[Adopted 4-4-1979 by Ord. No. 114; amended
in its entirety 12-1-2008 by Ord. No. 347]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Township of Pine Mercantile Tax Ordinance."
For the purposes of this article and unless
otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings as defined below:
Any person, individual, partnership, limited partnership,
association, trust, firm, corporation, or any other entity engaged
in whole or in part in sales, by wholesale or retail, or in the restaurant
industry for profit. Whenever used in any section prescribing and
imposing a penalty, the term "person," as applied to associations,
shall mean the partners or members thereof and, as applied to corporations,
the officers thereof.
The Collector of mercantile tax for the Township of Pine
appointed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
The value of all cash, credits or property received which
is attributable to the carrying on of a business or occupation in
the Township, undiminished by any costs of doing business. A receipt
generally will be considered attributable to the Township if any part
of the transaction takes place within the Township or is directed
in any part from an office or place of business or occupation within
the Township. Where a receipt in its entirety cannot be subject to
the tax imposed by this article by reason of the provisions of the
Constitution of the United States or any other provision of law, including
the exemptions listed in this article, the Collector shall establish
rules and regulations and methods of allocation and evaluation so
that only that part of such receipt which is properly attributable
and allocable to the doing of business in the Township shall be taxed
hereunder. The Collector may make such allocation with due regard
to the nature of the business concerned on the basis of millage division
of the receipt according to the number of jurisdictions in which it
may be taxed, the ratio of the value of the property or assets of
the taxpayer owned and situated in the Township to the total property
or assets of the taxpayer, wherever owned and situated, or any other
method of calculation other than the foregoing, calculated to effect
a fair and proper allocation.
A residential real property owned and occupied as the primary
domicile of an active volunteer.
[Added 6-5-2023 by Ord. No. 401]
A tax levied upon real property located within the Township
of Pine by action of its Board of Supervisors as authorized by the
Township of Pine's Home Rule Charter and the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania's Second Class Township Code (at 53 P.S. § 68205).
[Added 6-5-2023 by Ord. No. 401]
The twelve-month period of January 1 through December 31.
The municipal government or the land within the geographical
boundaries of the Township of Pine, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,
depending upon the context.
Any person desiring to engage in wholesale or retail sales or operation of a restaurant shall, before commencing business, procure a mercantile License for each occupation or business location in the Township. Application is required only once for each occupation or business location by the submission of a completed application for commercial registration and the payment of a fee as indicated on that application and as specified in Chapter A144 (Fees) of the Code of the Township of Pine. The mercantile license is not assignable.
A.
The Township Board of Supervisors is authorized by
a majority vote at any public meeting to appoint a Collector and any
other administrative personnel as may be deemed necessary for the
assessment and collection of taxes imposed by this article and to
set compensation for any Collector and administrative personnel appointed.
The Collector and administrative personnel shall serve until a successor
is appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The Collector and administrative
personnel may be removed by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors
at any public meeting for just cause during his or her term.
B.
It shall be the duty of the Collector to collect and
receive the taxes, fines and penalties imposed by this article. It
shall also be his or her duty to maintain business and tax records.
C.
The Collector is charged with the administration and
enforcement of the provisions of this article and empowered to enforce
its rules and regulations. Anyone aggrieved by the Collector's tax
determination may request a Tax Disclosure Statement (Attachment 1)[1] and file the included Petition for Appeal and Refund.[2] The Tax Disclosure Statement sets forth the rights of
taxpayers and obligations of the local taxing authority during an
audit or administrative review; the administrative and judicial procedures
by which a taxpayer may appeal or seek judicial review of any adverse
decision of the local taxing authority; the procedure for filing and
processing refund claims and taxpayer complaints; and enforcement
procedures. The Township shall provide information on the Tax Disclosure
Statement (with such notification to be in the form provided by Act
50 of 1998) in regard to assessment, audit, determination, review
or collection of an eligible tax and shall make copies available to
taxpayers upon request at no charge to the taxpayer, including mailing
costs.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Tax Disclosure Statement is included at the end of this chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: The Petition for Appeal and
Refund is on file in the Township Offices.
D.
The Collector is authorized to examine the records
of any business in order to verify the accuracy of any return made
or, if no return was made, to ascertain the tax due. Every business
is directed and required to give to the Collector the means for such
examinations and investigations. Businesses failing to abide by this
provision shall be subject to the penalties of this article for each
day of said failure.
