City Code, ExplainedBetaPardon our dust while we build this out — expect some changes along the way.

This chapter sets out the City of Pottsville's local taxes: earned income tax, mechanical amusement device (including "skill game") tax, per capita tax, real estate transfer tax, local services tax, property and residence taxes, a business privilege tax, an occupation tax, a tax certification fee, a taxpayer bill of rights, and a business license tax.

Who this affects

It affects nearly everyone who lives, works, or does business in Pottsville: residents and nonresident workers/earners, employers who must withhold and remit taxes, business and property owners, owners of coin-operated amusement or skill-game devices, and anyone buying or selling real estate in the City.

Key rules

• Earned income tax of 1/2 of 1% is imposed on wages and net profits of City residents and on nonresidents' wages and net profits earned in the City (§ 201-3A).
• Corporations subject to the Pennsylvania Corporate Net Income Tax or Franchise Tax (or exempt from them) are exempt from the earned income tax (§ 201-3C).
• Employers must deduct earned income tax from employee pay and file quarterly returns with the Income Tax Officer (§ 201-5A).
• Mechanical amusement devices are taxed $150 per calendar year each; "skill games" (including devices similar to Pace-O-Matic systems) are taxed $1,000 per calendar year each (§ 201-15).
• Mechanical amusement device tax is due to the City Treasurer by February 15 each year, with tax certificates and seals issued and required to be affixed to each device (§§ 201-16, 201-17).
• A $5 annual per capita tax is imposed on every City resident 18 or older; residents with income under $5,000 annually are exempt (§§ 201-27, 201-31).
• A 1% realty transfer tax is imposed on the consideration/sale price/market value of real estate transferred in the City, payable by the grantee/purchaser; certain transfers (leases, straw transactions, charitable transfers, transfers already taxed under the state Transfer Inheritance Tax Law, and transfers between spouses or parent/child) are excluded (§§ 201-33, 201-34).
• A local services tax of $52 per year is levied on anyone whose primary place of employment is in the City; people earning less than $12,000 annually from all sources in the City, and certain disabled veterans and activated reservists, are exempt (§§ 201-42, 201-43).
• The City levies a general real estate tax of 26.93 mills, a $5 general residence tax on inhabitants 18 and over, and a 0.29 mill library tax (§§ 201-55, 201-56).
• A property tax exemption schedule is available for improvements to deteriorated property City-wide, phasing the exemption from 100% in year one down to 10% in year ten (§§ 201-60, 201-61).
• A business privilege tax is imposed on gross business volume: 3.5 mills generally, 1 mill for wholesale dealers, and 1.5 mills for retail dealers, with exemptions for wage earners, nonprofits, government agencies, regulated utilities, and manufacturers/producers/farmers on their own goods, plus exclusions for bona fide out-of-City branch offices (§§ 201-65, 201-64C).
• An occupation tax is levied at 163 mills on the assessed value of occupations for City residents, with the same rate applied to unoccupied persons over 18 (§§ 201-76, 201-77).
• A business license (currently $35/year) is required to do business, conduct a restaurant, or operate a place of amusement in the City, and must be posted conspicuously (§ 201-103).
• The Tax Collector may charge $10 for a tax certification and $5 if the county-generated duplicate isn't presented with payment (§§ 201-87, 201-88).

Penalties

Violations of the earned income tax, mechanical amusement device tax, per capita tax, realty transfer tax, local services tax, business privilege tax, occupation tax, and business license tax articles are each punishable by fines (ranging from $500 to $600 depending on the article) plus costs, and, if fines and costs go unpaid, imprisonment (ranging from 30 to 90 days depending on the article). Late/delinquent tax payments generally accrue interest (commonly 6% per year) and penalties (ranging from 5% to 10% depending on the tax), while prompt payment of the per capita, property, and occupation taxes earns a 2% discount.

Notable and archaic details

• The mechanical amusement device tax singles out "skill games" — devices "marketed or represented as involving player skill," including ones "similar to and including but not limited to Pace-O-Matic devices" — for a tax nearly seven times higher ($1,000) than ordinary amusement devices ($150).
• The City Treasurer issues a physical tax certificate bearing the City Seal, plus a physical seal that must be affixed to each taxed amusement device, with a $0.50 fee to replace a lost or defaced certificate or seal.
• The occupation tax is assessed even on people who don't have an occupation — anyone over 18 "who do[es] not follow any occupation or calling" is taxed at the same 163-mill rate (§ 201-77).
• The per capita and occupation tax articles both explicitly hold a taxpayer's spouse liable for payment of the tax, including collection from that spouse's employer.