(a) All taxes imposed by this chapter shall be collectible, together with any interest and penalties thereon, by suit, as other debts of like amount are recoverable. Except in the case of fraud, omission of a substantial portion of income subject to this tax, or failure to file a return, additional assessment shall not be made after three years from the time the return was due or filed, whichever is later. In the case of fraud, omission of 25% or more of income subject to this tax, or failure to file a return, all additional assessments shall be made and all civil actions to recover municipal income taxes and penalties and interest thereon shall be brought within six (6) years after the tax was due or the return was filed, whichever is later. In those cases which the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the taxpayer have executed a waiver of the federal statute of limitations, the period within which an additional assessment may be made by the Administrator shall be one year from the time the final determination of the federal tax liability.
(b) Those officers or employees having control or supervision of, or charged with, the responsibility of filing the return and making payments for a corporation or association and otherwise complying shall be personally liable for failure to file the return or pay the taxes and penalties and interest due as required. The dissolution, bankruptcy, or reorganization of any employer does not discharge the officers’ or employees’ liability for a prior failure of such business to file a return or pay the taxes due.
(c) Taxes erroneously paid shall not be refunded unless a claim for refund is made within three years from the date upon which such payment was made or the return was due, or within three months after final determination of the federal tax liability, whichever is later. However, the following shall apply regarding refunds of tax withheld from Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plans (NDCP):
(1) A taxpayer may be eligible for a refund if the taxpayer has suffered a loss from a NDCP. The loss will be considered sustained only if the taxable year in which the taxpayer receives the final distribution of money and property pursuant to the NDCP. Full loss is sustained if no distribution of money and property will be made by the NDCP.
(2) A taxpayer who receives income as a result of payments from a NDCP, and that income is less than the amount of income deferred to the NDCP and upon which municipal tax was withheld, then a refund will be issued on the amount representing the difference between the deferred income that was taxed and the income received from the NDCP. If different tax rates applied to the tax years in which deferrals, a weighted average of the different tax rates will be used to compute the refund amount.
(3) Refunds shall be allowed only if the loss is attributable to the bankruptcy of the employer who had established the NDCP, or the employee’s failure or inability to satisfy all of the employer’s terms and conditions necessary to receive the nonqualified compensation.
(d) Income tax that has been deposited with the City of Sebring, but should have been deposited with another municipality, is allowable by the City of Sebring as a refund but is subject to the three-year limitation on refunds. Income tax that should have been deposited with the City of Sebring, but was deposited with another municipality, shall be subject to recovery by the City of Sebring. The City of Sebring will allow a non-refundable credit for any amount owed the City of Sebring that is in excess of the amount to be refunded by the other municipality, as long as the tax rate of the other municipality is the same or higher than the City of Sebring’s tax rate. If the City of Sebring’s tax rate is higher, the tax representing the net difference of the rates is also subject to collection by the City of Sebring.
(e) Amounts of less than one dollar ($1.00) shall not be collected or refunded.
(Ord. 06-05. Passed 2-14-05.)