(A) (1) Each employer, agent of an employer, or other payer located or doing business in the Municipality shall withhold from each employee an amount equal to the qualifying wages of the employee earned by the employee in the Municipality multiplied by the applicable rate of the Municipality's income tax, except for qualifying wages for which withholding is not required under Section 194.052
of this Chapter or division (D) or division (F) of this section. An employer, agent of an employer, or other payer shall deduct and withhold the tax from qualifying wages on the date that the employer, agent, or other payer directly, indirectly, or constructively pays the qualifying wages to, or credits the qualifying wages to the benefit of, the employee.
(2) In addition to withholding the amounts required under division (A)(1) of this section, an employer, agent of an employer, or other payer may also deduct and withhold, on the request of an employee, taxes for the municipal corporation in which the employee is a resident.
(B) (1) An employer, agent of an employer, or other payer shall remit to the Tax Administrator of the Municipality the greater of the income taxes deducted and withheld or the income taxes required to be deducted and withheld by the employer, agent, or other payer, along with any report required by the Tax Administrator to accompany such payment, according to the following schedule:
(a) Any employer, agent of an employer, or other payer not required to make payments under division (B)(1)(b) or division (B)(1)(c) of this section of taxes required to be deducted and withheld shall make quarterly payments to the Tax Administrator not later than the fifteenth day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter.
(b) Taxes required to be deducted and withheld shall be remitted monthly to the Tax Administrator if the total taxes deducted and withheld or required to be deducted and withheld by the employer, agent, or other payer on behalf of the municipal corporation in the preceding calendar year exceeded two thousand three hundred ninety-nine dollars ($2,399) or if the total amount of taxes deducted and withheld or required to be deducted and withheld on behalf of the Municipality in any month of the preceding calendar quarter exceeded two hundred dollars ($200). Payment under division (B)(1)(b) of this section shall be made so that the payment is received by the Tax Administrator not later than fifteen days after the last day of each month.
(c) Intentionally left blank.
(d) The Tax Administrator may require an employer, agent of an employer, or other payer to make payment by electronic funds transfer to the Tax Administrator of all taxes deducted and withheld on behalf of the employee for remittance to the Municipality if the employer, agent of an employer, or other payer is required to make payments electronically for the purpose of paying federal taxes withheld on payments to employees under Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 C.F.R. 31.6302-1, or any other federal statute or regulation. The payment of tax by electronic funds transfer under this division does not affect an employer's, agent's, or other payer's obligation to file any return as required under this section. Unless otherwise authorized by the Tax Administrator, once the threshold for remitting payment electronically for federal purposes has been met, any accrued municipal income tax withheld from employee qualifying wages earned within the Municipality shall be remitted to the Municipality at the same time that the federal tax withholding payment is due.
(C) An employer, agent of an employer, or other payer shall make and file a return showing the amount of tax withheld by the employer, agent, or other payer from the qualifying wages of each employee and remitted to the Tax Administrator. A return filed by an employer, agent, or other payer under this division shall be accepted by the Municipality as the return required of an employee whose sole income subject to the tax under this chapter is the qualifying wages reported by the employee's employer, agent of an employer, or other payer, unless the Municipality requires every resident individual taxpayer to file a tax return under Section 194.091
of this Chapter.
(D) An employer, agent of an employer, or other payer is not required to withhold municipal income tax with respect to an individual's disqualifying disposition of an incentive stock option if, at the time of the disqualifying disposition, the individual is not an employee of either the corporation with respect to whose stock the option has been issued or of such corporation's successor entity.
(E) (1) An employee is not relieved from liability for a tax by the failure of the employer, agent of an employer, or other payer to withhold the tax as required under this chapter or by the employer's, agent's, or other payer's exemption from the requirement to withhold the tax.
(2) The failure of an employer, agent of an employer, or other payer to remit to the Municipality the tax withheld relieves the employee from liability for that tax unless the employee colluded with the employer, agent, or other payer in connection with the failure to remit the tax withheld.
(F) Compensation deferred before June 26, 2003, is not subject to any municipal corporation income tax or municipal income tax withholding requirement to the extent the deferred compensation does not constitute qualifying wages at the time the deferred compensation is paid or distributed.
(G) Each employer, agent of an employer, or other payer required to withhold taxes is liable for the payment of that amount required to be withheld, whether or not such taxes have been withheld, and such amount shall be deemed to be held in trust for the Municipality until such time as the withheld amount is remitted to the Tax Administrator.
