Bill Text: NY A07089 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Imposes a corporate welfare tax on large employers equal to one hundred percent of the qualified federal benefits received by its employees for the taxable year and prohibits discrimination against job applicants who receive federal benefits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to ways and means [A07089 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A07089-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7089 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY April 5, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to the imposition of a corpo- rate welfare tax; and to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibit- ing discrimination against individuals receiving federal benefits 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 article 9-B to read 2 as follows: 3 ARTICLE 9-B 4 CORPORATE WELFARE TAX 5 Section 230. Definitions. 6 231. Imposition of tax. 7 232. Returns and payment of tax. 8 233. Deposit and disposition of revenue. 9 § 230. Definitions. For purposes of this article, the term: 10 1. "Large employer" shall mean, with respect to a calendar year, an 11 employer who employed an average of at least five hundred employees on 12 business days during the preceding calendar year and has an officer, 13 agent, trustee or representative within the state. For the purposes of 14 determining employer size: 15 (a) All persons treated as a single employer under subsections (b), 16 (c), (m), or (o) of section four hundred fourteen of the Internal Reven- 17 ue Code of 1986 shall be treated as 1 employer. 18 (b) In the case of an employer which was not in existence throughout 19 the preceding calendar year, the determination of whether such employer 20 is a large employer shall be based on the average number of employees 21 that it is reasonably expected such employer will employ on business 22 days in the current calendar year as determined by the commissioner. 23 (c) Any reference in this article to an employer shall include a 24 reference to any predecessor of such employer. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10717-01-9A. 7089 2 1 2. "Qualified employee benefits" shall mean, with respect to a person 2 for a taxable year, the sum of the qualified federal benefits received 3 by individuals who are employees of such person for such taxable year. 4 3. "Qualified federal benefits" shall mean, with respect to an indi- 5 vidual, the following: 6 (a) The dollar value of supplemental nutrition assistance for which 7 the household, as defined in section 3(m) of the Food and Nutrition Act 8 of 2008, that includes such individual is eligible; 9 (b) The dollar value of meals that such individual or dependents of 10 such individual are eligible for under the school lunch program under 11 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the school break- 12 fast program under section four of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; 13 (c) The aggregate amount of the monthly assistance payments for rental 14 of a dwelling unit that the household of such individual is a member of 15 is eligible to have made on its behalf pursuant to section eight of the 16 United States Housing Act of 1937; and 17 (d) The amount of payments made under section 1903 of the Social Secu- 18 rity Act with respect to expenditures made by a state under a state 19 medicaid plan under title XIX of such Act, or a waiver of such plan, for 20 medical assistance for such individual or for dependents of such indi- 21 vidual. 22 4. "Employee" shall mean: 23 (a) any full-time or part-time employee; 24 (b) any individual who is a full-time or part-time independent 25 contractor, including any employee of such independent contractor, and 26 provides services to the employer, unless: 27 (i) the individual is free from control and direction in connection 28 with the performance of the service, both under the contract for the 29 performance of service and in fact; 30 (ii) the service is performed outside the usual course of the business 31 of the employer; and 32 (iii) the individual is customarily engaged in an independently estab- 33 lished trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as 34 that involved in the service performed; and 35 (c) any individual who is a full-time or part-time joint employee, 36 provided that the employer possesses, reserves, or exercises sufficient 37 direct or indirect control over the essential terms and conditions of 38 employment of such employee. 39 § 231. Imposition of tax. Notwithstanding any other provision of this 40 chapter, or of any other law, for taxable years beginning on and after 41 January first, two thousand twenty, an annual tax is hereby imposed on 42 every taxpayer who is a large employer equal to one hundred percent of 43 the qualified employee benefits with respect to such taxpayer for such 44 taxable year. 45 § 232. Returns and payment of tax. 1. Every taxpayer subject to tax 46 under this article shall, on or before the fifteenth day of the fifth 47 month following the close of each of its taxable years, make and file a 48 return with the tax commission setting forth such information as the tax 49 commission may prescribe. Every taxpayer which ceases to be subject to 50 the tax imposed by this article shall make and file a return with the 51 tax commission on the date of such cessation, or at such other time 52 which the tax commission may require, covering each taxable year or 53 period for which no return was theretofore filed, setting forth such 54 information as the tax commission may require. Every taxpayer shall also 55 file such other returns and furnish such other facts and information as 56 the tax commission may require in the administration of this article.A. 7089 3 1 2. The tax imposed by section two hundred thirty-one of this article 2 shall be payable to the tax commission in full at the time the return is 3 required to be filed. Such tax imposed on any taxpayer which ceases to 4 be subject to the tax imposed by this article shall be payable to the 5 tax commission at the time the return is required to be filed and all 6 other taxes of any such taxpayer, which pursuant to the provisions of 7 this section would otherwise be payable subsequent to the time such 8 return is required to be filed, shall nevertheless be payable at such 9 time. 10 3. The tax commission may grant a reasonable extension of time for 11 filing a return or for payment of a tax imposed by this article under 12 such conditions as it deems just and proper. 13 § 233. Deposit and disposition of revenue. All taxes, interest and 14 penalties collected or received by the tax commission under this article 15 shall be deposited and disposed of pursuant to the provisions of section 16 one hundred seventy-one-a of this chapter. 17 § 2. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 215-d to read as 18 follows: 19 § 215-d. Protection of individuals receiving federal benefits. No 20 employer, public or private, or such employer's duly authorized agent 21 shall make inquiries of an applicant for employment, or otherwise seek 22 information about such an applicant, including through the use of any 23 form or application, relating to whether such applicant receives federal 24 benefits. 25 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.