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A00221 Summary:

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A00221 Committee Votes:

A00221 Floor Votes:

A00221 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           221
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 7, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. BUCHWALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Ways and Means
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the tax law, in relation to the imposition of an occu-
          pancy tax in the village of Harrison; and providing for the repeal  of
          such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new  section  1202-x  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  1202-x. Occupancy tax in the village of Harrison. (1) Notwithstand-
     4  ing any other provision of law to the contrary, the village of Harrison,
     5  in the county of Westchester, is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to
     6  adopt  and  amend local laws imposing in such village a tax, in addition
     7  to any other tax authorized and imposed pursuant to this  article,  such
     8  as  the  legislature has or would have the power and authority to impose
     9  upon persons occupying any room for hire in any hotel. For the  purposes
    10  of this section, the term "hotel" shall mean a building or portion of it
    11  which is regularly used and kept open as such for the lodging of guests.
    12  The  term  "hotel"  includes  an  apartment hotel, a motel or a boarding
    13  house, whether or not meals are served.  The rate of such tax shall  not
    14  exceed  three  percent of the per diem rental rate for each room whether
    15  such room is rented on a daily or longer basis.
    16    (2) Such taxes may be collected and administered by the  chief  fiscal
    17  officer  of  the village of Harrison by such means and in such manner as
    18  other taxes which are now collected and administered by such officer  or
    19  as otherwise may be provided by such local law.
    20    (3)  Such  local laws may provide that any taxes imposed shall be paid
    21  by the person liable therefor to the owner of the room for hire  in  the
    22  tourist  home,  inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public
    23  accommodation occupied or to the person entitled to be paid the rent  or
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00070-01-5
        A. 221                              2
 
     1  charge the room for hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel or
     2  other  similar place of public accommodation occupied for and on account
     3  of the village of Harrison imposing the  tax  and  that  such  owner  or
     4  person  entitled  to  be paid the rent or charge shall be liable for the
     5  collection and payment of the tax; and that such owner or  person  enti-
     6  tled  to be paid the rent or charge shall have the same right in respect
     7  to collecting the tax from the person occupying the room for hire in the
     8  tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place  of  public
     9  accommodation,  or  in  respect  to  nonpayment of the tax by the person
    10  occupying the room for hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel
    11  or similar place of public accommodation, as if the taxes were a part of
    12  the rent or charge and payable at the same time as the rent  or  charge;
    13  provided,  however, that the chief fiscal officer of the village, speci-
    14  fied in such local laws, shall be joined as a party  in  any  action  or
    15  proceeding  brought  to  collect  the  tax by the owner or by the person
    16  entitled to be paid the rent or charge.
    17    (4) Such local laws may provide for the  filing  of  returns  and  the
    18  payment of the taxes on a monthly basis or on the basis of any longer or
    19  shorter period of time.
    20    (5)  This  section shall not authorize the imposition of such tax upon
    21  any of the following:
    22    a. The state of New York,  or  any  public  corporation  (including  a
    23  public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
    24  state  or  the  dominion of Canada), improvement district or other poli-
    25  tical subdivision of the state;
    26    b. The United States of America, insofar as it is  immune  from  taxa-
    27  tion; or
    28    c.  Any corporation or association, or trust, or community chest, fund
    29  or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charita-
    30  ble or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty  to  chil-
    31  dren  or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the
    32  benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial part
    33  of the activities of which  is  carrying  on  propaganda,  or  otherwise
    34  attempting  to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing in
    35  this paragraph shall include an organization operated  for  the  primary
    36  purpose  of  carrying  on a trade or business for profit, whether or not
    37  all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
    38  this paragraph.
    39    d. A permanent resident of a hotel or motel. For the purposes of  this
    40  section, the term "permanent resident" shall mean a natural person occu-
    41  pying  any room or rooms in a hotel or motel for at least thirty consec-
    42  utive days.
    43    (6) Any final determination of the amount of any tax payable hereunder
    44  shall be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or  any
    45  other  reason  whatsoever by a proceeding under article seventy-eight of
    46  the civil practice law and rules if application therefor is made to  the
    47  supreme  court  within  thirty  days  after the giving of notice of such
    48  final determination, provided, however, that any such  proceeding  under
    49  article  seventy-eight  of the civil practice law and rules shall not be
    50  instituted unless:
    51    a. The amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with such interest and
    52  penalties thereon as may be provided for by local  laws  or  regulations
    53  shall be first deposited and there shall be filed an undertaking, issued
    54  by  a  surety  company authorized to transact business in this state and
    55  approved by the superintendent of financial services of this state as to
    56  solvency and responsibility, in such amount as a justice of the  supreme
        A. 221                              3
 
     1  court  shall  approve to the effect that if such proceeding be dismissed
     2  or the tax confirmed the petitioner will pay all costs and charges which
     3  may accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding; or
     4    b.  At  the option of the petitioner, such undertaking may be in a sum
     5  sufficient to cover the taxes, interests and penalties  stated  in  such
     6  determination  plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in
     7  the prosecution of the proceeding, in which event the  petitioner  shall
     8  not  be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
     9  precedent to the application.
    10    (7) Where any taxes imposed hereunder  shall  have  been  erroneously,
    11  illegally or unconstitutionally collected and application for the refund
    12  therefor  duly  made  to the proper fiscal officer or officers, and such
    13  officer or officers shall have made a determination denying such refund,
    14  such determination shall be reviewable by  a  proceeding  under  article
    15  seventy-eight  of  the  civil practice law and rules, provided, however,
    16  that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days after  the  giving
    17  of  the notice of such denial, that a final determination of tax due was
    18  not previously made, and that an undertaking is filed  with  the  proper
    19  fiscal  officer  or  officers in such amount and with such sureties as a
    20  justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect  that  if  such
    21  proceeding  be dismissed or the taxes confirmed, the petitioner will pay
    22  all costs and charges which  may  accrue  in  the  prosecution  of  such
    23  proceeding.
    24    (8)  Except in the case of a willfully false or fraudulent return with
    25  intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall  be  made
    26  after  the  expiration  of  more  than  three years from the date of the
    27  filing of a return, provided, however, that where  no  return  has  been
    28  filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.
    29    (9)  All  revenues  resulting from the imposition of the tax under the
    30  local laws shall be paid into the treasury of the  village  of  Harrison
    31  and  shall  be  credited  to  and  deposited  in the general fund of the
    32  village. Such revenues may be used for any lawful purpose.
    33    (10) Each enactment of such a local law may provide for the imposition
    34  of a hotel or motel tax for a period of time no longer than three  years
    35  from  the  date of its enactment. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
    36  the adoption and enactment of local laws, pursuant to the provisions  of
    37  this  section, upon the expiration of any other local law adopted pursu-
    38  ant to this section.
    39    (11) If any provision of this section or the  application  thereof  to
    40  any  person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this
    41  section and the application  of  such  provision  to  other  persons  or
    42  circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
    43    §  2.  This  act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
    44  deemed repealed September 1, 2018.