Bill Text: NY S07544 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides a tax credit for the cost of subscriptions that support local newspapers and other local media and a payroll tax credit for compensation of journalists; provides for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE [S07544 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S07544-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7544 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE November 24, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing a tax credit for the cost of subscriptions that support local newspapers and other local media and a payroll tax credit for compensation of journalists; and to provide for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration ther- eof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "local 2 journalism sustainability act". 3 § 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection 4 (nnn) to read as follows: 5 (nnn) Credit for qualifying publication subscriptions. (1) Allowance 6 of credit. For taxable years beginning on or after January first, two 7 thousand twenty-two, a credit for qualifying publication subscriptions 8 shall be allowed to a resident individual of the state against the tax 9 imposed by this article in an amount equal to the applicable percentage 10 of amounts paid or incurred for subscriptions to one or more qualifying 11 publications for the personal use of the taxpayer. 12 (2) Application of credit. The credit allowed under paragraph one of 13 this subsection to any taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed 14 two hundred fifty dollars per tax year and shall be subject to the 15 applicable percentages described in this subdivision. 16 (3) Definitions. As used in this subsection, the following terms shall 17 have the following meanings: 18 (A) "Applicable percentage" means: (i) in the first taxable year to 19 which this section applies, eighty percent of the total cost of the 20 subscription or subscriptions, and (ii) in any subsequent taxable year, 21 fifty percent of the total cost of the subscription or subscriptions. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10520-04-1S. 7544 2 1 (B) "Qualifying publication" means, with respect to any calendar year, 2 any print or digital publication: 3 (i) the primary purpose of which is to serve a local community by 4 providing local news, which is published during each quarter of the 5 calendar year and has been published during each of the four calendar 6 quarters preceding such calendar year; 7 (ii) which is covered by media liability insurance for such calendar 8 year; 9 (iii) which publishes the owner's name pursuant to section three 10 hundred thirty of the general business law, provided that a digital 11 publication shall publish the information required by such section on 12 the website of such publication; and 13 (iv) which receives services from not more than fifteen hundred 14 persons during such calendar quarter. 15 (C) (a) "Local community" means, with respect to any qualifying publi- 16 cation, a geographically contiguous area that does not exceed the bound- 17 aries of: 18 (i) the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area, as defined by 19 the federal Office of Management and Budget, in which the qualifying 20 publication is primarily distributed; 21 (ii) if such qualifying publication is not primarily distributed in a 22 metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area, the county in which such 23 qualifying publication is primarily distributed; or 24 (iii) if such qualifying publication is not primarily distributed in a 25 metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area or a county, the state. 26 (b) A digital publication shall be considered to be primarily distrib- 27 uted in the area where such publication is primarily consumed. 28 (4) Application to certain organizations exempt from tax. In the case 29 of any print or digital publication that is published by any organiza- 30 tion described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 31 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 32 1986, such publication shall be treated as a qualifying publication 33 under this subsection only if: (i) the publication of print and digital 34 publications is the primary activity of such organization; and (ii) any 35 person making a charitable contribution (as defined in section 170(c) of 36 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) to such organization may elect to 37 treat such contribution as an amount paid or incurred for a subscription 38 to which this subsection applies in lieu of treating such contribution 39 as a charitable contribution for purposes of section 170 of the Internal 40 Revenue Code of 1986. 41 (5) Limitation. The credit allowable under this subsection shall be 42 allowable for a period of five years from the effective date of this 43 subsection. No credit shall be allowed under this subsection for any 44 amount paid or incurred by the taxpayer in a taxable year commencing 45 after the close of the five-year period. No credit shall be allowed 46 under this subsection for any portion of an amount paid or incurred by a 47 taxpayer in a taxable year for any subscription or extension thereof 48 that extends beyond the close of the five-year period beginning on the 49 effective date of this subsection. 50 § 3. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 24-d to read as 51 follows: 52 § 24-d. Payroll credit for compensation of journalists. (a) In gener- 53 al. An eligible local news journalist employer which is subject to tax 54 under articles nine-A or twenty-two of this chapter shall be allowed a 55 credit against such tax, to be computed as provided in this section, for 56 each calendar quarter an amount equal to the applicable percentage ofS. 7544 3 1 wages paid by such employer to local news journalists for such calendar 2 quarter. 