Pursuant to the authority granted by § 138-d
of the Village Law of the State of New York, a tax equal to 1% of its gross income from and after the
first day of May 1950 is hereby imposed upon every utility doing business
in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, which is subject to the supervision
of the State Department of Public Service, which has a gross income
for the periods of 12 months ending on the 31st day of May of the
year 1951 and on the 31st day of May of each successive year thereafter
in excess of $500, except motor carriers or brokers subject to such
supervision under Article 3-B of the Public Service Law, and a tax equal to 1% of its gross operating income from
and after the first day of May 1950 is hereby imposed upon every other
utility doing business in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, which
has a gross operating income for the periods of 12 months ending on
the 31st day of May of the year 1951 and on the 31st day of May of
each successive year thereafter in excess of $500, which taxes shall
have application only within the territorial limits of the Village
of Hastings-on-Hudson, and shall be in addition to any and all other
taxes and fees imposed by any other provision of law. Such taxes shall
not be imposed on any transaction originating or consummated outside
of the territorial limits of the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, notwithstanding
that some act be necessarily performed with respect to such transaction
within such limits.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
GROSS INCOME
Includes receipts received in or by reason of any sale, conditional
or otherwise (except sales hereinafter referred to with respect to
which it is provided that profits from the sale shall be included
in gross income), made or service rendered for ultimate consumption
or use by the purchaser in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, including
cash, credits and property of any kind or nature (whether or not such
sale is made or such service is rendered for profit), without any
deduction therefrom on account of the cost of property sold, the cost
of the materials used, labor or services or other costs, interest
or discount paid, or any other expense whatsoever; also profits from
the sale of securities; also profits from the sale of real property
growing out of the ownership or use of or interest in such property;
also profit from the sale of personal property (other than property
of a kind which would properly be included in the inventory of the
taxpayer if on hand at the close of the period for which a return
is made); also receipts from interest, dividends and royalties, derived
from sources within the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, other than
such as are received from a corporation a majority of whose voting
stock is owned by the taxpaying utility, without any deduction therefrom
for any expenses whatsoever incurred in connection with the receipt
thereof, and also profits from any transaction (except sales for resale
and rentals) within the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson whatsoever;
provided, however, that the words "gross income" shall include, in
the case of a utility engaged in selling telephony or telephone service,
only receipts from local exchange service wholly consummated within
the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, and, in the case of a utility engaged
in selling telegraphy or telegraph service, only receipts from transactions
wholly consummated within the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson.
GROSS OPERATING INCOME
Includes receipts received in or by reason of any sale, conditional
or otherwise, made for ultimate consumption or use by the purchaser
of gas, electricity, steam, water, refrigeration, telephony or telegraphy,
or in or by reason of the furnishing for such consumption or use of
gas, electric, steam, water, refrigerator, telephone or telegraph
service in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, including cash, credits
and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom
on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of materials
used, labor or services or other costs, interest or discount paid,
or any other expenses whatsoever.
PERSON
Persons, corporations, companies, associations, joint-stock
associations, copartnerships, estates, assignee of rents, any person
acting in a fiduciary capacity, or any other entity, and persons,
their assignees, lessees, trustees or receivers, appointed by any
court whatsoever, or by any other means, except the state, municipalities,
political and civil subdivisions of the state or municipality, and
public districts.
UTILITY
Includes every person subject to the supervision of the State
Department of Public Service, except persons engaged in the business
of operating or leasing sleeping and parlor railroad cars or of operating
railroads other than street-surface, rapid transit, subway and elevated
railroads, and also includes every person (whether or not such person
is subject to such supervision) who sells gas, electricity, steam,
water, refrigeration, telephony or telegraphy delivered through mains,
pipes or wires, or furnishes gas, electric, steam, water, refrigerator,
telephone or telegraphy service by means of mains, pipes or wires,
regardless of whether such activities are the main business of such
person or are only incidental thereto, or of whether use is made of
the public streets.
Every utility subject to tax under this article
shall keep such records of its business and in such form as the Board
of Trustees of the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson may require, and
such records shall be preserved for a period of three years, except
that said Board of Trustees may consent to their destruction within
that period or may require that they be kept longer.
