STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5735--A
Cal. No. 922
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 15, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
ment Operations -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to
first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and
ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to authorizing an occupancy tax
in the town of Skaneateles; 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-hhh to
2 read as follows:
3 § 1202-hhh. Occupancy tax in the town of Skaneateles. (1) Notwith-
4 standing any other provision of law to the contrary, the town of Skanea-
5 teles, in the county of Onondaga, is hereby authorized and empowered to
6 adopt and amend local laws imposing in such town a tax, in addition to
7 any other tax authorized and imposed pursuant to this article, such as
8 the legislature has or would have the power and authority to impose upon
9 persons occupying any room for hire in any hotel; provided, however,
10 that if the village of Skaneateles within the town of Skaneateles shall
11 have otherwise imposed a tax under this article, such tax imposed by the
12 town of Skaneateles pursuant to this section shall not apply within the
13 village of Skaneateles. For the purposes of this section, the term
14 "hotel" shall mean a building or portion of it which is regularly used
15 and kept open as such for the lodging of guests. The term "hotel"
16 includes an apartment hotel, a motel or a boarding house, whether or not
17 meals are served. The rate of such tax shall not exceed five percent of
18 the per diem rental rate for each room whether such room is rented on a
19 daily or longer basis.
20 (2) Such taxes may be collected and administered by the chief fiscal
21 officer of the town of Skaneateles by such means and in such manner as
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10134-02-3
S. 5735--A 2
1 other taxes which are now collected and administered by such officer or
2 as otherwise may be provided by such local law.
3 (3) Such local laws may provide that any taxes imposed shall be paid
4 by the person liable therefor to the owner of the room for hire in the
5 tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public
6 accommodation occupied or to the person entitled to be paid the rent or
7 charge for the room for hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel,
8 motel or other similar place of public accommodation occupied for and on
9 account of the town of Skaneateles imposing the tax and that such owner
10 or person entitled to be paid the rent or charge shall be liable for the
11 collection and payment of the tax; and that such owner or person enti-
12 tled to be paid the rent or charge shall have the same right in respect
13 to collecting the tax from the person occupying the room for hire in the
14 tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public
15 accommodation, or in respect to nonpayment of the tax by the person
16 occupying the room for hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel
17 or similar place of public accommodation, as if the taxes were a part of
18 the rent or charge and payable at the same time as the rent or charge;
19 provided, however, that the chief fiscal officer of the town, specified
20 in such local laws, shall be joined as a party in any action or proceed-
21 ing brought to collect the tax by the owner or by the person entitled to
22 be paid the rent or charge.
23 (4) Such local laws may provide for the filing of returns and the
24 payment of the taxes on a monthly basis or on the basis of any longer or
25 shorter period of time.
26 (5) This section shall not authorize the imposition of such tax upon
27 any of the following:
28 a. The state of New York, or any public corporation (including a
29 public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
30 state or the dominion of Canada), improvement district or other poli-
31 tical subdivision of the state;
32 b. The United States of America, insofar as it is immune from taxa-
33 tion; or
34 c. Any corporation or association, or trust, or community chest, fund
35 or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charita-
36 ble or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to chil-
37 dren or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the
38 benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial part
39 of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise
40 attempting to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing in
41 this paragraph shall include an organization operated for the primary
42 purpose of carrying on a trade or business for profit, whether or not
43 all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
44 this paragraph.
45 d. A permanent resident of a hotel or motel. For the purposes of this
46 section, the term "permanent resident" shall mean a natural person occu-
47 pying any room or rooms in a hotel or motel for at least thirty consec-
48 utive days.
49 (6) Any final determination of the amount of any tax payable hereunder
50 shall be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or any
51 other reason whatsoever by a proceeding under article seventy-eight of
52 the civil practice law and rules if application therefor is made to the
53 supreme court within thirty days after the giving of notice of such
54 final determination, provided, however, that any such proceeding under
55 article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules shall not be
56 instituted unless:
S. 5735--A 3
1 a. The amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with such interest and
2 penalties thereon as may be provided for by local laws or regulations
3 shall be first deposited and there shall be filed an undertaking, issued
4 by a surety company authorized to transact business in this state and
5 approved by the superintendent of financial services of this state as to
6 solvency and responsibility, in such amount as a justice of the supreme
7 court shall approve to the effect that if such proceeding be dismissed
8 or the tax confirmed the petitioner will pay all costs and charges which
9 may accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding; or
10 b. At the option of the petitioner, such undertaking may be in a sum
11 sufficient to cover the taxes, interests and penalties stated in such
12 determination plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in
13 the prosecution of the proceeding, in which event the petitioner shall
14 not be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
15 precedent to the application.
16 (7) Where any taxes imposed hereunder shall have been erroneously,
17 illegally or unconstitutionally collected and application for the refund
18 therefor duly made to the proper fiscal officer or officers, and such
19 officer or officers shall have made a determination denying such refund,
20 such determination shall be reviewable by a proceeding under article
21 seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules, provided, however,
22 that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days after the giving
23 of the notice of such denial, that a final determination of tax due was
24 not previously made, and that an undertaking is filed with the proper
25 fiscal officer or officers in such amount and with such sureties as a
26 justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect that if such
27 proceeding be dismissed or the taxes confirmed, the petitioner will pay
28 all costs and charges which may accrue in the prosecution of such
29 proceeding.
30 (8) Except in the case of a willfully false or fraudulent return with
31 intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall be made
32 after the expiration of more than two years from the date of the filing
33 of a return, provided, however, that where no return has been filed as
34 provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.
35 (9) All revenues resulting from the imposition of the tax under the
36 local laws shall be paid into the treasury of the town of Skaneateles
37 and shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund of the town.
38 Such revenues may be used for any lawful purpose.
39 (10) Each enactment of such a local law may provide for the imposition
40 of a hotel or motel tax for a period of time no longer than two years
41 from the date of its enactment. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
42 the adoption and enactment of local laws, pursuant to the provisions of
43 this section, upon the expiration of any other local law adopted pursu-
44 ant to this section.
45 (11) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to
46 any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this
47 section and the application of such provision to other persons or
48 circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
49 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to
50 contracts entered into on or after such date; provided, however, that
51 the provisions of this act shall expire December 31, 2025, when upon
52 such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed.