3 (b) Limitations. (1) The number of local news journalists which may be 4 taken into account under subdivision (a) of this section with respect to 5 any eligible local news journalist employer for any calendar quarter 6 shall not exceed one thousand five hundred. 7 (2) The amount of wages paid with respect to any individual which may 8 be taken into account under subdivision (a) of this section during any 9 calendar quarter by the eligible local news journalist employer shall 10 not exceed twelve thousand five hundred dollars. 11 (3) The provisions of this section shall only apply to the first twen- 12 ty calendar quarters beginning after the effective date of this section. 13 (4) The credit allowed by subdivision (a) of this section with respect 14 to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the applicable employment taxes 15 (reduced by any credits allowed under subsections (e) and (f) of section 16 3111 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, sections 7001 and 7003 of the 17 Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and section 2301 of the CARES 18 Act) on the wages paid with respect to the employment of all the employ- 19 ees of the eligible newspaper employer for such calendar quarter. 20 (5) This section shall not apply with respect to any eligible local 21 news journalist employer for any calendar quarter if such employer 22 elects (at such time and in such manner as the commissioner may 23 prescribe) not to have this section apply. 24 (6) Any wages taken into account in determining the credit allowed 25 under this section shall not be taken into account for purposes of 26 determining any other credit allowed under this chapter. 27 (7) The credit allowable under this section shall be allowable for a 28 period of five years from the effective date of this section. No credit 29 shall be allowed under this section for any amount paid or incurred by 30 the taxpayer in a taxable year commencing after the close of the five- 31 year period. No credit shall be allowed under this section for any 32 portion of an amount paid or incurred by the taxpayer in a taxable year 33 for any wages that extend beyond the close of the five-year period 34 beginning on the effective date of this section. 35 (c) Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall 36 have the following meanings: 37 (1) "Applicable percentage" means: 38 (A) in the case of each of the first four calendar quarters to which 39 this section applies, fifty percent; and 40 (B) in the case of each calendar quarter thereafter, thirty percent. 41 (2) (A) "Eligible local news journalist employer" means, with respect 42 to any calendar quarter, any employer which: (i) is an eligible local 43 news organization or a qualifying broadcast station; and (ii) employs 44 local news journalists. 45 (B) All persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or 46 (b) of section 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or subsection 47 (m) or (o) of section 414 of such Code, shall be treated as one employer 48 for purposes of this section. 49 (3) "Eligible local news organization" means, with respect to any 50 calendar quarter, any employer which: 51 (A) publishes one or more qualifying publications during the calendar 52 quarter, 53 (B) is not a disqualified organization; and 54 (C) did not derive more than fifty percent of its gross receipts for 55 such calendar quarter from disqualified organizations.S. 7544 4 1 (4) "Qualifying broadcast station" means, with respect to any calendar 2 quarter, any employer which: 3 (A) owns or operates a broadcast station, as defined by section three 4 of the federal communications act of 1934, 5 (B) is not a disqualified organization; 6 (C) did not derive more than fifty percent of its gross receipts for 7 such calendar quarter from disqualified organizations; and 8 (D) discloses its ownership to the public at such times and in such 9 manner as identified by the commissioner. 10 (5) "Local news journalist" means, with respect to any eligible local 11 news journalist for any calendar quarter, any full time employee who (A) 12 provides qualified services for an average of not less than thirty hours 13 per week for each week during which such employee is employed by the 14 eligible local news journalist employer during the calendar quarter, and 15 (B) resides within fifty miles of the local community with respect to 16 the qualifying publication or qualifying broadcast station with respect 17 to which the qualified services are provided. 18 (6) "Qualified services" means services which consist of gathering, 19 preparing, directing the recording of, producing, collecting, photo- 20 graphing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, presenting or 21 publishing original local community news for dissemination to the local 22 community. 23 (7) "Qualifying publication" means, with respect to any calendar quar- 24 ter, any print or digital publication: 25 (A) the primary purpose of which is to serve a local community by 26 providing local news, which is published during the calendar quarter and 27 has been published during each of the four calendar quarters preceding 28 such calendar quarter; 29 (B) which is covered by media liability insurance for such calendar 30 quarter; 31 (C) which publishes the owner's name pursuant to section three hundred 32 thirty of the general business law, provided that a digital publication 33 shall publish the information required by such section on the website of 34 such publication; and 35 (D) which receives services from not more than fifteen hundred persons 36 during such calendar quarter. 