(a) (1) Each employer shall at the time of the payment of any salary, wage, commission or other compensation, deduct the tax of one and one-half percent (1.5%) for the period beginning January 1, 1997, of the gross salaries, wages, commissions, or other compensation due by said employer to his employees who are subject to the provisions of this chapter. In making such deduction at the time of payment, the employer shall compute the tax to the nearest full cent so that mills of five or more shall be increased to the next full cent and mills less than five shall be dropped. No person shall be entitled to a refund merely because such rounding off of the tax results in an apparent overpayment based on his total earnings. Each employer shall, on or before the last day of each month, make a return and pay to the Finance Director the tax withheld during the preceding month. Provided, however, the Finance Director shall have the authority to approve the filing of returns and payment of the tax withheld on a quarterly basis. In such case, the employer shall, on or before the last day of each month following the calendar quarters ending March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, make a return and pay to the Finance Director the tax withheld during the preceding calendar quarter. Such approval for quarterly filings and payments may be withdrawn by the Finance Director when it is to the best interest of the City of Eaton to do so.
The Finance Director shall provide, by regulation, the manner in which such approval is to be granted or withdrawn.
(2) The employer shall be liable for the payment of the tax required to be deducted and withheld, whether or not such tax has in fact been withheld.
(3) The employer shall not purposefully underwithhold the required deduction from an employee’s pay and is required to reconcile the annual withholding, for the purpose of this tax, with the City or Federal Forms W-2 and W-3. Upon reconciliation, where it is necessary to withhold an additional amount because of inadvertent underwithholding, the employer will withhold the necessary amount prior to the end of the calendar year.
(b) Such employer in collecting said tax, shall be deemed to hold the same, until payment is made by such employer to the City of Eaton, as a trustee for the benefit of the City of Eaton and any such tax collected by such employer from his employees shall, until the same is paid to the City of Eaton, be deemed a trust fund in the hands of such employer.
(c) No person shall be required to withhold the tax on the wages or other compensation paid domestic servants employed by him exclusively in or about such person’s residence, even though such residence is in the City of Eaton, but such employee shall be subject to all of the requirements of this chapter.
(d) Each year, beginning with the tax year 1997, each employer shall file, on or before January 31, a withholding return on a form prescribed by and obtainable upon request from the Finance Director, setting forth the names and addresses of all employees from whose compensation the tax was withheld during the preceding calendar year and the amount of tax withheld from his employees and such other information as may be required by the Rules and Regulations adopted by the Finance Director.
(Ord. 96-14. Passed 11-18-96.)