Lewisburg Area School District Policies	Printable version
606.1 Exoneration of Personal Taxes 606.1. EXONERATION OF PERSONAL TAXES 1. Purpose 606.1-AG The purpose of this policy is to establish the manner in which exonerations will be determined by the School District. 2. Definitions An exoneration is an official action by the taxing authority to discharge the tax collector and only the tax collector from liability for certain specified taxes. Exonerations may be granted for uncollectible occupation and per capita taxes, mistakes, indigent persons, unseated lands, deaths, removal, etc., as seen justifiable to the taxing district (1945 P.L. 1050.37). When a tax collector has been exonerated from collection of any taxes, such action shall not in any way have the effect of discharging or limiting the liability of the taxable, but all methods of enforcing collection of taxes shall continue as though no exoneration has been made. A. Tax Year - The tax year for per capita tax purposes is the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending the following June 30th. B. Taxable - Any resident who attains the age of eighteen (18) on or before the first day of the tax year (July 1st). C. Resident - The term resident, as used in the per capita tax resolution and in this policy shall mean an individual who resides, lives, dwells, or makes his/her home within the school district, whether on a temporary or permanent basis. The term shall include both an individual who is “domiciled” or makes his/her permanent and fixed home or “legal residence” within the school district even though temporarily absent, and an individual who is “domiciled” outside the school district, but is an inhabitant of the school district. D. Personal Taxes - Personal taxes covered under this policy are the per capita taxes proposed pursuant to the Pennsylvania School Code of 1949, as amended, 24 P.S. 6-672 and 6-679, and pursuant to the Local Tax Enabling Act, as amended, 53 P.S. 6902. 3. Delegation of Responsibility Persons Subject To The Exoneration Of Personal Taxes A. Resident Students. A resident taxable who is a student attending, on a full-time basis, a school within or outside the boundaries of the school district is liable for the payment of taxes unless exoneration is granted under Paragraph H of this section and provided that the student has completed and presented Tax Form A to the Board of School Directors through the district tax collector. B. Nonresident Students – Pennsylvania Residents A student from another district in Pennsylvania, whose sole reason for being in the school district is to acquire an education, shall be subject to the exoneration of personal taxes upon: 1. Completion of the written statement of nonresident, as required by Section 3 of this policy, and in addition. 2. Presenting compliance with Section 680 of the Pennsylvania Public School Code as required by Section 3 of this policy. C. Nonresident Students/Out-Of-State Residents An out-of-state student enrolled in a college or university, whose sole reason for being in the school district is to acquire an education, shall be subject to the exoneration of personal taxes on presentation of a validated certificate of the Registrar at that college or university stating that the student is considered a non-Pennsylvanian and upon completion of a written statement of nonresidents as required by Section 3 of this policy. D. Nonresident Students – Foreign Country A college or university student from a foreign country shall be subject to the exoneration of personal taxes upon presentation of: 1. Currently valid educational visa. 2. A validated certification of the registrar of that college or university stating that the student is from a foreign country, that the sole reason for coming to this country was to acquire an education, and that to the best of one’s knowledge the student plans to return to the country of origin upon attaining a degree. 3. A written statement of nonresidence required by Section 3 of this policy. E. Military Personnel A person does not acquire a resident status in the school district if one is here solely by virtue of military orders, and, therefore, as a general rule, military personnel are subject to the exoneration of taxes. A person in the military, assigned to the school district, must present proof of payment of taxes elsewhere, as required by Section 3 of this policy, in order to be subject to the exoneration of personal taxes in this school district. A military person may be deemed a legal taxable resident of the school district if one establishes the district as one’s domicile. Spouses of military personnel shall be subject to tax the same as other residents of the school district. (Ruling of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in opinion dated November 1, 1962). Residents of the school district assigned to another taxing district by military orders are considered legal taxable residents of the school district and, therefore, must present proof of payment of taxes elsewhere, as required by Section 3 of this policy, in order to be subject to the exoneration of personal taxes in this school district. F. Partial-Year Residents Residents who, in their first year of residency, present proof of payment of taxes based upon residency elsewhere, as required by Section 3 of this policy, to the tax collector shall be subject to the exoneration of personal taxes. Residents who move out of the district during the tax year are liable for full payment of taxes. G. Death During The Tax Year The surviving spouse, relatives and/or estate of any taxable resident who dies during the tax year shall be subject to the exoneration of any unpaid taxes of the deceased. H. Residents Who Are Financially Unable To Pay Any resident with an income of $12,000 or less excluding disability and social security will be exonerated from paying the per capita tax. Verification of all income other than disability and social security must be submitted to the tax collector. I. Residents Who Have Attained The Age Of 70 Residents who have reached their 70th birthday on or before December 31 of that tax year will be automatically exonerated from payment of all personal taxes upon presentation of tax exoneration Form A through his/her tax collector, or through verification of age through official records of the county or certified institution within the county to the Board of School Directors. 4. Guidelines General Rules A. Statement Of Nonresidents Any individual seeking exoneration on the basis of lack of legal residency during the applicable tax year, within the school district, shall furnish to the Board Secretary, on the tax exoneration form provided by the school district, a statement in writing, dated and signed, which contains the following declarations: That s/he: Owns no real property in the school district. Has no children enrolled in the school district. Is not registered to vote in Union County. The statement shall include the following language above the signature: “I verify that the statements contained herein are true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.” B. Proof Of Payment Elsewhere 1. Where, under the terms of this policy, “proof of payment of taxes elsewhere” is required, such proof shall be satisfied by the individual providing a receipted tax bill from the school district in which legal residence is claimed showing that the particular tax for which exoneration is sought has been paid in the school district in which legal residence is claimed. 2. Taxable residents who submit proof of payment elsewhere shall be subject to exoneration of taxes only in the first taxable year in which they become taxable residents. 3. Taxable residents who move from the school district anytime during the tax year are liable for payment of taxes. C. Proof Of Compliance With Section 680 1. Section 680 of the Pennsylvania School Code states: “Every resident or inhabitant in any school district, upon attaining eighteen (18) years of age, and every person eighteen (18) years of age or over becoming a resident or inhabitant in any school district, shall, within twelve (12) months after the happening thereof, notify the proper assessors of his/her becoming of age or becoming a resident or inhabitant.” 2. Where proof of compliance with Section 680 is required under the terms of this policy, such proof shall be satisfied by the individual submitting to the Board Secretary the following: a. An affidavit from the County Assessor of the Pennsylvania County in which legal residence is claimed, stating that the individual is on the current tax rolls in that county; or by submitting. b. Proof of payment of taxes as provided in Section 3 (B) above. Administration Of Exoneration Policy A. Uncollectibility A tax collector seeking exoneration of taxes on grounds of uncollectibility is required to sign an oath swearing that all explicit and implied powers of the office of tax collector have been exercised in an effort to collect the taxes in question. B. Official Forms Form A – Exoneration of Taxes Request Form Filing Dates Of Forms And Requests For Exoneration All requests for exoneration must be presented by tax collectors to the Board of School Directors for their consideration by no later than October 1st of the applicable tax year. References: Administrative Guidelines – 606.1-AG