37 (8) (A) "Local community" means, with respect to any qualifying publi- 38 cation, a geographically contiguous area that does not exceed the bound- 39 aries of: 40 (i) the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area, as defined by 41 the federal Office of Management and Budget, in which the qualifying 42 publication is primarily distributed; 43 (ii) if such qualifying publication is not primarily distributed in a 44 metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area, the county in which such 45 qualifying publication is primarily distributed; or 46 (iii) if such qualifying publication is not primarily distributed in a 47 metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area or a county, the state. 48 (B) A digital publication shall be considered to be primarily distrib- 49 uted in the area where such publication is primarily consumed. 50 (9) "Disqualified organization" means: 51 (A) any organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the internal 52 revenue code and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such code; 53 (B) any organization described in section 527 of the internal revenue 54 code; orS. 7544 5 1 (C) any organization that is controlled, directly or indirectly, by 2 one or more organizations described in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of this 3 paragraph. 4 (d) Maximum amount of credits. The maximum amount of tax credits 5 allowed under this section, subdivision fifty-five of section two 6 hundred ten-B and subsection (w) of section six hundred six of this 7 chapter in any calendar year shall be one million dollars per eligible 8 newspaper employer. 9 (e) Administration. The commissioner shall issue such forms, 10 instructions, regulations, and guidance as are necessary: 11 (1) to allow the advance payment of the credit under subdivision (a) 12 of this section, subject to the limitations provided in this section, 13 based on such information as the commissioner shall require; 14 (2) to provide for the reconciliation of such advance payment with the 15 amount advanced at the time of filing the return of tax for the applica- 16 ble calendar quarter or taxable year; and 17 (3) with respect to the application of the credit under subdivision 18 (a) of this section to third-party payors (including professional 19 employer organizations, certified professional employer organizations, 20 or agents under section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), 21 including regulations or guidance allowing such payors to submit 22 documentation necessary to substantiate the eligible employer status of 23 employers that use such payors. 24 (f) Treatment of deposits. The commissioner shall waive any penalty 25 under this chapter for any failure to make a deposit of any applicable 26 employment taxes if the commissioner determines that such failure was 27 due to the reasonable anticipation of the credit allowed under this 28 section. 29 (g) Cross-references. For application of the credit provided for in 30 this section, see the following provisions of this chapter: 31 (1) article 9-A: section 210-B: subdivision 55. 32 (2) article 22: section 606: subsections (i) and (w). 33 § 4. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi- 34 sion 55 to read as follows: 35 55. Payroll credit for compensation of journalists. (a) Allowance of 36 credit. A taxpayer who is eligible pursuant to section twenty-four-d of 37 this chapter shall be allowed a credit to be computed as provided in 38 such section against the tax imposed by this article. 39 (b) Application of credit. The credit allowed under this subdivision 40 for any taxable year shall not reduce the tax due for such year to less 41 than the amount prescribed in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of 42 section two hundred ten of this article; provided, however, that if the 43 amount of the credit allowable under this subdivision for any taxable 44 year reduces the tax to such amount or if the taxpayer otherwise pays 45 tax based on the fixed dollar minimum amount, the excess shall be treat- 46 ed as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accordance 47 with the provisions of section one thousand eighty-six of this chapter; 48 and provided, further, that the provisions of subsection (c) of section 49 one thousand eighty-eight of this chapter notwithstanding, no interest 50 shall be paid thereon. 51 § 5. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection 52 (w) to read as follows: 53 (w) Payroll credit for compensation of journalists. (1) Allowance of 54 credit. A taxpayer who is eligible pursuant to section twenty-four-d of 55 this chapter shall be allowed a credit to be computed as provided in 56 such section against the tax imposed by this article.S. 7544 6 1 (2) Application of credit. If the amount of the credit allowable under 2 this subsection for any taxable year exceeds the taxpayer's tax for such 3 year, the excess shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credit- 4 ed or refunded as provided in section six hundred eighty-six of this 5 article; provided, however, that no interest shall be paid thereon. 6 § 6. Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i) of section 606 7 of the tax law is amended by adding a new clause (xlvi) to read as 8 follows: 9 (xlvi) Payroll credit for Amount of credit for the sum of 10 compensation of journalists payroll credit for compensation 11 under subsection (w) of journalists under subdivision 12 fifty-five of section 13 two hundred ten-B 14 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to tax 15 years commencing on and after January 1, 2022; provided that: 16 (a) this act shall expire and be deemed repealed January 1, 2027; and 17 (b) the expiration and repeal of this act shall not affect the proc- 18 essing or allowance of any tax credit provided in this act for any tax 19 year commencing prior to January 1, 2027. 20 Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any 21 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its 22 effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such 23 date.