(H) On or before the last day of February of each year, an employer shall file with the Tax Administrator, in the form, manner, and method prescribed by the Tax Administrator, a Withholding Reconciliation Return listing the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of all employees from whose qualifying wages tax was withheld or should have been withheld for the Municipality during the preceding calendar year, the amount of tax withheld, if any, from each such employee's qualifying wages, the total amount of qualifying wages paid to such employee during the preceding calendar year, the name of every other municipal corporation for which tax was withheld or should have been withheld from such employee during the preceding calendar year, any other information required for federal income tax reporting purposes on Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 or its equivalent form with respect to such employee, and other information as may be required by the Tax Administrator.
(I) The officer or the employee of the employer, agent of an employer, or other payer with control or direct supervision of or charged with the responsibility for withholding the tax or filing the reports and making payments as required by this section, shall be personally liable for a failure to file a report or pay the tax due as required by this section. The dissolution of an employer, agent of an employer, or other payer does not discharge the officer's or employee's liability for a failure of the employer, agent of an employer, or other payer to file returns or pay any tax due.
(J) An employer is required to deduct and withhold municipal income tax on tips and gratuities received by the employer's employees and constituting qualifying wages only to the extent that the tips and gratuities are under the employer's control. For the purposes of this division, a tip or gratuity is under the employer's control if the tip or gratuity is paid by the customer to the employer for subsequent remittance to the employee, or if the customer pays the tip or gratuity by credit card, debit card, or other electronic means.
(K) The Tax Administrator shall consider any tax withheld by an employer at the request of an employee when such tax is not otherwise required to be withheld by this Chapter to be tax required to be withheld and remitted for the purposes of this section.
(L) If more than the amount of tax required to be deducted by the Ordinance is withheld from an employee's wages, such excess may be refunded by the employer or the Tax Administrator, depending on the circumstances and the time when the over-withholding is determined as follows:
(1) Current employees:
(a) If the over-withholding is discovered in the same period the employer shall make the necessary adjustment directly with the employee and the amount to be reported on the return as withheld shall be the corrected amount;
(b) If the over-withholding is discovered in a subsequent period of the same calendar year the employer may make proper adjustment with the employee. In such case the return for the period in which the adjustment is made shall indicate the total amount actually withheld, the amount of the adjustment deducted therefrom, and the corrected amount reported on the return;
(c) If the over-withholding is discovered in the following year, the employer should notify the Tax Administrator of such over-withholding and the circumstances thereof. Upon proper verification provided by the employer in accordance with this section and upon proper verification provided by a return filed by the employee under Section 194.09
of this Chapter, the Tax Administrator shall refund to the employee the amount of such excess withholding, provided no other tax is due by the employee for the year or for any other year or account for which the employee is responsible for the tax and no other tax returns are delinquent or unfiled.
(i) The employer is not authorized to issue a refund to the employee.
(2) Former employees:
(a) In case too much has been withheld from an employee, if the error is discovered by the employee, such employee shall file a claim with the Tax Administrator, and, upon verification thereof by the employer, the Tax Administrator shall refund to the employee the amount of such excess withholding provided no other tax is due by the employee for the year or for any other year or account for which the employee is responsible for the tax and no other tax returns are delinquent or unfiled.
(3) Non-residents employed outside the Municipality:
(a) Where an employer has withheld the tax from all wages of a non-resident of Findlay and such non-resident has been employed outside of Findlay for all or part of the time, such employee shall file a claim with the Tax Administrator covering such erroneous withholding and the Tax Administrator shall, upon verification thereof by the employer, refund to the employee the amount of such excess withholding provided no other tax is due by the employee for the year or for any other year or account for which the employee is responsible for the tax and no other tax returns are delinquent or unfiled.
(4) Insufficient withholding:
(a) If less than the amount of tax required to be deducted is withheld from an employee, such deficiency shall be withheld from subsequent wages. However, if the employee-employer relationship has terminated, the employer shall notify the Tax Administrator of such deficiency and the reason therefor.
(i) Unless otherwise prohibited by provisions in Chapter 718 of the Ohio Revised Code (Substitute House Bill 5, 130th Ohio General Assembly), and in accordance with the provisions of this section, the employer may be held liable for the insufficient withholding.
(Ord. 2015-101. Passed 12-15-15.)