(A) All taxes imposed and all monies withheld or required to be withheld by employers under the provisions of this subchapter and remaining unpaid 10 days after they become due shall bear interest at the rate of 1.0% per month or fraction thereof.
(B) In addition to interest as provided in division (B)(1) of this section, penalties based on the unpaid tax are hereby imposed as follows:
(1) For failure to pay taxes due, a 1-time penalty of 10% of the tax due.
(2) For failure to remit taxes withheld from employees; a 1-time penalty of 10% of the tax due.
(3) Failure to file a Tipp City Tax Return by the due date shall result in a late filing penalty fee of $20 being assessed. This fee is in addition to any interest and penalties provided for in divisions (A) and (B) of this section:
(a) The failure to file penalty of $20 is waived for first-time filers.
(b) The Administrator may waive, either in part or in whole, the late filing fee upon written request of the taxpayer and for such unusual circumstance as may be deemed appropriate.
(4) Where the taxpayer has failed to file a declaration on which they have 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 they have estimated and paid tax equal to or greater than 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 their taxable year; 10% of the difference between 90% of the actual tax for the year and the amount paid through withholding or declaration.
(5) Except in the case of fraud, the penalty shall not exceed 50% of the unpaid tax.
(C) Costs of collection activities outside the normal activities of the Tax Department, including but not limited to use of a third party vendor and/or collection agency, costs of certified collection letters, costs associated with pursuit of delinquent accounts through the court system, and any post- judgment related collection costs and fees shall be assessed to the taxpayer and collected with other balances arising from this subchapter.
(D) Exceptions. A penalty shall not be assessed on an additional tax assessment made by the Administrator when a return has been filed in good faith and the tax paid thereon within the time prescribed by the 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 3 months after final determination of the federal tax liability.
(E) The Administrator, with the approval of the Finance Director, may abate penalty charges, either in part or in whole, upon written request of the taxpayer when the amount of said penalty is under $100 per occurrence and for such circumstances as they may deem appropriate.
(F) Upon recommendation of the Administrator, the Board of Review may abate penalty or interest, or both.
(G) Provided, however, that in no case shall penalty and interest charges be levied when the total of such penalty and interest amounts to less than $5.01.
(H) Any person required to withhold the tax who knowingly fails to withhold such tax, or pay over tax or knowingly attempt to, in any manner, 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 the 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.
(I) Interest, but no penalty, will be assessed where an extension to pay has been granted by the Administrator and the final tax paid within the period as extended. This extension to pay is not to be confused with an extension of the annual return filing deadline. Tax amounts due are not automatically extended even if a taxpayer requests an extension of the annual return filing date.
(Ord. 4-13, passed 2-4-2013; Am. Ord. 2-19, passed 2-5-2019)