SHARPSVILLE QUALITY PRODUCTS Official: Company withheld wage taxes

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
The financially troubled foundry turned over wage taxes for the first two quarters last year.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARPSVILLE, Pa. -- Employees of Sharpsville Quality Products who live outside the borough may have a rude surprise coming from their local tax man.
The company, which filed for bankruptcy last year and was sold in bankruptcy court earlier this year, withheld employee wage taxes during all of 2000 but hasn't turned all of that money over to the borough, said Borough Manager Michael Wilson.
SQP gave Sharpsville about $11,000 for the first two quarters of 2000. No money has come in for the third and fourth quarters and there is no indication any of those wage tax withholdings will be paid to the borough, Wilson said after a borough council meeting Wednesday.
SQP remains closed, but the new owner plans to reopen the foundry. No opening date has been announced.
Avoiding a surprise: Wilson said council decided to make an announcement about the tax issue because it doesn't want the SQP employees to be surprised if their local taxing bodies come after them for the rest of the wage tax, even though they already paid it through the company.
As many as 75 people could be affected, he said.
Eight of those employees live in Sharpsville and the borough won't go after them for the missing tax money, said Councilman Thomas Lally.
They paid it, but it is the company that failed to turn it over to the borough, he said.
Could go after money: However, not all taxing bodies may be so forgiving and they could go after the employees who live in their jurisdiction for the rest of the money, he said.
Wage taxes are paid to a worker's home municipality. In SQP's case, all of the money is normally turned over to Sharpsville, which then paid claims from other municipalities that had residents working at the plant.
Wilson said any municipality can make a claim on Sharpsville for 2000 wage taxes from SQP, but the borough will only pay for the first two quarters of the year. That's all the money it received, he said.