Bill Text: NY A07264 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes a qualified transportation fringe benefits program; allows for an itemized deduction for the full amount of expenses for any qualified transportation benefit provided to an employee of the taxpayer.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to labor [A07264 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A07264-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7264
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     April 18, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Labor
        AN ACT to amend the labor law and the tax law, in relation to establish-
          ing a qualified transportation fringe benefits program
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 33 to read
     2  as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 33
     4                       TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS PROGRAM
     5  Section 960. Definitions.
     6          961. Transportation benefits program.
     7          962. Administration and enforcement.
     8    § 960. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall
     9  have the following meanings:
    10    1.  "Qualified  transportation  fringe benefits" shall mean any of the
    11  following provided by an employer to an employee:
    12    a. Transportation in a commuter highway vehicle if such transportation
    13  is in connection with travel between the employee's residence and  place
    14  of employment;
    15    b. Any transit pass;
    16    c. Qualified parking; or
    17    d. Qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.
    18    2.  "Covered  employee" shall mean any person who performed an average
    19  of at least ten hours of work per week for  compensation  for  the  same
    20  employer within the previous calendar month.
    21    3.  "Covered  employer" shall mean an employer for which an average of
    22  twenty or more persons per week perform work for compensation. In deter-
    23  mining the number of persons performing work for an  employer  during  a
    24  given week, all persons performing work for compensation on a full-time,
    25  part-time  or  temporary  basis shall be counted, including persons made
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11019-01-9
        A. 7264                             2
     1  available to work through the services of a temporary services or staff-
     2  ing agency or similar entity. A covered employer shall not  include  any
     3  governmental entity.
     4    4.  "Transit  pass"  shall mean any pass, token, fare card, voucher or
     5  similar item entitling a person to transportation, or transportation  at
     6  a  reduced  price, if such transportation is (i) on mass transit facili-
     7  ties, whether or not publicly owned, or (ii) provided by any  person  in
     8  the  business  of  transporting persons for compensation or hire if such
     9  transportation is provided in a  vehicle  meeting  the  requirements  of
    10  paragraph a of subdivision five of this section.
    11    5. "Commuter highway vehicle" shall mean any highway vehicle where:
    12    a.  the  seating  capacity  is  at least six adults, not including the
    13  driver; and
    14    b. at least eighty percent  of  the  mileage  use  can  reasonably  be
    15  expected  to be (i) for purposes of transporting employees in connection
    16  with travel between their residences and their place of employment;  and
    17  (ii)  on trips during which the number of employees transported for such
    18  purposes is at least one-half of the  adult  seating  capacity  of  such
    19  vehicle, not including the driver.
    20    6.  "Qualified  parking"  means  parking provided to an employee on or
    21  near the business premises of the employer or on or near a location from
    22  which the employee commutes  to  work  by  transportation  described  in
    23  subdivision  four  of this section, in a commuter highway vehicle, or by
    24  carpool. Such term shall not include any parking  on  or  near  property
    25  used by the employee for residential purposes.
    26    7.  "Qualified  bicycle  commuting  reimbursement"  shall  mean,  with
    27  respect to any calendar year,  any  employer  reimbursement  during  the
    28  fifteen  month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year
    29  for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee  during  such  calendar
    30  year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and
    31  storage,  if  such  bicycle  is  regularly  used  for travel between the
    32  employee's residence and place of employment. There shall be  an  annual
    33  limitation with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the prod-
    34  uct  of  twenty  dollars  multiplied  by the number of qualified bicycle
    35  commuting months during such year.
    36    8. "Qualified bicycle commuting months" shall mean,  with  respect  to
    37  any  employee,  any  month during which such employee (i) regularly uses
    38  the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the  employ-
    39  ee's  residence  and  place of employment, and (ii) does not receive any
    40  benefit described in paragraph a, b, or c of  subdivision  one  of  this
    41  section.
    42    §  961. Transportation benefits program. Covered employers may provide
    43  the following transportation benefit programs to covered employees:
    44    1. a pre-tax election program allowing employees to elect  to  exclude
    45  from  taxable  wages and compensation, employee commuting costs incurred
    46  for transit passes, commuter highway vehicle charges, qualified parking,
    47  and qualified bicycle commuting. The amount of qualified  transportation
    48  fringe benefits shall not exceed:
    49    a. one hundred seventy-five dollars per month in case of the aggregate
    50  of  the  benefits  described in paragraphs a and b of subdivision one of
    51  section nine hundred sixty of this article;
    52    b. one hundred seventy-five dollars per month in the case of qualified
    53  parking; and
    54    c. the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicy-
    55  cle commuting reimbursement.
        A. 7264                             3
     1    2. an employer paid benefit program whereby the  employer  supplies  a
     2  transit pass for a public transit system of the employer's choosing upon
     3  request  by each covered employee or reimbursement for equivalent commu-
     4  ter highway vehicle charges equal in value to the purchase price of  the
     5  appropriate benefit; or
     6    3.  employer  provided transit furnished by the employer at no cost to
     7  the covered employee in a commuter highway vehicle or  bus,  or  similar
     8  multi-passenger vehicle operated by or for the employer.
     9    §  962. Administration and enforcement. 1. The duly authorized officer
    10  having predominant jurisdiction over transportation issues in the  muni-
    11  cipality  in  which  a  transportation  benefits program is administered
    12  shall promulgate such rules and regulations as  necessary  to  implement
    13  the provisions of this article.
    14    2.  Such  officer  shall  maintain  an education and advice program to
    15  assist covered employers with meeting the requirements of  section  nine
    16  hundred sixty-one of this article.
    17    § 2. Subsection (d) of section 615 of the tax law is amended by adding
    18  a new paragraph 6 to read as follows:
    19    (6)  the  full  amount  of  expenses  for any qualified transportation
    20  fringe benefit provided to an employee of  the  taxpayer  in  accordance
    21  with article thirty-three of the labor law.
    22    §  3.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 9 of section 208 of the tax law is
    23  amended by adding a new subparagraph 20 to read as follows:
    24     (20) The full amount of expenses  for  any  qualified  transportation
    25  fringe  benefit  provided  to  an employee of the taxpayer in accordance
    26  with article thirty-three of the labor law.
    27    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided,  however,  that
    28  section  one  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth
    29  day after it shall have become a law; provided, further,  that  sections
    30  two  and three of this act shall apply to taxable years beginning on and
    31  after January 1, 2020.