(a) All taxes imposed and all monies withheld or required to be withheld by employers under the provisions of this chapter and remaining unpaid after they become due shall bear interest at the same rate which Section 718.12 of the Ohio Revised Code of Ohio requires be paid by municipalities on their income tax refunds, i.e., the federal short-term rate as defined in Section 5703.47 of the Ohio Revised Code, plus three percent (3%) per year.
(b) In addition to interest as provided in subsection (a) hereof, penalties based on the unpaid tax are hereby imposed as follows:
(1) For failure to pay taxes due, other than taxes withheld, one and one-half percent (1½%) per month or fraction thereof, or twenty-five dollars ($25.00), whichever is greater, not to exceed half the tax due.
(2) For failure to remit taxes withheld or required to be withheld from employees, five percent (5%) per month or fraction thereof, or one hundred dollars ($100.00), whichever is greater.
(3) Where the taxpayer has failed to file a declaration on which he has estimated and paid a tax equal to or greater than the tax paid for the previous year, or has failed to file a declaration on which he has estimated and paid tax equal to or greater than ninety percent (90%) of the actual tax for the year, or has failed to file a final return and pay the total tax on or before the end of the month following the end of his taxable year, ten percent of the difference between ninety percent (90%) of the actual tax for the year and the amount paid through withholding or declaration.
(4) No penalty or interest shall be charged against a taxpayer for the late payment or nonpayment of estimated tax liability if the taxpayer is an individual who resides in the municipal corporation but was not domiciled there on the first day of January of the current calendar year.
(5) Except in the case of fraud, the penalty shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the unpaid tax.
(c) Exceptions. A penalty shall not be assessed on an additional tax assessment made by the Tax Administrator when a return has been filed in good faith and the tax paid thereon within the time prescribed by the Tax Administrator and provided further, that, in the absence of fraud, neither penalty nor interest shall be assessed on any additional tax assessment resulting from a Federal audit, providing an amended return is filed and the additional tax is paid within three (3) months after final determination of the Federal tax liability.
(d) In no case shall penalty and interest charges be levied when the total of such penalty and interest amounts to less than five dollars ($5.00).
(e) Any person required to withhold the tax who knowingly fails to withhold such tax, or pay over such tax or knowingly attempts in any manner to evade or defeat such tax or the payment thereof, shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be liable to a penalty equal to the total amount of tax evaded, or not withheld, or not paid over.
No other penalty under this section shall be applied to any offense to which this penalty is applied.
(f) Beginning with tax year 2007, including fiscal year filers, in addition to interest and penalties imposed by this chapter there shall be imposed, for failure to file any tax return due under this chapter, a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) penalty for late filing. This penalty shall be assessed regardless of the amount of tax due, if any, and is not limited by any other provision of this section.
(Ord. 60-07. Passed 12-17-07.)