§ 408-71. Exemptions.

A. 

The Borough of Walnutport levying the local services tax shall exempt the following person from the local services tax:

(1) 

Any person who served in any war or armed 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 100% permanent disability.

(2) 

Any person who serves as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces and is called to active duty at any time during the taxable year.

(3) 

For purposes of this subsection, "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.

(4) 

Any individual who derives earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough of Walnutport of less than $12,000 per year from his occupation shall be exempt for the calendar year in which the locals services tax is levied.

B. 

A person seeking to claim an exemption from the local services tax may annually file an exemption certificate with the Borough of Walnutport and with the person's employer affirming that the person reasonably expects to receive earned income and net profits from all sources within the Borough of less than $12,000 in the calendar year for which the exemption certificate is filed. In the event the Borough utilizes a Tax Collection Officer, the Borough shall provide a copy of the exemption certificate to that Officer. The exemption certificate shall have attached to it by employee a copy of all of the employee's last pay stubs or W-2 forms from employment within the Borough for the year prior to the fiscal year for which the employee is requesting to be exempted from the local services tax. Upon receipt of the exemption certificate and until otherwise instructed by the Borough levying the tax or except as required by Subsection C of this section, 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. 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 Department of Community and Economic Development shall develop and make available to the Borough and employers uniform exemption certificates required by this subsection pursuant to Act 7-2007.

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 6924.310 et seq.

C. 

With respect to a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax, upon notification to an employer by the person or by the political subdivision that the person has received earned income and net profits from all sources within that political subdivision equal to or in excess of $12,000 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 Borough in an amount equal to or in excess of $12,000 in that calendar year, an employer shall withhold the local services tax from the person under Subsection D of this section.

D. 

If a person who claimed an exemption for a given calendar year from the local services tax becomes subject to the tax for the calendar year under Subsection C of this section, 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 C 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 subsection, 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 subsection is subsequently severed in that calendar year, the person shall be liable for any outstanding balance of tax due and the Borough levying the tax may pursue collection under this article.

E. 

Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, it is the intent of this subsection that employers shall not be responsible for investigating exemption certificates, monitoring tax exemption eligibility or exempting any employee.