Pursuant to the authority granted by § 6-640
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 August, 1972, is hereby imposed upon every utility doing
business of the Village of Hamilton, New York, which is subject to
the supervision of the State Department of Public Service, which has
a gross income for 12 months ending May 31 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 August, 1972, is hereby imposed upon every
other utility doing business in the Village of Hamilton, New York,
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 Hamilton, New York, 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 Hamilton, New York, 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 the 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 Hamilton, New York, 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 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 cost of the period for which a return
is made); also receipts from interest, dividends and royalties, derived
from sources within the Village of Hamilton, New York, 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 Hamilton, New York, 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 Hamilton, New York, and in the case of a utility engaged
in selling telegraphy or telephone service, only receipts from transactions
wholly consummated within the Village of Hamilton, New York.
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, refrigeration, telephone or telegraph
service in the Village of Hamilton, New York, 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 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, electricity, steam, water, refrigeration,
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 or as the Village Board may require and such
records shall be preserved for a period of three years, except that
the Village Treasurer or the Village Board may consent to their destruction
within that period or may require that they be kept longer.
Every utility subject to tax hereunder shall
file, on or before September 15, December 15, March 15 and June 15,
a return for the three calendar months preceding each such return
date, including any period for which the tax imposed hereby or by
any amendment hereof is 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 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 Hamilton, New York, 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.
At the time of the filing of a return as required
by this article, each utility shall pay to the Village of Hamilton
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 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 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 unless the Village Treasurer,
after a hearing as hereinbefore provided, or of his own motion, shall
have reduced the tax or penalty or if it shall have been established
in a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law 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
chapter. 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 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of the State of
New York, subject to the provision hereinbefore contained relating
to the granting of such an order.
The tax imposed by this chapter 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 Board, 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.
All taxes and penalties received by the Village
Treasurer under this article shall be paid into the treasury of the
Village of Hamilton, New York, and shall be credited to and deposited
in the general fund of the Village.