services tax is not paid, the Borough of Palmyra shall have the option
of proceeding against either the employer or employee for the collection
of this tax as hereinafter provided.
A.
Any subsequent Collector shall be appointed by resolution of the
Borough Council of the Borough of Palmyra. It shall be the duty of
the Collector to accept and receive payments of this tax and keep
a record thereof showing the amount received by the Collector from
each employer or self-employed person, together with the date the
tax was received. It shall be the duty of the Collector to accept
and keep a record of the information submitted by employers relating
to the number of employees exempt from the tax, the employee exemption
certificates and refunds of the tax paid to individuals and employers.
B.
The Collector is hereby charged with the administration and enforcement
of this article and is hereby charged and empowered, subject to municipal
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 consistent
with the Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights under Act 50 of 1998.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8421 et seq.
C.
The Collector and Palmyra Borough are 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 and Palmyra Borough the means, facilities and
opportunity for such examination.
A.
In the event that any tax under this article remains due or unpaid
30 days after the due dates as provided herein, the Collector or Palmyra
Borough may sue for the recovery of any such tax due or unpaid under
this article, together with interest and penalty.
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 10% shall be added to the
flat rate of such tax for nonpayment thereof. Where suit is brought
for the recovery of this tax or other appropriate remedy undertaken,
the individual liable therefor shall, in addition, be responsible
and liable for the costs of collection, including but not limited
to administrative expenses and attorney's fees.
Whoever makes any false or untrue statement on any return required
by this article, or whoever refuses inspection of the books, records
or accounts in his or her custody and control setting forth the number
of employees subject to this tax who are in his or her employment,
or whoever fails or refuses to file any return or to pay the tax required
by this article shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 nor
more than $600 and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment
of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
The action to enforce the penalty herein prescribed may be instituted
against any person in charge of the business of any employer who shall
have failed or who refuses to file a return required by this article.
Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues, or is permitted
to continue, shall constitute a separate offense. Each section of
this article that is violated shall constitute a separate offense.
The Borough of Palmyra may file a suit in equity in the Court of Common
Pleas of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, to require compliance with
this article.
A.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to empower Palmyra
Borough to levy and collect the tax hereby imposed on any occupation
not within the taxing power of Palmyra 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 any court of competent jurisdiction to be in violation
of the Constitution of the United States or 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
herein provided.
Except as set forth hereafter, all ordinances or parts of ordinances
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Nothing herein shall be
construed to repeal the imposition and collection of an occupation
privilege tax, plus applicable penalties and interest, for calendar
years 2005 and 2006 and all prior calendar years, or of an emergency
and municipal services tax, plus applicable penalties and interest,
for calendar year 2007, as the same existed prior to this amendment.
The tax imposed by this article shall be effective on January
1, 2008, and all calendar years thereafter unless repealed or modified
by ordinance of the Borough of Palmyra.
