[Adopted 6-1-1972 by L.L. No. 2-1972 (Ch.
125 of the 1972 Code)]
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 September 1970 is
hereby imposed upon every utility doing business in the Village of
Clyde which is subject to the supervision of the State Department
of Public Service, which has a gross income for the 12 months ending
May 31 in excess of $500, except motor carriers or brokers subject
to such supervision under § 240 et seq. of the Transportation
Law, and a tax equal to 1% of its gross operating income from and
after the first day of September 1970 is hereby imposed upon every
other utility doing business in the Village of Clyde which has a gross
operating income for the 12 months ending May 31 in excess of $500,
which taxes shall have application only within the territorial limits
of the Village of Clyde, 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 or any transaction originating or consummated outside
of the territorial limits of the Village of Clyde, notwithstanding
that some act be necessarily performed with respect to such transaction
within such limits.
The terms used in this article shall be defined
as provided in § 186-a of the Tax Law.
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 of March, a return for the 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/her for such
purpose and shall contain such other date, information or matter as
he/she may require to be included therein. The Village Treasurer,
in order to insure 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/her, and he/she may require any utility
doing business in the Village of Clyde to file an annual return, which
shall contain any data specified by him/her, 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 principal
officer of the corporation, if such business be conducted by a corporation,
to the effect that the statements contained therein are true.
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 to 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.
A. In case any return filed pursuant to this article
shall be insufficient or unsatisfactory to the Village Treasurer,
and if a correct or sufficient return is not filed within 20 days
after the same is required by notice from him/her, or if no return
is made for any period the Village Treasurer shall determine the amount
of tax due from each such information as he/she is able to obtain,
and if necessary, may estimate the tax on the basis of external indices
or otherwise. He/she shall give notice of such determination to the
person liable for such tax. Such determination shall finally and irrevocably
fix such tax, unless the person against whom it is assessed shall,
within 30 days after the giving of notice of such determination, apply
to the Village Treasurer for a hearing, or unless the Village Treasurer,
of his own motion, shall reduce the same. After such hearing, the
Village Treasurer shall give notice of his decision to the person
liable for the tax. Such decision may be reviewed by a proceeding
under article 78 of the Civil Practice Laws and Rules of the State
of New York if application therefor is made within 90 days after the
giving of notice of such decision. An order to review such decision
shall not be granted unless the amount of any tax sought to be reviewed
with interest and penalties thereon, if any, shall be first deposited
with the Village Treasurer and an undertaking filed with him/her,
in such amount and with such sureties as a Justice of the Supreme
Court shall approve, to the effect that, if such proceeding be dismissed
or the tax confirmed, the applicant will pay all costs and charges
which may accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding, or at the
option of the application, such undertaking may be in a sum sufficient
to cover the tax, interest, penalties, costs and charges aforesaid,
in which event the applicant shall not be required to pay such tax,
interest or penalties as a condition precedent to the granting of
such order.
B. Except in the case of a willfully false or fraudulent
return with intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax
shall be made after the expiration of more than three years from the
date of the filing of a return; provided, however, that where no return
has been filed as required by this article the tax may be assessed
at any time.
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/her in the last return
filed by him/her under this article, or, if no return has been filed,
than 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 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 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 Laws and Rules
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/she 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 order.
The tax imposed by this article shall be charged
against and be paid by the utility and may 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 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.
A. Except in accordance with proper judicial order or
as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the Village
Treasurer, or any agent, clerk or employee of the Village of Clyde
to divulge or make known in any manner the amount of gross income,
or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any return under this
article. The officer charged with the custody of such returns shall
not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything contained
in them in any action or proceeding in any court, except on behalf
of the Village of Clyde in any action or proceeding under the provisions
of this article, or on behalf of the State Tax Commission in an action
or proceeding under the provisions of the Tax Law of the State of
New York, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding under
the provisions of this article when the returns or facts shown thereby
are directly involved in such action or proceeding, in either of which
events the court may require the production of, and may admit in evidence,
so much of said returns or of the facts shown thereby, as are pertinent
to the action or proceeding, and no more. Nothing herein shall be
construed to prohibit the delivery to a person, or his duly authorized
representative, of a copy of any return filed by him/her, nor to prohibit
the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification
of particular returns and the items thereof, or the publication of
delinquent lists showing the names of persons who have failed to pay
their taxes at the time and in the manner provided for by this article
together with any relevant information which, in the opinion of the
Village Treasurer, may assist in the collection of such delinquent
taxes; or the inspection by the Village Attorney or other legal representatives
of the Village of Clyde of the return of any person who shall bring
action to set aside or review the tax based thereon, or against whom
an action has been instituted in accordance with the provisions of
this article.
B. Any offense against the foregoing secrecy provisions
shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment
not exceeding one year, or both, and if the offender be an officer,
agent, clerk or employee of the Village of Clyde he/she shall be dismissed
from office and shall be incapable of holding any office or employment
in the Village of Clyde for a period of five years thereafter.
C. Notwithstanding any provisions of this article, the
Village Treasurer may exchange with the chief fiscal officer of any
city or any other village in the State of New York information contained
in returns filed under this article, provided such city or other village
grants similar privileges to the Village of Clyde, and provided such
information is to be used for tax purposes only, and the Village Treasurer
shall, upon request, furnish the State Tax Commission with any information
contained in such returns.
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.