Every utility subject to tax hereunder shall
file annually, on or before the 25th day of June in each year, a return
for the 12 calendar months preceding such return date or any portion
thereof for which the tax imposed hereby is effective; provided, however,
that in lieu of the annual return required by the foregoing provisions,
any utility may, at its option, file quarterly, on or before September
25, December 26, March 25 and June 25, a return for the three calendar
months preceding each such return date, and in the case of the first
such return, for all preceding calendar months in the year during
which the tax imposed hereby was imposable and effective. Every return
shall state the gross income or gross operating income for the period
covered thereby. Returns shall be filed with the Village Treasurer
on a form to be furnished by him for such purpose and shall contain
such other data, information or matter as shall be required to be
included therein. The Village Treasurer, in order to ensure payment
of the tax imposed, may require at any time a further or supplemental
return, which shall contain any data that may be specified by him,
and he may require any utility doing business in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson
to file an annual return, which shall contain any data specified by
him, regardless of whether the utility is subject to tax under this
article. Every return shall have annexed thereto an affidavit of the
head of the utility making the same, or of the owner or of a copartner
thereof, or of a principal officer of the corporation, if such business
be conducted by a corporation, to the effect that the statements contained
therein are true. Every return, other than that of a corporation,
shall set forth the name of the owner or owners, or, if a copartnership,
the names of all partners.
At the time of filing a return as required by
this article, each utility shall pay to the Village Treasurer the
tax imposed by this article for the period covered by such return.
Such tax shall be due and payable at the time of filing the return
or, if a return is not filed when due, on the last day on which the
return is required to be filed.
Any notice authorized or required under the
provisions of this article may be given by mailing the same to the
person for whom it is intended, in a postpaid envelope, addressed
to such person at the address given by him in the last return by him
under this article, or, if no return has been filed, then to such
address as may be obtainable. The mailing of such notice shall be
presumptive evidence of the receipt of the same by the person to whom
addressed. Any period of time, which is determined according to the
provisions of this article by the giving of notice, shall commence
to run from the date of mailing of such notice.
Any person failing to file a return or corrected
return, or to pay any tax or any portion thereof, within the time
required by this article, shall be subject to a penalty of 5% of the
amount of tax due, plus 1% of such tax for each month of delay or
fraction thereof, excepting the first mouth, after such return was
required to be filed or such tax became due; but the Village Treasurer,
for cause shown, may extend the time for filing any return, but for
a period not exceeding 90 days from the date it was due, and if satisfied
that the delay was excusable, may, subject to the approval of the
Board of Trustees, remit all or any portion of the penalty fixed by
the foregoing provisions of this section.
If, within one year from the payment of any
tax or penalty, the payer thereof shall make application for a refund
thereof and the Board of Trustees or the court shall determine that
such tax or penalty or any portion thereof was erroneously or illegally
collected, the Village Treasurer, subject to the approval of the Board
of Trustees, shall refund the amount so determined. For like cause
and within the same period, a refund may be so made on the initiative
of the Board of Trustees. However, no refund shall be made of a tax
or penalty paid pursuant to a determination of the Board of Trustees
as hereinbefore provided unless said Board, after a hearing as hereinbefore
provided, or of its own motion, shall have reduced the tax or penalty
or it shall have been established in a proceeding under Article 78
of the Civil Practice Act of the State of New York that such determination was erroneous or illegal. All
refunds shall be made out of moneys collected under this article.
An application for a refund, made as hereinbefore provided, shall
be deemed an application for the revision of any tax or penalty complained
of and the Board of Trustees may receive additional evidence with
respect thereto. After making its determination, the Village Treasurer
shall give notice thereof to the person interested, and he shall be
entitled to an order to review such determination under said Article
78, subject to the provisions hereinbefore contained relating to the
granting of such an order.
The tax imposed by this article shall be charged
against and be paid by the utility and shall not be added as a separate
item to bills rendered by the utility to customers or others but shall
constitute a part of the operating costs of such utility.
Whenever any person shall fail to pay any tax
or penalty imposed by this article, the Village Attorney shall, upon
the direction of the Board of Trustees, bring an action to enforce
payment of the same. An action may be maintained, as upon contract,
by the Village to recover the amount of an unpaid tax hereunder, together
with 5% thereof for the first month after the day upon which it is
due and payable and an additional 1% for each month and fraction thereof
thereafter until paid. The proceeds of any judgment obtained in any
such action shall be paid to the Village Treasurer. Each such tax
and penalty shall be a lien upon the property of the person liable
to pay the same, in the same manner and to the same extent that the
tax and penalty imposed by § 186-a of the Tax Law is made
a lien.
In the administration of this article the Board
of Trustees shall have the power to make such reasonable rules and
regulations, not inconsistent with law, as may be necessary for the
exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of the Village
Treasurer, and to prescribe the form of blanks, reports and other
records relating to the administration and enforcement of the tax,
to take testimony and proofs, under oath, with reference to any matter
under this article and to subpoena and require the attendance of witnesses
and the production of books, papers and documents.
All taxes and penalties received by the Village
Treasurer under this article shall be paid into the treasury of the
Village and shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund
of the Village.