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 December 1969 is hereby imposed upon every utility doing
business in the Village of Camillus which is subject to the supervision
of the State Department of Public Service and 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 Article 3-B of the Public
Service Law, and a tax equal to 1% of its gross operating income from
and after May 1, 1950, is hereby imposed upon every other utility
doing business in the Village of Camillus 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 Camillus 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 Camillus, notwithstanding that
some act be necessarily performed with respect to such transaction
within such limits.
As used in this article, the following words 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 Camillus, 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 expenses whatsoever. "Gross income" shall
also include profits from the sale of securities; profits from the
sale of real property growing out of the ownership or use of or interest
in such property; profits 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; receipts from interest, dividends and royalties derived
from sources within the Village of Camillus, 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 profits from any transaction, except sales for resale and rentals,
within the Village of Camillus 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 Camillus,
and in the case of a utility engaged in selling telegraphy or telegraph
service, only receipts from transactions wholly consummated within
the Village of Camillus.
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 Camillus, 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 March 25, 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 Camillus
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 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 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, 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 unless the Village Treasurer, after a hearing
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 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 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 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, 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 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.
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.