Pursuant to the authority granted by § 5-530 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 March 1973 is hereby imposed upon every utility doing
business in the Village of Sylvan Beach which is subject to the supervision
of the State Department of Public Service, which has a gross income in excess
of $500, except motor carriers or backers subject to such supervision under
Article 3-B of the Public Service Law, which taxes shall have application only within the territorial
limits of the Village of Sylvan Beach 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 Sylvan Beach, 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 Sylvan Beach, 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 the
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 Sylvan Beach 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 Sylvan Beach 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 Sylvan Beach and, in the case of
a utility engaged in selling telegraphy or telegraph service, only receipts
from transactions wholly consummated within the Village of Sylvan Beach.
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 Sylvan Beach, 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 telegraph 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 Village Treasurer may require, and
such records shall be preserved for a period of three years, except that the
Village Treasurer 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 March, 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 file quarterly, on or before September 25, December
25, 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 during which the tax imposed hereby was 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 he may require 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 Sylvan
Beach 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 is conducted by a corporation,
to the effect that the statements contained therein are true to the best of
his knowledge.
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 persons for whom it is intended, in
a postpaid envelope, addressed to such person at the address given by him
in the last return filed 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 it is 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, except the first month, 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 and,
if satisfied that the delay was excusable, may 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 Village Treasurer
or the court shall determine that such tax or penalty or any portion thereof
was erroneously or illegally collected, the Village Treasurer 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 Village Treasurer. However, no refund
shall be made of a tax or penalty paid pursuant to a determination of the
Village Treasurer as hereinbefore provided or, of his 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 Village Treasurer may receive additional evidence with
respect thereto. After making his 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
provision 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 request of the Village
Treasurer, bring an action to enforce payment of the same. 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 Village Treasurer shall have
the power to make such reasonable rules and regulations, not inconsistent
with law, as may be necessary for the exercise of his powers and the performance
of his duties 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 within the line of his
official duty under this Article and to subpoena and require the attendance
of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents.