1. Exemption.
A. Income Exemption. Any person whose total earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township is less than twelve thousand dollars ($12,000.00) for any calendar year in which the tax is levied is exempt from the payment of the tax for that calendar year.
B. Military Exemptions. In addition, the following persons are exempt from payment of the tax:
(1) Military Disability Exemption. Any person who has served in any war or mined conflict in which the United States was engaged and is honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service if, as a result of military service, the person is blind, paraplegic or a double or quadruple amputee or has a service-connected disability declared by the United States Veterans’ Administration or its successor to be a total one hundred percent (100%) disability.
(2) Active Duty Military Exemption. Any person who serves as a member of a reserve component of the aimed forces and is called to active duty at any time during the taxable year. For the purposes of this subparagraph, “reserve component of the armed forces” shall mean the United States Army Reserve, United States Navy Reserve, United States Marine Corps Reserve, United States Coast Guard Reserve, United States Air Force Reserve, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard or the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.
2. Procedure to Claim Income Exemption.
A. A person seeking to claim an income exemption from the local services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Township and with the person’s employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township of less than twelve thousand dollars ($12,000.00) in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event the Township utilizes a tax collection officer, it shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that officer. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of all the employee’s last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Township for the year prior to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted from the tax.
B. With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the Township that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within the Township equal to or in excess of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000.00) in that calendar year or that the person is otherwise ineligible for the tax exemption for that calendar year, or upon an employer’s payment to the person of earned income within the municipality in an amount equal to or in excess of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000.00) in that calendar year, an employer shall withhold the local services tax from the person under subsection (2)(C).
C. If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under subsection (2)(B), the employer shall withhold the tax for the remainder of that calendar year. The employer shall withhold from the person, for the first payroll period after receipt of the notification under subsection (2)(B), a lump sum equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the person due to the exemption claimed by the person under this subsec tion, plus the per payroll amount due for that first payroll period. The amount of tax withheld per payroll period for the remaining payroll periods in that calendar year shall be the same amount withheld for other employees. In the event the employment of a person subject to withholding of the tax under this clause is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due, and the Township may pursue collection under this Part.
D. Except as provided in subsection (2)(B), employers shall not be responsible for investigating exemption certificates, monitoring tax exemption eligibility or exempting any employee from the local services tax.
3. Procedure to Claim Military Exemption.
A. Military Disability Exemption. A person seeking to claim a military disability exemption from the local services tax shall file an exemption certificate with the Township and with the person’s employer confirming that the person has been honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active military service and as a result of military service, the person is blind, paraplegic or a double or quadruple amputee or has service connected disability declared by the United States Veterans Administration or its successor to be one of one hundred percent (100%) disability. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it a copy of the person’s discharge orders and a statement from the United States Veterans Administration documenting the disability.
B. Active Duty Military Exemption. A person claiming an active duty military duty military exemption from the local services tax shall annually file an exemption certificate with the Township and with the person’s employer affirming that the person is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces and was called to active duty during the taxable year. The exemption certificate shall have attached a copy of the order directing the person to active duty status.
4. Termination of Withholding. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate and until otherwise instructed by the Township, or except as required by subsection (2)(B), the employer shall not withhold the tax from the person during the calendar year or the remainder of the calendar year for which the exemption certificate applies. In the case of a military disability exemption, the exemption will be considered continuing for subsequent years without the filing of additional exemption certificates. Employers shall ensure that the exemption certificate forms are readily available to employees at all times and shall furnish each new employee with a form at the time of hiring. The exemption certificate form shall be the uniform form provided by the Township.
5. Refunds. The Township Manager, in consultation with the collector and DCED, shall establish procedures for the processing of refund claims for any tax paid by any person who is eligible for exemption, which procedures shall be in accord with provisions of the general municipal law relating to refunds of overpayments and interest on overpayments. Refunds made within seventy-five (75) days of a refund request or seventy-five (75) days after the last day the employer is required to remit the tax for the last quarter of the calendar year, whichever is later, shall not be subject to interest. No refunds shall be made for amounts overpaid in a calendar year that do not exceed one dollar ($1.00). The Township Manager or the collector shall determine eligibility for exemption and provide refunds to exempt persons.
(Ord. 488, 10/15/2008, § 1)