Bill Text: NY S08295 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Permits a hotel occupancy tax in the village of Chester in Orange county not to exceed three percent of the per diem rental rate for each room.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-26 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S08295 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08295-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8295
                    IN SENATE
                                     April 26, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  LARKIN -- 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 permitting an occupancy  tax
          in the village of Chester in Orange county
          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-z-4  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 1202-z-4. Occupancy tax in the village of Chester. (1) Notwithstand-
     4  ing  any other provision of law to the contrary, the village of Chester,
     5  in the county of Orange, is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and
     6  amend local laws imposing in such village a  tax,  in  addition  to  any
     7  other  tax  authorized and imposed pursuant to this article, such as the
     8  legislature has or would have the power and  authority  to  impose  upon
     9  persons  occupying  any  room for hire in any hotel. For the purposes of
    10  this section, the term "hotel" shall mean a building or  portion  of  it
    11  which is regularly used and kept open as such for the lodging of guests.
    12  The  term  "hotel"  includes  an  apartment hotel, a motel or a boarding
    13  house, whether or not meals are served. The rate of such tax  shall  not
    14  exceed  three  percent of the per diem rental rate for each room whether
    15  such room is rented on a daily or longer basis.
    16    (2) Such taxes may be collected and administered by the  chief  fiscal
    17  officer  of  the  village of Chester by such means and in such manner as
    18  other taxes which are now collected and administered by such officer  or
    19  as otherwise may be provided by such local law.
    20    (3)  Such  local laws may provide that any taxes imposed shall be paid
    21  by the person liable therefor to the owner of the room for hire  in  the
    22  tourist  home,  inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public
    23  accommodation occupied or to the person entitled to be paid the rent  or
    24  charge  for  the  room  for  hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel,
    25  motel or other similar place of public accommodation occupied for and on
    26  account of the village of Chester imposing the tax and that  such  owner
    27  or person entitled to be paid the rent or charge shall be liable for the
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14866-01-8

        S. 8295                             2
     1  collection  and  payment of the tax; and that such owner or person enti-
     2  tled to be paid the rent or charge shall have the same right in  respect
     3  to collecting the tax from the person occupying the room for hire in the
     4  tourist  home,  inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public
     5  accommodation, or in respect to nonpayment of  the  tax  by  the  person
     6  occupying the room for hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel
     7  or similar place of public accommodation, as if the taxes were a part of
     8  the  rent  or charge and payable at the same time as the rent or charge;
     9  provided, however, that the chief fiscal officer of the village,  speci-
    10  fied  in  such  local  laws, shall be joined as a party in any action or
    11  proceeding brought to collect the tax by the  owner  or  by  the  person
    12  entitled to be paid the rent or charge.
    13    (4)  Such  local  laws  may  provide for the filing of returns and the
    14  payment of the taxes on a monthly basis or on the basis of any longer or
    15  shorter period of time.
    16    (5) This section shall not authorize the imposition of such  tax  upon
    17  any of the following:
    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; or
    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    d.  A permanent resident of a hotel or motel. For the purposes of this
    36  section, the term "permanent resident" shall mean a natural person occu-
    37  pying any room or rooms in a hotel or motel for at least thirty  consec-
    38  utive days.
    39    (6) Any final determination of the amount of any tax payable hereunder
    40  shall  be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or any
    41  other reason whatsoever by a proceeding under article  seventy-eight  of
    42  the  civil practice law and rules if application therefor is made to the
    43  supreme court within thirty days after the  giving  of  notice  of  such
    44  final  determination,  provided, however, that any such proceeding under
    45  article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules shall  not  be
    46  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 laws or regulations
    49  shall be first deposited and there shall be filed an undertaking, issued
    50  by a surety company authorized to transact business in  this  state  and
    51  approved by the superintendent of financial services of this state as to
    52  solvency  and responsibility, in such amount as a justice of the supreme
    53  court shall approve to the effect that if such proceeding  be  dismissed
    54  or the tax confirmed the petitioner will pay all costs and charges which
    55  may accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding; or

        S. 8295                             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 taxes imposed hereunder  shall  have  been  erroneously,
     8  illegally or unconstitutionally collected and application for the refund
     9  therefor  duly  made  to the proper fiscal officer or officers, and such
    10  officer or officers shall have made a determination denying such refund,
    11  such determination shall be reviewable by  a  proceeding  under  article
    12  seventy-eight  of  the  civil practice law and rules, provided, however,
    13  that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days after  the  giving
    14  of  the notice of such denial, that a final determination of tax due was
    15  not previously made, and that an undertaking is filed  with  the  proper
    16  fiscal  officer  or  officers in such amount and with such sureties as a
    17  justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect  that  if  such
    18  proceeding  be dismissed or the taxes confirmed, the petitioner will pay
    19  all costs and charges which  may  accrue  in  the  prosecution  of  such
    20  proceeding.
    21    (8)  Except in the case of a willfully 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 village of Chester and
    28  shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund of  the  village.
    29  Such 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.
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