E.
The Collector is authorized to compel the attendance
of all persons, whether as parties or witnesses, whom they believe
to have knowledge of such receipts. Any business failing to comply
with said actions of the Collector shall be subject to the penalties
of this article for each day of said failure.
F.
No deficiency assessment may be made more than five
years after the date on which such taxes should have been paid, except
where a fraudulent return or no return has been filed.
G.
Any information gained by the Collector in tax collection
shall be confidential except in accordance with a proper judicial
order or as otherwise provided by law.
Beginning with the tax year 1979, effective
July 1, 1979, and annually for tax years thereafter, the Township
hereby imposes a mercantile tax in the manner and at the rate hereinafter
set forth.
A.
Businesses operating a restaurant or place where food,
drink or refreshments are sold, whether or not the same are incidental
to some other business or occupation, at the rate of one mill or $0.001
on each dollar of gross receipts ($1 on each $1,000 of gross receipts).
B.
Wholesale vendors at the rate of 0.75 mill or $0.00075
on each dollar of wholesale gross receipts ($0.75 on each $1,000 of
gross receipts).
C.
Retail vendors at the rate of one mill or $0.001 on
each dollar of gross receipts ($1 on each $1,000 of gross receipts).
A.
An Application for Business Tax Exemption (Attachment
2)[1] may be submitted for the following exemptions from the
imposition of mercantile tax:
(1)
Nonprofit corporations or associations qualifying
for exemption from taxation as being a purely public charity and organized
for religious, charitable or educational purposes.
(2)
Agencies of the government of the United States or
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Township of Pine.
(3)
Vending or disposing of articles of their own growth,
production or manufacture for shipment or delivery from the place
of growth, production or manufacture within the Township.
(4)
Minerals, timber, natural resources or processing
thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Application for Business
Tax Exemption is on file in the Township offices.
B.
Exclusions from the imposition of mercantile tax include:
(1)
Receipts by dealers from sales to other dealers in
the same line where the dealer transfers title or possession at the
same price for which they acquired the goods, wares or merchandise,
so long as said dealers are not the parent or subsidiary organization
of the vendor or have no other affiliation or cooperative agreement
with the vendor.
(2)
Receipts of that portion thereof attributable to interstate
or foreign commerce or to an office or place of business regularly
maintained by the taxpayer, outside the limits of the Township, and
not for the purpose of evading payment of this tax and those receipts
which the Township is prohibited from taxing by law.
(3)
Alcohol sales.
(4)
Sales, returns and allowances for damaged or defective
goods, provided such items have been included in gross sales.
(5)
Trade discounts such as discounts deducted from the
face of bills as a medium of adjusting the list price or discounts
deducted from the face of the bill without regard to the due date
of such bill.
(6)
Federal and state excise taxes, provided such amounts
have been included in gross sales.
(7)
Resale of goods such as merchandise taken by a dealer
as a trade-in or part payment for other merchandise, except to the
extent that the resale price exceeds the trade-in allowance.
(8)
Pennsylvania sales tax.
(9)
Any employment for wage or salary.
(10)
Activity upon which the power to levy such a
mercantile tax is withheld by law.
(11)
Any business which is subject to the Township
of Pine business privilege tax on its entire gross receipts.
C.
The burden is imposed upon any business claiming an
exemption from the payment of the tax to convince the Collector of
its legal right to such exemption or exclusion.
D.
The filing of a business gross receipts tax return
on or before April 15 of each year remains a requirement, with the
business recertifying its exemption conditions on that tax return.
A.
A business in operation in the Township for at least
one full year prior to the beginning of the tax year shall compute
the tax liability on the annual gross receipts transacted during the
preceding year. The business gross receipts tax return must be filed
on or before April 15 and shall include a supporting schedule of page
one of federal forms 1040, 1065, 1120, 1120S or Schedules C, E, F
or K-1. The business gross receipts tax return must be completed and
filed, but no tax payment is due if the total gross receipts are less
than $10,000.
B.
