Anyone from PA? Need to ask a question about city taxes now being collected by the state

[Justice wanted]

and is this done by any other state?


Okay Every couple of months I get this letter from Berkheimer tax administrators. They keep saying they are collecting all the taxes for the city that I live in.

I called the city and they said the State is requiring this. BUT when I talked to other people about this in town they said I shouldn't be getting this because it has to do with home owners.

It seems when I try and get an answer I get the run around. ALSO when I google the company and checked it on BBB website it is not good only negative stuff.

Can anyone please help me out on this?

[appleannie1]

1. I live in PA. Are you talking about school taxes? Homeowners pay school taxes in PA.

I think it is a dumb way of doing it because people that have kids in school that rent don't have to pay school tax but people without kids that own property do. But that is the way it has been done as long as I can remember.

[Justice wanted]

2. I don't know. Because I rent my place and the way this thing is mailed out it looks almost like a

mass mailing. I was trying to figure out if it was school tax or city income tax or what. It isn't clear in the mailing.

[Angry Dragon]

3. In Minnesota part of your rent is considered

to be paying property taxes

[Saving Hawaii]

12. The landlords pay the school tax and charge the tenants the cost in the rent.

It's a wash.

[femmocrat]

4. What kind of taxes?

It could be an occupation tax or something other than property tax (paid only by homeowners). Sometimes there are regional tax collecting agencies that collect taxes for several small municipalities.

Call (or visit, taking the letter with you) your city controller's office to see who the tax collector is for your city. Or maybe your state representative's office could advise you.

[Justice wanted]

5. I keep getting voice mail when I try to get ahold of city officals. I need to go down and demand

answers.

[MgtPA]

6. I live in Pa, Berkheimer collects the 1% earned income tax, which is levied by the school district.

Everyone pays this, not just homeowners.

[Justice wanted]

8. This is new for my area because all the taxes we paid before went to the city building. How long has

Berkheimer been collecting in your area? Thanks for the info.

[MgtPA]

11. Berkheimer has been collecting in Bucks county since I started paying taxes

So at least since the early 1970's

[PA Democrat]

15. Our local govt. switched to Berkheimer

for wage taxes several years ago. Another local govt. however continues to collect its own wage taxes through the borogh tax collector. I would imagine that there may be some savings for small municipalities, but I agree that Berkheimer leaves a lot to be desired in the way of service.

[bluestate10]

7. Sevaral states does that. Some collect auto fees and send them back to states. nt

[mrmpa]

9. This is for the taxes on your wages....

The state now does require Berkheimer to collect taxes (wage) and remit them to your municipalilty. If your employer takes the taxes from your pay, they remit them to your municipality.

If you own your home, your county by March should inform you of what you owe and by July your municipality should inform you of what you own.

As you get a notice from Berkheimer every 3 months, you pay your wage tax, quarterly.

[starroute]

10. Are you self-employed?

If you are, Berkheimer might want you to pay quarterly estimated employment tax to them directly. Otherwise, there's no reason they should be getting in touch with you.

But as far as I know, they have nothing to do with local real estate taxes, so the people you talked to are probably wrong about that.

[Justice wanted]

13. Neither my husband or I or self employed. We both work for companies. We rent our residence.

I just find it hard to believe the state is allowing a company not accredited by the BBB to do this and the few reviews I've seen on them have ALL been negative.

[PA Democrat]

16. Does your local govt collect a wage tax?

If so, check to see if your employer is taking it out of your pay. If not, you will have to pay by April 15th. Even if your employer is withholding the tax, you still need to file a tax return through Berkheimer or whoever collects local wage taxes. It is a one page form. That is probably what you got because I just received mine.

[starroute]

17. Berkheimer has been a little wacky lately

Several months ago, we received a "notice of delinquency" from them saying we hadn't paid a Local Services Tax for doing business within our borough and that we owed them $20. I emailed them saying that we were self-employed but did not operate a business, and that in any case I'd never received any previous notification of this and could they explain why we'd been sent this notice. I never heard back.

Berkheimer has been collecting taxes as long as I can remember -- at least since the 1970's -- so they're not a fly-by-night. But I don't think they're well organized, and I suspect they sometimes set their people to going through lists of residents to see if there's somebody they can charge for something.

You might check your pay stubs to make sure the Earned Income Tax is being properly deducted. Or if they're definitely trying to bill you for a real estate tax, you could write them saying you do not own property. Aside from that, I don't think there's much you need to do.

[Justice wanted]

14. Thank you all for your help.