Somerset Tax Dollar

What do you get for your Somerset Tax Dollar?

TAX STRUCTURE: Sometimes you may wonder what exactly are all of these tax notices and what do they mean. Below is a list of those taxes: 

REAL ESTATE TAX: This tax is paid to your Municipality, School District, and County. This tax is based upon the value of your property. 

NON-REAL ESTATE TAXES: 

1.   Earned Income Tax - is a tax that is levied on wages, salaries, commissions, net profits or other compensation.
2.   Per Capita Tax - is a flat rate levied upon each adult. The main criteria is residence within the community and is not based on income or employment. The Borough of Somerset repealed this tax effective January 1, 2006 

OCCUPATION TAXES: This is a tax not based on income but is identical for all members of a particular job occupation. This tax is based on the measurement of assessed value of one's particular occupation. The Borough of Somerset repealed this tax effective January 1, 2006 

LOCAL SERVICES TAX: This is a tax that is levied to individuals for the privilege of working within that particular district. This tax is levied on residents and non-residents. 

REALTY TRANSFER TAX - This is a tax that is only levied on the transfer price of real property within the taxing jurisdiction. 

MERCANTILE TAX - This is a tax which is levied upon the privilege of doing business in that jurisdiction. This tax is generally levied on wholesale dealers, retail dealers, and restaurants. 

BUSINESS PRIVILEGE TAX - This is an excise tax on the privilege of doing business within the jurisdiction. This is levied as universal business taxes where the taxing jurisdiction has no Mercantile tax.