[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 1]
This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Business Privilege Tax Ordinance."
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 2]
The following words and phrases, when used in this Part, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context of the Part clearly indicates a different meaning:
BOROUGH
The Borough of East Lansdowne.
BUSINESS
Any activity carried on or exercised for gain or profit in the Borough of East Lansdowne, including, but not limited to, the providing of services, or the sale of goods, wares, and merchandise; provided, however, that rental of single-family residential real estate units shall not be considered a business.
[Amended by Ord. 592, 01/16/2018]
CALENDAR YEAR
The period from January 1 to December 31, inclusive, and each year thereafter.
GROSS VOLUME OF BUSINESS
The gross value of revenue received in cash, credit or property of any kind or nature by any person engaging in business in the Borough of East Lansdowne. In the case of business, which is transacted outside the Borough of East Lansdowne, gross volume of business will only include that portion of the revenue, which is received or earned from transactions, performed within the Borough of East Lansdowne.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, association or corporation. Whenever used in any clause prescribing a penalty, the term "person" as applied to associations shall mean the partners, where members thereof, and as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
SERVICES
Services of every kind any description for which a charge shall be made.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 4; as amended by Ord. 390, 12/15/1986]
For the license year beginning January 1, 1987, every person desiring to continue to engage in, or hereafter to begin to engage in, any business within the Borough of East Lansdowne, shall, on or before the first day of January, 1987, and hereinafter the first day of January of any following years, apply for and procure a business privilege license for his place of business, or, if more than one, for each of his places of business, within the Borough. The collector of the business privilege tax of the Borough shall issue said licenses upon payment of $30 for a wholesale and retail license, and $25 for any other business. Each application for a license shall be signed by the Applicant, or in the case of an association or partnership, by a member or partner thereof, in the case of a corporation by an officer thereof. Said licenses shall not be assignable, and shall be conspicuously posted at the place of business, or each of the places of business of every such person at all times.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 5]
A tax to provide for general Borough purposes is hereby levied and assessed upon every person engaging in business within the Borough at the rate set forth hereinafter:
A. 
The rate of tax on each and every dollar of the whole or gross volume of business transacted by wholesale dealers or wholesale vendors within the limits of the Borough of East Lansdowne shall be one mill.
B. 
The rate of tax on each and every dollar of the whole or gross volume of any other business transacted within the Borough of East Lansdowne shall be 1 1/2 mills.
In no event shall the annual business privilege tax herein imposed be less than $10 for each of the places of business of every person.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 6]
1. 
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed, who has commenced his business at least one full year prior to the beginning of the license year shall compute the gross volume of business upon the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during the 12 months preceding the license year.
2. 
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who has commenced or who commences his business less than one full year prior to the beginning of the license year, shall compute his annual gross volume of business for such license year upon the gross volume of business transacted by him during the first month in business multiplied by 12.
3. 
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who commences his business subsequent to one full year prior to the beginning of the license year shall compute the gross volume of business for the license year upon the gross volume of business transacted by him during the first month of his engaging in business, multiplied by the number of months remaining in the license year.
4. 
Every person subject to the payment of the tax hereby imposed who engages in business temporary, seasonal or itinerant by its nature, shall compute the gross volume of business upon the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during the license year.
5. 
Final Tax. Pursuant to the following sections of this Part, every person subject to the tax hereby imposed shall make a final return to the Collector of the Borough of the actual volume of business transacted by the taxpayer during the period for which the taxpayer is subject to the tax. Such final return shall state the amount of the gross volume of business as set forth on the estimated return, the amount of the tax paid at the time of filing of the estimated return, and the amount of tax due upon the final computation.
6. 
Exemptions from Gross or Whole Volume of Business. Gross or whole volume of business upon the tax hereunder as computed shall include the gross consideration credited or received for or on account of sales made, rentals and/or services rendered, subject only to the following allowable deductions and exemptions:
A. 
Refunds, credits, or allowances given by a taxpayer to a purchaser on account of defects in goods, wares or merchandise sold, or on account of goods, wares or merchandise returned.
B. 
Any commissions paid by a broker to another broker on account of a purchase or sales contract initiated, executed or cleared with such other broker.
C. 
Bad debts, where the deduction is also taken in the same year for federal income taxation purposes.
D. 
Taxes collected as agent for the United States of America, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Borough of East Lansdowne.
E. 
Each person subject to payment of the tax hereby imposed shall be entitled to exempt up to the first $25,000 of gross volume of business.
[Added by Ord. 584, 12/12/2016]
7. 
Partial Exemptions. Where gross or whole volume of business in its entirety cannot be subjected to the tax imposed by this Part by reason of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States or any other provision of law, the Tax Collector, with the approval of the Borough, shall establish rules and regulations and methods of allocation and evaluation so that only that part of the gross or whole volume of business which is properly attributable and allowable to doing business in the District shall be taxed hereunder.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 7]
1. 
Every return, as hereinafter required by this section, shall be made upon a form furnished by the Collector. Every person making such return shall certify the correctness thereof, under the penalties of perjury.
2. 
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this Part who has commenced his business at least one full year prior to the beginning of the license year, shall, on or before the fifteenth day of April following, file with the Collector a return setting forth his name, his business and business address and such other information as may be necessary in arriving at the actual gross volume of business transacted by him during a license year and the amount of tax estimated to be due.
