(a) Each employer, unless otherwise prohibited by law, within or doing business within the City who employs one or more persons on a salary, wage, commissions or other compensation basis shall deduct at the time of the payment of such salaries, wages, commissions or other compensation, the tax of one a one-half percent (1 ½%) of the gross salaries, wages, commissions or other compensation due by such employer to each such employee and shall, on or before the last day specified below during the effective period of this chapter, make a return and pay to the Tax Commissioner the amount of taxes so deducted during the preceding calendar month or quarter. Such return shall be on a form or forms prescribed by or acceptable to the Tax Commissioner.
(1) Monthly payments of taxes withheld and/or required to be withheld shall be made by an employer if the taxes withheld in the prior calendar year were more than one thousand, one hundred ninety- nine dollars ($1,199.00) or if the taxes withheld during any month for the preceding quarter exceeded one hundred dollars ($100.00). Such payments shall be made to the City on or before the last day of the month following the month during which the undeposited taxes were withheld.
(2) All employers not required to make monthly payments of taxes withheld under subsection (a)(1) hereof, shall make quarterly payments no later than the last day of the month following the end of each quarter (April, July, October, and January) of each year.
(3) Effective January 1, 2001, a nonresident employer, agent of such employer, or other payer that is not situated in the City and is not currently required to withhold City income tax, shall not be required to withhold City tax from the taxable income of an individual unless the total amount of tax required to be deducted and withheld for the City on account of all of the employer’s employees or all of the other payer’s payees exceeds one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for a calendar year.
When the collective tax liability exceeds one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00), the employer is required to begin withholding the appropriate City tax on behalf of all the employees performing work or rendering services in the City for the remainder of that calendar year and for subsequent years, even if the liability in subsequent years does not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). However, if the tax liability for each of three (3) consecutive years does not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00), the City shall not require the employer, agent or other payer to deduct and withhold City tax in any year following the last of those consecutive years unless the amount required to be deducted and withheld in any such following year exceeds one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).
(b) Each employer in collecting such tax shall be deemed to hold the same, until payment is made by such employer to the City, as a trustee for the benefit of the City and any such tax collected by such employer from his employees shall, until the same is paid to the City, be deemed a trust fund in the hands of such employer. Each employer shall be liable for the payment of the tax required to be deducted and withheld, whether or not such tax, in fact, has been withheld.
(c) It shall be the responsibility, jointly and severally, for the president and treasurer or senior local administrative agent of each corporation, required to withheld the tax from the wages of its employees, under this section, to see that all such taxes are paid to the City in accordance with the provisions of this section. In the event taxes withheld by a corporation from the salaries of its employees are not paid to the City in accordance with the provisions of this section, the president and treasurer or senior local administrative agent of such corporation shall be criminally liable.
(d) Each employer, on or before the last day of February each year, unless written request for thirty (30) days extension is made to and granted by the Tax Commissioner or his agent, following any calendar year in which such deductions have been made, or should have been made, shall file a withholding information return, on a form prescribed by or acceptable to the Tax Commissioner, setting forth the names, social security numbers and addresses of all employees, the gross amount of compensation paid during the year, and the amount of tax withheld from the listed employees and such other information as may be required by the Tax Commissioner.
(e) Provided, however, that no person shall be required to withhold the tax on the wages or other compensation paid domestic servants employed exclusively in or about such person’s residence. (Ord. 87-01. Passed 11-19-01.)