A business in operation in the Township for less than
one full year prior to the beginning of the tax year shall compute
the tax liability on the average monthly gross receipts transacted
during the preceding year multiplied by 12. The business gross receipts
tax return must be filed on or before April 15. The business gross
receipts tax return must be completed and filed, but no tax payment
is due if the total gross receipts are estimated to be less than $10,000.
C.
A business beginning operation in the current calendar
year shall compute the annual tax liability on the gross receipts
transacted during the first full calendar month of engaging in business
multiplied by the number of months remaining in the calendar year.
The business gross receipts tax return must be filed within 40 days
from the date of commencing business. The business gross receipts
tax return must be completed and filed, but no tax payment is due
if the total gross receipts are estimated to be less than $10,000.
D.
A temporary, seasonal or itinerant business shall
compute tax liability on the actual gross receipts while in operation.
The business gross receipts tax return must be filed within 40 days
of completing business. The business gross receipts tax return must
be completed and filed, but no tax payment is due if the total gross
receipts are less than $10,000.
E.
A business which discontinues or relocates out of
the Township after having paid the mercantile tax for that calendar
year shall be entitled to receive a refund of the pro rata amount
of the tax paid, based upon the discontinuation or relocation date.
Such refund must be made by filing an amended business gross receipts
tax return within one year of the original filing with the discontinuation
or relocation date noted. In the event that the business discontinues
or relocates before payment of the tax becomes due for such tax year,
the tax should be apportioned for such tax year by dividing gross
receipts of the preceding full calendar year by 12 and then multiplying
that number by the number of months in business during that current
tax year. The business gross receipts tax return should have the supporting
tax document of the preceding year attached with the discontinuation
or relocation date noted. The business gross receipts tax return must
be completed and filed, but no tax payment is due if the total gross
receipts are estimated to be less than $10,000.
The business gross receipts tax return must
include all required information and must be properly executed by
the responsible party.
The business gross receipts tax return must
be filed on or before April 15 for that current year of January 1
through December 31. Extensions are not granted, regardless of if
a federal income tax extension has been applied for or granted. If
the gross receipts of the prior year are known, but the federal tax
return has not yet been filed, the business gross receipts tax return
must be filed on or before April 15, with tax payment, and a copy
of the federal application for extension of time to file a return
attached. The supporting documentation for the business gross receipts
tax return must be sent at the time the federal tax return is filed.
If the gross receipts of the prior year are unknown, the business
gross receipts tax return must be filed on or before April 15, with
tax payment calculated using the preceding year's gross receipts.
An amended business gross receipts tax return must then be filed,
with supporting documentation, when the federal tax return is filed.
Payment of any additional tax is due with the amended return, including
penalty and interest on the amount of unpaid tax to the date of payment.
Refunds will be made by the Township if the actual gross receipts
are less than the tax paid with the original filing.
Tax payment, as indicated on the completed business
gross receipts tax return, must be made with the filing of that return,
including applicable payment and interest.
Supporting schedules and/or documents shall
be attached to the business gross receipts tax return if the business
has been in operation in the Township for at least one full year.
Verification shall be provided through attachment of page one of federal
forms 1040, 1065, 1120, 1120S or Schedules C, E, F or K-1.
A.
The Collector is hereby authorized to accept payment
of tax under protest where the taxpayer disputes the validity or amount.
If judicially determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that
the Township has been overpaid, the amount of the overpayment shall
be refunded to the taxpayer.
A.
The Collector may sue for the recovery of taxes due
and unpaid under this article. No deficiency assessment may be made
more than five years after the date on which such taxes should have
been paid, except where a fraudulent return or no return has been
filed.
B.
If for any reason the tax is not paid when due, interest
at the rate of 0.83% and penalty at the rate of 1% of the unpaid tax
for each month or fraction thereof during which the tax remains unpaid
shall be added and collected.
C.
Where suit is brought for the recovery of any such
tax, the business is also liable for all collection costs, including
attorneys' fees, and all court costs incurred by the Township and
applicable interest and penalties.
Whoever fails or refuses to procure a mercantile
license; or whoever fails or refuses to file a business gross receipts
tax return; or makes any false or untrue statement on the business
gross receipts tax return; or who refuses to permit inspection of
the records of any business in his or her custody or control and whoever
violates any other provision of this article shall, upon conviction
before any District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more
than $300 plus costs of prosecution for each offense. This shall be
in addition to any other remedies available to the Township.