3. 
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this Part, who has commenced his business less than one full year prior to the beginning of the license year, shall, on or before the fifteenth day of April of each year file with the Tax Collector a return setting forth his name, his business, business address, and other such information as may be necessary in arriving at the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during the license year and the amount of tax estimated to be due.
4. 
Every person subject to the tax imposed by this Part, who commences business subsequent to the beginning of any license year, shall, within 60 days from the date of commencing such business, file a return with the Tax Collector, setting forth his name, his business and business address, and such information as may be necessary to compute the actual gross volume of business transacted by him during the license year and the amount of tax estimated to be due.
5. 
Every person subject to the payment of the tax imposed by this Part who engages in a business temporary, seasonal or itinerant by its nature, shall, within seven days from the day he completes such business, file a return with the Collector, setting forth his name, his business and business address and such information as may be necessary in arriving at the actual gross amount of business transacted by him during such period and the amount of the tax due.
6. 
Any person going out of or ceasing to do business shall, within 14 days from the date of ceasing to do business, file a return showing the actual gross volume of business conducted and done by such person during that tax year in which said person ceased doing business, and pay the tax due as computed thereon at the rate herein provided for at the time of filing said return. If such tax has been previously paid based upon estimated gross receipts, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of any excess tax paid for the tax year in which business was terminated.
7. 
Final Return. On or before April 15 of each year, beginning in 1986, every person subject to the tax hereby imposed shall make a final return to the Collector showing the actual volume of business transacted by the taxpayer during the preceding license year. Such final return shall state the amount of gross volume of business as set forth in this Part, the amount of tax paid at the time of filing the first tax return, and the amount of tax due upon the final computation. Each final return shall be documented by the appropriate information required by the Collector, and the Borough.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 8]
1. 
At the filing of the estimated return, the person making that return shall pay the amount of the tax estimated to be due.
2. 
At the time of the filing of the final return, if the full amount of the tax due by the taxpayer for the license year has not been paid, the taxpayer shall pay the remaining balance of the tax, which shall be the difference between the amount of the tax paid at the time of the making of the first return on the estimated computation, and the amount of the tax shown to be due on the final return.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 9]
The business privilege tax levied pursuant to this Part shall be due and payable on the date on which the taxpayer is required to file a return as set forth above and if the same is not paid on said date, a penalty of 10% of the tax due shall be added thereto, plus interest of 1.25% of tax due for each month or fractional part thereof from the day they are due and payable until paid.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 11]
1. 
The Tax Collector of the Borough of East Lansdowne is hereby designated the Collector of all business taxes assessed, imposed and payable hereunder.
2. 
It shall be the duty of the Collector to collect and receive the fees, taxes, fines and penalties imposed by this Part. It shall also be his duty to keep a record showing the amount of the tax received by him and the date of payment. A receipt shall be given to the person paying the tax.
3. 
In the event the person to be assessed neglects or refuses to make a return, then in such case the Tax Collector or his duly appointed deputies shall assess said person or persons on such an amount of whole or gross volume of business as the said Tax Collector or his deputies deem reasonable and appropriate. In all cases of assessment the Tax Collector or his duly appointed deputies shall give the parties assessed a notice in which shall be stated the trade, business, occupation or class, and the amount of the business privilege tax imposed or levied.
4. 
Any person, firm, or corporation claiming an exemption from the payment of the tax imposed by this Part, will be required to prove, to the satisfaction of the Tax Collector, of his legal right to such an exemption.
5. 
The Tax Collector, before entering his official duties, shall give and acknowledge a bond to the Borough in an amount satisfactory to the Borough. If the Borough shall, by resolution, designate any bond previously given by the Collector adequate, such bond shall be sufficient.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 12]
It shall be the duty of the Collector to pay into the Treasury of the Borough of East Lansdowne for the use and benefit of the Borough of East Lansdowne, on the first of each and every month, all taxes, interest and penalties received. Said payment shall be accompanied by an itemized statement, setting forth the name of each person and the amount and date of his payment.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 13; as amended by Ord. 401, 7/11/1988; and by Ord. 416, 4/22/1991]
Any person, as defined in this Part, or any officer, agent, servant or employee thereof, who shall fail, neglect or refuse to comply with any of the terms or provisions of this Part, shall, upon conviction before any District Justice of the County of Delaware, be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed the sum of $600 for any one offense, along with costs of prosecution plus costs, and in default of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. The fines imposed by this section shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed by any other section of this Part.
[Ord. 367, 1/14/1985, Art. 14]
1. 
Any person employed for a wage or salary, [by] a non-profit corporation, or associations organized for religious, charitable or educational purposes, agencies of the Government of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the business of any political subdivision, or any authority created or organized under and pursuant to any act of Assembly are hereby exempt from the provisions of this Part.
2. 
No such tax shall be assessed or collected on a privilege, transaction, subject, or occupation which is subject to a state tax or license fee, and which tax or license fee has been held by the Courts of Pennsylvania to be the basis of exemption from the imposition of a business privilege tax by a municipality.
3. 
No such tax shall be imposed on any other transactions exempt by law.