Bill Text: NY S04654 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to authorizing the town of Wallkill to adopt a hotel or motel tax of up to 5%.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2019-12-20 - VETOED MEMO.271 [S04654 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04654-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4654
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 19, 2019
                                       ___________
        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-ff to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 1202-ff. 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.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01774-01-9

        S. 4654                             2
     1    (3) Such local laws may provide that any tax imposed shall be paid  by
     2  the person liable therefor to the owner of the hotel or motel room occu-
     3  pied  or  to  the  person entitled to be paid the rent or charge for the
     4  hotel or motel room occupied for and on account of the town of  Wallkill
     5  imposing  the  tax and that such owner or person entitled to be paid the
     6  rent or charge shall be liable for the collection  and  payment  of  the
     7  tax;  and  that  such  owner  or  person entitled to be paid the rent or
     8  charge shall have the same right in respect to collecting the  tax  from
     9  the  person  occupying the hotel or motel room, or in respect to nonpay-
    10  ment of the tax by the person occupying the hotel or motel room,  as  if
    11  the  tax  were a part of the rent or charge and payable at the same time
    12  as the rent or charge; provided, however, that the chief fiscal  officer
    13  of the town, specified in such local laws, shall be joined as a party in
    14  any  action  or proceeding brought to collect the tax by the owner or by
    15  the person entitled to be paid the rent or charge.
    16    (4) Such local laws may provide for the  filing  of  returns  and  the
    17  payment  of  the tax on a monthly basis or on the basis of any longer or
    18  shorter period of time.
    19    (5) This section shall not authorize the imposition of such  tax  upon
    20  any  transaction,  by  or  with  any of the following in accordance with
    21  section twelve hundred thirty of this article:
    22    a. The state of New York,  or  any  public  corporation  (including  a
    23  public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
    24  state  or  the  Dominion of Canada), improvement district or other poli-
    25  tical subdivision of the state;
    26    b. The United States of America, insofar as it is  immune  from  taxa-
    27  tion;
    28    c.  Any corporation or association, or trust, or community chest, fund
    29  or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charita-
    30  ble or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty  to  chil-
    31  dren  or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the
    32  benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial part
    33  of the activities of which  is  carrying  on  propaganda,  or  otherwise
    34  attempting  to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing in
    35  this paragraph shall include an organization operated  for  the  primary
    36  purpose  of  carrying  on a trade or business for profit, whether or not
    37  all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
    38  this paragraph.
    39    (6) Any final determination of the amount of  any  tax  payable  under
    40  this  section  shall  be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitu-
    41  tionality or any other reason whatsoever by a proceeding  under  article
    42  seventy-eight  of the civil practice law and rules if application there-
    43  for is made to the supreme court within thirty days after the giving  of
    44  the notice of such final determination, provided, however, that any such
    45  proceeding  under  article  seventy-eight  of the civil practice law and
    46  rules shall not be instituted unless:
    47    a. The amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with such interest and
    48  penalties thereon as may be provided for by local  law  shall  be  first
    49  deposited  and there is filed an undertaking, issued by a surety company
    50  authorized to transact business in this state and approved by the super-
    51  intendent of financial services of this state as to solvency and respon-
    52  sibility, in such amount as a justice of the supreme court shall approve
    53  to the effect that if such proceeding be dismissed or the tax  confirmed
    54  the  petitioner  will  pay all costs and charges which may accrue in the
    55  prosecution of such proceeding; or

        S. 4654                             3
     1    b. At the option of the petitioner such undertaking may be  in  a  sum
     2  sufficient  to  cover  the taxes, interests and penalties stated in such
     3  determination plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it  in
     4  the  prosecution  of the proceeding, in which event the petitioner shall
     5  not  be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
     6  precedent to the application.
     7    (7) Where any tax imposed under this section  shall  have  been  erro-
     8  neously,  illegally  or unconstitutionally collected and application for
     9  the refund thereof duly made to the proper fiscal officer  or  officers,
    10  and  such  officer  or  officers shall have made a determination denying
    11  such refund, such determination shall  be  reviewable  by  a  proceeding
    12  under  article  seventy-eight  of  the  civil  practice  law  and rules,
    13  provided, however, that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days
    14  after the giving of the notice of such denial,  that  a  final  determi-
    15  nation  of  tax  due was not previously made, and that an undertaking is
    16  filed with the proper fiscal officer or officers in such amount and with
    17  such sureties as a justice of the supreme court  shall  approve  to  the
    18  effect  that  if  such proceeding be dismissed or the tax confirmed, the
    19  petitioner will pay all costs and charges which may accrue in the prose-
    20  cution of such proceeding.
    21    (8) Except in the case of a wilfully false or fraudulent  return  with
    22  intent  to  evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall be made
    23  after the expiration of more than three  years  from  the  date  of  the
    24  filing  of  a  return,  provided, however, that where no return has been
    25  filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.
    26    (9) All revenues resulting from the imposition of the  tax  under  the
    27  local  laws  shall be paid into the treasury of the town of Wallkill and
    28  shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund of the town. Such
    29  revenues may be used for any lawful purpose.
    30    (10) Each enactment of such a local law may provide for the imposition
    31  of a hotel or motel tax for a period of time no longer than three  years
    32  from  the  date of its enactment. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
    33  the adoption and enactment of local laws, pursuant to the provisions  of
    34  this  section, upon the expiration of any other local law adopted pursu-
    35  ant to this section.
    36    (11) If any provision of this section or the  application  thereof  to
    37  any  person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this
    38  section and the application  of  such  provision  to  other  persons  or
    39  circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
    40    §  2.  This  act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
    41  deemed repealed September 1, 2022.
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