Authorizes the town of Greenburgh to adopt a local law to impose a 3 percent hotel/motel occupancy tax; authorizes villages in the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant to adopt a local law to impose a 3 percent hotel/motel occupancy tax.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7821
IN SENATE
June 27, 2012
___________
Introduced by Sen. STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to authorizing the town of
Greenburgh to adopt a local law to impose a hotel/motel occupancy tax
for hotels not located in a village; authorizing specified villages in
the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant to adopt a local law to
impose a hotel/motel occupancy tax in such villages
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-cc to
2 read as follows:
3 § 1202-cc. Hotel or motel taxes in the town of Greenburgh and speci-
4 fied villages therein and in the town of Mount Pleasant. (1) Notwith-
5 standing any other provisions of law to the contrary, the town of Green-
6 burgh, Westchester county, is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt
7 and amend local laws imposing in those portions of such town not located
8 within a village, and the villages of Tarrytown, Irvington, Ardsley,
9 Elmsford, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson and Sleepy Hollow in the towns
10 of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, Westchester county are hereby author-
11 ized and empowered to adopt and amend local laws imposing in such
12 villages a tax, in addition to any other tax authorized and imposed
13 pursuant to this article, as the legislature has or would have the power
14 and authority to impose upon persons occupying rooms in hotels or motels
15 in such towns or villages therein. For the purposes of this section, the
16 term "hotel" shall mean a building or portion of it which is regularly
17 used and kept open as such for the lodging of guests. The term "hotel"
18 includes an apartment hotel, a motel or a boarding house, whether or not
19 meals are served. The rate of such tax shall not exceed three percent of
20 the per diem rental rate for each room whether such room is rented on a
21 daily or longer basis.
22 (2) Such tax may be collected and administered by the commissioner of
23 finance or other fiscal officer of the town of Greenburgh or of any
24 specified village therein or in the town of Mount Pleasant, as the case
25 may be, by such means and in such manner as other taxes which are now
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08252-06-2
S. 7821 2
1 collected and administered by such officers in accordance with the town
2 or village charter or as otherwise may be provided by such local law.
3 (3) Such local laws may provide that any tax imposed shall be paid by
4 the person liable therefor to the owner of the hotel or motel room occu-
5 pied or to the person entitled to be paid the rent or charge for the
6 hotel or motel room occupied for and on account of the town of Green-
7 burgh or of any specified village therein or in the town of Mount Pleas-
8 ant imposing the tax, and that such owner or person entitled to be paid
9 the rent or charge shall be liable for the collection and payment of the
10 tax; and that such owner or person entitled to be paid the rent or
11 charge shall have the same right in respect to collecting the tax from
12 the person occupying the hotel or motel room, or in respect to nonpay-
13 ment of the tax by the person occupying the hotel or motel room, as if
14 the tax were a part of the rent or charge and payable at the same time
15 as the rent or charge; provided, however, that the commissioner of
16 finance or other fiscal officers of such towns or villages, specified in
17 such local law, shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding
18 brought to collect the tax by the owner or by the person entitled to be
19 paid the rent or charge.
20 (4) Such local laws may provide for the filing of returns and the
21 payment of the tax on a monthly basis or on the basis of any longer or
22 shorter period of time.
23 (5) This section shall not authorize the imposition of such tax upon
24 the following:
25 a. The state of New York, or any public corporation, including a
26 public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
27 state or the dominion of Canada, improvement district or other political
28 subdivision of the state;
29 b. The United States of America, insofar as it is immune from taxa-
30 tion;
31 c. Any corporation or association, or trust, or community chest, fund
32 or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charita-
33 ble or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to chil-
34 dren or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the
35 benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial part
36 of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise
37 attempting to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing in
38 this paragraph shall include an organization operated for the primary
39 purpose of carrying on a trade or business for profit, whether or not
40 all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
41 this paragraph; and
42 d. A permanent resident of a hotel or motel. For the purposes of this
43 section, the term "permanent resident" shall mean a natural person occu-
44 pying any room or rooms in a hotel or motel for at least thirty consec-
45 utive days.
46 (6) Any final determination of the amount of any tax payable hereunder
47 shall be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or any
48 other reason whatsoever by a proceeding under article seventy-eight of
49 the civil practice law and rules if application therefor is made to the
50 supreme court within thirty days after giving of the notice of such
51 final determination, provided, however, that any such proceeding under
52 article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules shall not be
53 instituted unless:
54 a. The amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with such interest and
55 penalties thereon as may be provided for by local law or regulation
56 shall be first deposited and there is filed an undertaking, issued by a
S. 7821 3
1 surety company authorized to transact business in this state and
2 approved by the superintendent of insurance of this state as to solvency
3 and responsibility, in such amount as a justice of the supreme court
4 shall approve to the effect that if such proceeding be dismissed or the
5 tax confirmed the petitioner will pay all costs and charges which may
6 accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding; or
7 b. At the option of the petitioner such undertaking may be in a sum
8 sufficient to cover taxes, interest and penalties stated in such deter-
9 mination plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in the
10 prosecution of the proceeding, in which event the petitioner shall not
11 be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
12 precedent to the application.
13 (7) Where any tax imposed hereunder shall have been erroneously, ille-
14 gally or unconstitutionally collected and application for the refund
15 thereof duly made to the proper fiscal officer or officers, and such
16 officer or officers shall have made a determination denying such refund,
17 such determination shall be reviewable by a proceeding under article
18 seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules, provided, however,
19 that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days after the giving
20 of the notice of such denial, that a final determination of tax due was
21 not previously made, and that an undertaking is filed with the proper
22 fiscal officer or officers in such amount and with such sureties as a
23 justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect that if such
24 proceeding be dismissed or the tax confirmed, the petitioner will pay
25 all costs and charges which accrue in the prosecution of such proceed-
26 ing.
27 (8) Except in the case of a willfully false or fraudulent return with
28 intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall be made
29 after the expiration of more than three years from the date of the
30 filing of a return, provided, however, that where no return has been
31 filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.
32 (9) Revenues resulting from the imposition of tax authorized by this
33 section shall be paid into the treasury of the town of Greenburgh or of
34 the specified village therein or in the town of Mount Pleasant, and
35 shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund of such town or
36 village; and may thereafter be allocated at the discretion of the board
37 of legislators of the town of Greenburgh or of the specified village
38 therein or in the town of Mount Pleasant for any town or village
39 purpose.
40 (10) Each enactment of such local law may provide for imposition of a
41 hotel or motel tax for a period of time to expire December thirty-first,
42 two thousand fifteen. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the
43 adoption and enactment of local laws, pursuant to the provisions of this
44 section, upon the expiration of any other local law adopted pursuant to
45 this section.
46 (11) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to
47 any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this
48 section and the application of such provision to other persons or
49 circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
50 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
