Where does the money collected from this go? It's an awful lot of money for people to be paying. It's double-taxation. 1.25% of Gross Pay is highway robbery. 

Check with you local township, you are in one of the few that charges more than 1%.  I don't know what you mean by its double taxation - pa is no different than most states that allow for state and local taxes charged

I just wrote a large check to these guys.  OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I work in NY&  live in PA.. The sodomy i take from paying the state of NY offsets PA state and local taxes With some to boot.

http://criminalsforguncontrol.com/
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!!!

it depends on  what the township and the school district have decided on- some split 50-50 others don't.   You can ask your tax collector.

An easy way out of not haveing to pay this tax is to retire.  You don't pay the state or the local tax.  Saves 4.09% every year.  Better in our pockets than the states.

STUPIDITY IS TEMPORARY FOR SOME NOT ALL. IGNORANCE IS FOREVER.


John

I feel your pain, Carolina Girl, having just written a large check to Berk, too. I agree with Thelemite, though. NY state income tax levied on commuters is a killer. One way or another, you pay. At least the Berkheimer money stays within our local area.

Hot flashes are just my inner child playing with matches.

Pa has updated its site and it is easier to get local info.
http://munstatspa.dced.state.pa.us/Registers.aspx
 
the link above will tell you how the taxes are used (ie 50/50 between township and school district).  it also tells you who to send it to

Local tax dollars pay for the parks, road maintenance, schools (if they aren't getting their half yet, they will soon) and other township services.
 
When I lived in NYC, I paid local tax to NYC. This is no different.

SAVE GAS with the Pocono Commuter Car Pool Arranger - now with self service!

So then  don't work in the city.   Sorry  don't see the problem, you go there vause you can make more money and  hence pay more taxes part of working and actually now   cheaper than a few years ago when you had to pay the city tax as well.

i can't understand your comment. 

if you live and work in NYC you pay both state and city tax.

if you live in the poconos you pay state and local tax.  like wayne mentioned..it's the same logic.

if you don't work in PA and your employer doesn't deduct the local tax (most don't-they only deduct the state tax) then it has to come out of your pocket.  nothing hard to understand here. 

Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult.

Ok, well you've told me where it goes..

... to the schools     -   Don't I already pay school tax?
... to fix the roads, parks, etc.       -   Isn't my property tax used for this?

Would really like to see the salaries of people who work for Berkheimer.

"Taxable income includes: Employee Contributions to Retirement Accounts".  Gimme a break.

Not enough money goes to the schools or towns, you can slice and dice it any way you want - you will either pay the Berk (local) tax in addition to property taxes, or you will pay higher property taxes to make up the shortfall if you wanted to eliminate it. Schools and towns won't care as long as they continue to receive their money. Its not like you can drop one and have them operate without the revenue the other provides. This way you capture income from not only property owners, but renters. I see your point, and I don't dispute it, but with the unrestricted growth we are experiencing we need to support our towns and schools or lobby for more state support for both. They are not getting rich off of our wallets, they are building new schools and expanding roads and programs to try and keep up with our surge in growth.
 
Berkheimer, btw, is contracted by the State of PA to handle many but not all townships local tax collection. There are others who also do this for PA, and I know I read a while back that PA is looking into handling this themselves in the future.

SAVE GAS with the Pocono Commuter Car Pool Arranger - now with self service!

It is a way that schools are supported without taxing retired property owners. 

http://criminalsforguncontrol.com/
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!!!

ORIGINAL: gcfab

So then  don't work in the city.   Sorry  don't see the problem, you go there vause you can make more money and  hence pay more taxes part of working and actually now   cheaper than a few years ago when you had to pay the city tax as well.

actually gcfab we have family living in nassau county (the suburbs) and they are taxed more than those family members living in the city by a large margin. from R/E taxes to sales tax to fuel surcharges by lipa

the local income tax that goes toward the school district is/was a means to lessen the blow to those on a fixed income.  The alternative would be to have no local income taxes and have it solely be based on property taxes.  many areas opt for no income taxes.
 
As wayne noted berkheimer has most of NEPA covered as the tax collector for townships.  Central Tax Bureau has the western part of the region.  the rest are collected locally

I don't mine paying  the Berkheimer Tax, as I follow the logic in it. What I don't like is that I sent my tax payment in long before April 15th and they still haven't cashed the check. I don't like having a large check sitting out in my account. 
I am envisioning some poor clerk with an in box up to the ceiling and just hasn't gotten to it yet. Next year they'll be getting a money order from me.

I thought they processed it faster than that.  - did you mail your return, return receipt requested?  did you get back the little green card?  have you called to determine that they got your return?

Haven't done any of those things yet. I'll give it a little more time. Maybe by next year there will be electronic filing of the Berheimer Tax.

I assume by your posting that you didn't send it registered return receipt.  so you have no proof of an attempt to mail.  At the very least call - verify that they got it.  if they didn't you can minimize any penalty and interest that they will charge you by getting them your return if they say that they didnt' get it.

berkheimer is  slow  and  only the 25th.    You are actually suppose to make quarterly payments to them  so  might want to look into that in the future.     Seen it  at times cashed in 2 weeks and then other times   6 weeks.  Realize they are really busy now.    

gcfab - I made an assumption by his statement that he sent his "tax payment in long before April 15th "  I took that to mean late March early April at best.  found that long before generally has been about 2-3 weeks prior.

What I mean by "long before April 15" is the first week of April.