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S08064 Summary:

S08064 Actions:

S08064 Committee Votes:

S08064 Floor Votes:

S08064 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8064
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     March 16, 2020
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. METZGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations
 
        AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation  to  authorizing  the  town  of
          Wallkill  to adopt a hotel or motel tax of up to 5%; 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-gg to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 1202-gg. Hotel or motel taxes in the town of Wallkill. (1)  Notwith-
     4  standing  any  other provision of law to the contrary, the town of Wall-
     5  kill, in the county of Orange, 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 hotel or motel rooms in such town. For the purposes of
    10  this  section,  the  term  "hotel" or "motel" shall mean and include any
    11  facility consisting of rentable units and providing lodging on an  over-
    12  night  basis  and shall include those facilities designated and commonly
    13  known as "bed and breakfast" and "tourist" facilities. The rates of such
    14  tax shall not exceed five percent of the per diem rental rate  for  each
    15  room,  provided  however,  that  such  tax  shall not be applicable to a
    16  permanent resident of a hotel or motel. For the purposes of this section
    17  the term "permanent resident" shall mean a person occupying any room  or
    18  rooms in a hotel or motel for at least ninety consecutive days.
    19    (2)  Such  tax  may  be collected and administered by the chief fiscal
    20  officer of the town of Wallkill by such means  and  in  such  manner  as
    21  other  taxes which are now collected and administered by such officer or
    22  as otherwise may be provided by such local laws.
    23    (3) Such local laws may provide that any tax imposed shall be paid  by
    24  the person liable therefor to the owner of the hotel or motel room occu-
    25  pied  or  to  the  person entitled to be paid the rent or charge for the
    26  hotel or motel room occupied for and on account of the town of  Wallkill
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01774-02-0
        S. 8064                             2

     1  imposing  the  tax and that such owner or person entitled to be paid the
     2  rent or charge shall be liable for the collection  and  payment  of  the
     3  tax;  and  that  such  owner  or  person entitled to be paid the rent or
     4  charge  shall  have the same right in respect to collecting the tax from
     5  the person occupying the hotel or motel room, or in respect  to  nonpay-
     6  ment  of  the tax by the person occupying the hotel or motel room, as if
     7  the tax were a part of the rent or charge and payable at the  same  time
     8  as  the rent or charge; provided, however, that the chief fiscal officer
     9  of the town, specified in such local laws, shall be joined as a party in
    10  any action or proceeding brought to collect the tax by the owner  or  by
    11  the person entitled to be paid the rent or charge.
    12    (4)  Such  local  laws  may  provide for the filing of returns and the
    13  payment of the tax on a monthly basis or on the basis of any  longer  or
    14  shorter period of time.
    15    (5)  This  section shall not authorize the imposition of such tax upon
    16  any transaction, by or with any of  the  following  in  accordance  with
    17  section twelve hundred thirty of this article:
    18    a.  The  state  of  New  York,  or any public corporation (including a
    19  public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
    20  state or the Dominion of Canada), improvement district  or  other  poli-
    21  tical subdivision of the state;
    22    b.  The  United  States of America, insofar as it is immune from taxa-
    23  tion;
    24    c. Any corporation or association, or trust, or community chest,  fund
    25  or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charita-
    26  ble  or  educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to chil-
    27  dren or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to  the
    28  benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial part
    29  of  the  activities  of  which  is  carrying on propaganda, or otherwise
    30  attempting to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing  in
    31  this  paragraph  shall  include an organization operated for the primary
    32  purpose of carrying on a trade or business for profit,  whether  or  not
    33  all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
    34  this paragraph.
    35    (6)  Any  final  determination  of the amount of any tax payable under
    36  this section shall be reviewable for error,  illegality  or  unconstitu-
    37  tionality  or  any other reason whatsoever by a proceeding under article
    38  seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules if application  there-
    39  for  is made to the supreme court within thirty days after the giving of
    40  the notice of such final determination, provided, however, that any such
    41  proceeding under article seventy-eight of the  civil  practice  law  and
    42  rules shall not be instituted unless:
    43    a. The amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with such interest and
    44  penalties  thereon  as  may  be provided for by local law shall be first
    45  deposited and there is filed an undertaking, issued by a surety  company
    46  authorized to transact business in this state and approved by the super-
    47  intendent of financial services of this state as to solvency and respon-
    48  sibility, in such amount as a justice of the supreme court shall approve
    49  to  the effect that if such proceeding be dismissed or the tax confirmed
    50  the petitioner will pay all costs and charges which may  accrue  in  the
    51  prosecution of such proceeding; or
    52    b.  At  the  option of the petitioner such undertaking may be in a sum
    53  sufficient to cover the taxes, interests and penalties  stated  in  such
    54  determination  plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in
    55  the prosecution of the proceeding, in which event the  petitioner  shall
        S. 8064                             3
 
     1  not  be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
     2  precedent to the application.
     3    (7)  Where  any  tax  imposed under this section shall have been erro-
     4  neously, illegally or unconstitutionally collected and  application  for
     5  the  refund  thereof duly made to the proper fiscal officer or officers,
     6  and such officer or officers shall have  made  a  determination  denying
     7  such  refund,  such  determination  shall  be reviewable by a proceeding
     8  under article  seventy-eight  of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,
     9  provided, however, that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days
    10  after  the  giving  of  the notice of such denial, that a final determi-
    11  nation of tax due was not previously made, and that  an  undertaking  is
    12  filed with the proper fiscal officer or officers in such amount and with
    13  such  sureties  as  a  justice of the supreme court shall approve to the
    14  effect that if such proceeding be dismissed or the  tax  confirmed,  the
    15  petitioner will pay all costs and charges which may accrue in the prose-
    16  cution of such proceeding.
    17    (8)  Except  in the case of a wilfully false or fraudulent return with
    18  intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall  be  made
    19  after  the  expiration  of  more  than  three years from the date of the
    20  filing of a return, provided, however, that where  no  return  has  been
    21  filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.
    22    (9)  All  revenues  resulting from the imposition of the tax under the
    23  local laws shall be paid into the treasury of the town of  Wallkill  and
    24  shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund of the town. Such
    25  revenues may be used for any lawful purpose.
    26    (10) Each enactment of such a local law may provide for the imposition
    27  of  a hotel or motel tax for a period of time no longer than three years
    28  from the date of its enactment. Nothing in this section  shall  prohibit
    29  the  adoption and enactment of local laws, pursuant to the provisions of
    30  this section, upon the expiration of any other local law adopted  pursu-
    31  ant to this section.
    32    (11)  If  any  provision of this section or the application thereof to
    33  any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of  this
    34  section  and  the  application  of  such  provision  to other persons or
    35  circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
    36    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    37  deemed repealed September 1, 2023.