[Adopted 3-4-1969 by L.L. No. 1-1969]
Pursuant to the authority granted by § 5-53 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 June 1969 is hereby imposed
upon every utility doing business in the Village of Ravena, 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,[1] and a tax equal to 1% of its gross operating income from
and after the first day of June 1969 is hereby imposed upon every
other utility doing business in the Village of Ravena, 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 Ravena, 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
Ravena, New York, notwithstanding that some act be necessarily performed
with respect to such transaction within such limits.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Transportation Law § 240
et seq.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
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 Ravena, 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 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 close of the period for which a return
is made); also receipts from interest, dividends and royalties derived
from sources within the Village of Ravena, 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 Ravena, 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 Ravena, New York, and in the case of a utiliy engaged in
selling telegraphy or telegraph service, only receipts from transactions
wholly consummated within the Village of Ravena, New York.
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 Ravena, 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.
Means 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.
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 annually,
on or before the 25th day of February, a return for the 12 calendar
months ending the 31st day of December, or 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 Ravena, 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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sections 5 through 9, which immediately
followed this section, are deleted, since provisions contained in
these sections have been deleted from § 186-a of the Tax
Law.
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 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.
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 Ravena, New York, to divulge or
make known in any manner the amount of gross income or gross operating
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 Ravena, New York, in an 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, nor to prohibit the publication of statistics
so classified as to prevent the identification of particular returns
and the items thereof, nor 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; nor the inspection
by the Village Attorney or other legal representative of the Village
of Ravena, New York, 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 is an officer, agent, clerk or
employee of the Village of Ravena, New York, he shall be dismissed
from office and shall be incapable of holding any office or employment
for the Village of Ravena, New York, 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 that such city or other village
grants similar privileges to the Village of Ravena, New York, and
provided that 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 of Ravena,
New York, and shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund
of the Village.
