Bill Text: NY A03967 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to establishing a tax on carbon emissions and to establishing the carbon tax revenue fund; establishes an excise tax on carbon-based fuel sold in the state; establishes an initial rate of five dollars per ton of carbon.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to ways and means [A03967 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A03967-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3967 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 30, 2017 ___________ 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 establishing a tax on carbon emissions; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to estab- lishing the carbon tax revenue fund 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 21-B to read 2 as follows: 3 ARTICLE 21-B 4 TAX ON CARBON EMISSION 5 Section 530. Definitions. 6 531. Imposition and rate of tax. 7 532. Exemptions. 8 533. Penalties and interest. 9 534. Deposit and disposition of revenue. 10 § 530. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall 11 have the following meanings: 12 (a) "Carbon-based fuel" means coal, natural gas, petroleum products 13 and any other product used for fuel that contains carbon and emits 14 carbon dioxide when combusted; provided, however, that carbon-based fuel 15 shall not include any product used for fuel that is derived from a 16 resource that is less than one thousand years old in its natural state. 17 (b) "Distributor" means a person who imports or causes to be imported 18 carbon-based fuel for use, distribution, or sale within the state, or a 19 person who produces, refines, manufactures, or compounds carbon-based 20 fuel within the state for use, distribution, or sale. 21 (c) "Petroleum products" means propane, gasoline, unleaded gasoline, 22 kerosene, number 2 heating oil, diesel fuel, kerosene base jet fuel, and 23 number 4, number 5 and number 6 residual oil for utility and non-utility 24 uses, and all petroleum derivatives, whether in bond or not, which are EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08363-01-7A. 3967 2 1 commonly burned to produce heat, power, electricity or motion or which 2 are commonly processed to produce synthetic gas for burning. 3 (d) "Retail Customer" means a person who purchases carbon-based fuel 4 for his or her own consumption. 5 (e) "Retail Purchase" means a purchase of carbon-based fuel made by a 6 person for his or her own consumption. 7 § 531. Imposition and rate of tax. (a) There is hereby levied and 8 imposed a tax at a rate of five dollars per ton of carbon in any 9 carbon-based fuel that is sold to retail customers in the state. The tax 10 shall increase by at least the rate of annual inflation plus one percent 11 for the first ten years that this section is in effect, and by at least 12 the rate of annual inflation thereafter. The department shall calculate 13 the tax liability associated with any retail purchase by multiplying the 14 rate designated in this section by the total amount of carbon in each 15 carbon-based fuel sold to retail consumers in the state. For the purpose 16 of calculating the tax, the department of environmental conservation 17 shall determine the percentage of carbon in each carbon-based fuel and 18 report those percentages to the department. 19 (b) A distributor shall pay to the commissioner an excise tax per 20 gallon determined by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) of this 21 section upon each gallon of carbon-based fuel sold by such distributor 22 in the state during the calendar month covered by the return required 23 pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section. The tax imposed under this 24 section shall be collected by the distributor upon completion of any 25 sale or delivery of fuel. 26 (c) Every distributor that makes sales subject to the tax imposed by 27 this section shall, on or before the twentieth day of each month, file 28 with the commissioner a return on forms to be prescribed by the commis- 29 sioner, showing its receipts from the retail sale of carbon-based fuel 30 during the preceding calendar month and the amount of tax due thereon. 31 Such returns shall contain such further information as the commissioner 32 may require. Every distributor required to file a return under this 33 section shall, at the time of filing such return, pay to the commission- 34 er the total amount of tax due on its retail sales of carbon-based fuel 35 for the period covered by such return. If a return is not filed when 36 due, the tax shall be due on the day on which the return is required to 37 be filed. 38 § 532. Exemptions. The following shall be exempt from the tax imposed 39 by section five hundred thirty-one of this article: 40 (a) carbon-based fuel sold to the United States government, its subdi- 41 visions, or under any other circumstances in which the state is without 42 power to impose the tax; and 43 (b) carbon-based fuel sold by a distributor that has already been 44 subjected to the tax imposed by section five hundred thirty-one of this 45 article, if the sales invoice clearly indicates the amount of fuel that 46 has already been subjected to the tax. 47 § 533. Penalties and interest. (a) A distributor who fails to file a 48 return or to pay any tax within the time required by or pursuant to this 49 article (determined with regard to any extension of time for filing or 50 paying) shall be subject to a penalty of ten per centum of the amount of 51 tax determined to be due as provided in this article plus one per centum 52 of such amount for each month or fraction thereof during which such 53 failure continues after the expiration of the first month after such 54 statement was required to be filed or such tax became due, not exceeding 55 thirty per centum in the aggregate.A. 3967 3 1 (b) If any amount of tax is not paid on or before the last date 2 prescribed in this article for payment, interest on such amount at the 3 underpayment rate set by the commissioner of taxation and finance pursu- 4 ant to subdivision twenty-sixth of section one hundred seventy-one of 5 this chapter shall be paid for the period from such last date to the 6 date paid, whether or not any extension of time for payment was granted. 7 Interest under this subsection shall not be paid if the amount thereof 8 is less than one dollar. 9 § 534. Deposit and disposition of revenue. All taxes, interest, and 10 penalties collected or received by the commissioner of taxation and 11 finance under the taxes imposed by this article shall be deposited in 12 the carbon tax revenue fund and disposed of pursuant to section ninety- 13 nine-aa of the state finance law. 14 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-aa to 15 read as follows: 16 § 99-aa. Carbon tax revenue fund. 1. There is hereby established in 17 the joint custody of the state comptroller and commissioner of taxation 18 and finance a fund to be known as the "carbon tax revenue fund". 19 2. Such account shall consist of revenues from all taxes, interest, 20 and penalties imposed by article twenty-one-B of the tax law. 21 3. On or before the first day of February each year, the comptroller 22 shall certify to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speak- 23 er of the assembly, chair of the senate finance committee and chair of 24 the assembly ways and means committee, the amount of money deposited in 25 the carbon tax revenue fund during the preceding calendar year as the 26 result of revenue derived pursuant to article twenty-one-B of the tax 27 law. 28 4. Moneys of the fund may be invested by the state comptroller and 29 income from such investments shall be credited to the fund. 30 5. Moneys of the fund shall be appropriated by the legislature and 31 paid out pursuant to the terms of such appropriation. 32 § 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 26th of section 171 of the tax law, as 33 amended by section 1 of subpart D of part V-1 of chapter 57 of the laws 34 of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 35 a. Set the overpayment and underpayment rates of interest for purposes 36 of articles twelve-A, eighteen, twenty [and], twenty-one and 37 twenty-one-B of this chapter. Such rates shall be the overpayment and 38 underpayment rates of interest set pursuant to subsection (e) of section 39 one thousand ninety-six of this chapter, but the underpayment rate shall 40 not be less than seven and one-half percent per annum. Any such rates 41 set by such commissioner shall apply to taxes, or any portion thereof, 42 which remain or become due or overpaid (other than overpayments under 43 such article twenty and not including reimbursements, if any, under any 44 of such articles) on or after the date on which such rates become effec- 45 tive and shall apply only with respect to interest computed or comput- 46 able for periods or portions of periods occurring in the period during 47 which such rates are in effect. In computing the amount of any interest 48 required to be paid under such articles by such commissioner or by the 49 taxpayer, or any other amount determined by reference to such amount of 50 interest, such interest and such amount shall be compounded daily. 51 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 52 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 53 ment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the imple- 54 mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on 55 or before such date.
