Bill Text: NY A04444 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Authorizes the village of Bath, in Steuben county to adopt and amend local laws imposing a tax on persons occupying a room for hire in any hotel in an amount not to exceed 2% of the per diem rental rate for each room; provides for the expiration and repeal of such provisions on September 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-03 - referred to ways and means [A04444 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04444-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4444

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 14, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  PALMESANO  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Ways and Means

        AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to authorizing an occupancy tax
          in the village of Bath, in  Steuben  county;  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-z-4  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  1202-z-4. Occupancy tax in the village of Bath. (1) Notwithstanding
     4  any other provision of law to the contrary, the village of Bath, in  the
     5  county of Steuben, is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend
     6  local  laws imposing in such village a tax, in addition to any other tax
     7  authorized and imposed pursuant to this article, such as the legislature
     8  has or would have the power and authority to impose upon persons occupy-
     9  ing any room for hire in any hotel. For the purposes  of  this  section,
    10  the  term  "hotel" shall mean a building or portion of it which is regu-
    11  larly used and kept open as such for the lodging  of  guests.  The  term
    12  "hotel" includes an apartment hotel, a motel or a boarding house, wheth-
    13  er  or  not  meals are served. The rate of such tax shall not exceed two
    14  percent of the per diem rental rate for each room whether such  room  is
    15  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 Bath by such means and in such manner as other
    18  taxes which are now collected and administered by  such  officer  or  as
    19  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,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05442-01-3
        A. 4444                             2

     1  motel or other similar place of public accommodation occupied for and on
     2  account of the village of Bath imposing the tax and that such  owner  or
     3  person  entitled  to  be paid the rent or charge shall be liable for the
     4  collection  and  payment of the tax; and that such owner or person enti-
     5  tled to be paid the rent or charge shall have the same right in  respect
     6  to collecting the tax from the person occupying the room for hire in the
     7  tourist  home,  inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public
     8  accommodation, or in respect to nonpayment of  the  tax  by  the  person
     9  occupying the room for hire in the tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel
    10  or similar place of public accommodation, as if the taxes were a part of
    11  the  rent  or charge and payable at the same time as the rent or charge;
    12  provided, however, that the chief fiscal officer of the village,  speci-
    13  fied  in  such  local  laws, shall be joined as a party in any action or
    14  proceeding brought to collect the tax by the  owner  or  by  the  person
    15  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 taxes 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 of the following:
    21    a.  The  state  of  New  York,  or any public corporation (including a
    22  public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
    23  state or the dominion of Canada), improvement district  or  other  poli-
    24  tical subdivision of the state;
    25    b.  The  United  States of America, insofar as it is immune from taxa-
    26  tion; or
    27    c. Any corporation or association, or trust, or community chest,  fund
    28  or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charita-
    29  ble  or  educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to chil-
    30  dren or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to  the
    31  benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial part
    32  of  the  activities  of  which  is  carrying on propaganda, or otherwise
    33  attempting to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing  in
    34  this  paragraph  shall  include an organization operated for the primary
    35  purpose of carrying on a trade or business for profit,  whether  or  not
    36  all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
    37  this paragraph.
    38    d.  A permanent resident of a hotel or motel. For the purposes of this
    39  section, the term "permanent resident" shall mean a natural person occu-
    40  pying any room or rooms in a hotel or motel for at least thirty  consec-
    41  utive days.
    42    (6) Any final determination of the amount of any tax payable hereunder
    43  shall  be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or any
    44  other reason whatsoever by a proceeding under article  seventy-eight  of
    45  the  civil practice law and rules if application therefor is made to the
    46  supreme court within thirty days after the  giving  of  notice  of  such
    47  final  determination,  provided, however, that any such proceeding under
    48  article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules shall  not  be
    49  instituted unless:
    50    a. The amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with such interest and
    51  penalties  thereon  as  may be provided for by local laws or regulations
    52  shall be first deposited and there shall be filed an undertaking, issued
    53  by a surety company authorized to transact business in  this  state  and
    54  approved by the superintendent of financial services of this state as to
    55  solvency  and responsibility, in such amount as a justice of the supreme
    56  court shall approve to the effect that if such proceeding  be  dismissed
        A. 4444                             3

     1  or the tax confirmed the petitioner will pay all costs and charges which
     2  may accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding; or
     3    b.  At  the option of the petitioner, such undertaking may be in a sum
     4  sufficient to cover the taxes, interest and  penalties  stated  in  such
     5  determination  plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in
     6  the prosecution of the proceeding, in which event the  petitioner  shall
     7  not  be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
     8  precedent to the application.
     9    (7) Where any taxes imposed hereunder  shall  have  been  erroneously,
    10  illegally or unconstitutionally collected and application for the refund
    11  therefor  duly  made  to the proper fiscal officer or officers, and such
    12  officer or officers shall have made a determination denying such refund,
    13  such determination shall be reviewable by  a  proceeding  under  article
    14  seventy-eight  of  the  civil practice law and rules, provided, however,
    15  that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days after  the  giving
    16  of  the notice of such denial, that a final determination of tax due was
    17  not previously made, and that an undertaking is filed  with  the  proper
    18  fiscal  officer  or  officers in such amount and with such sureties as a
    19  justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect  that  if  such
    20  proceeding  be dismissed or the taxes confirmed, the petitioner will pay
    21  all costs and charges which  may  accrue  in  the  prosecution  of  such
    22  proceeding.
    23    (8)  Except in the case of a willfully false or fraudulent return with
    24  intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall  be  made
    25  after  the  expiration  of  more  than  three years from the date of the
    26  filing of a return, provided, however, that where  no  return  has  been
    27  filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.
    28    (9)  All  revenues  resulting from the imposition of the tax under the
    29  local laws shall be paid into the treasury of the village  of  Bath  and
    30  shall  be credited to and deposited in the general fund of such village.
    31  Such revenues may be used for any lawful purpose.
    32    (10) Each enactment of such a local law may provide for the imposition
    33  of a hotel or motel tax for a period of time no longer than three  years
    34  from  the  date of its enactment. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
    35  the adoption and enactment of local laws, pursuant to the provisions  of
    36  this  section, upon the expiration of any other local law adopted pursu-
    37  ant to this section.
    38    (11) If any provision of this section or the  application  thereof  to
    39  any  person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this
    40  section and the application  of  such  provision  to  other  persons  or
    41  circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
    42    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately and shall expire on
    43  September 1, 2026, when upon such date the provisions of this act  shall
    44  be deemed repealed.