[Adopted 6-5-1991]
When used in this article, the following terms shall mean:
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, society, association, joint-stock company, corporation, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee and any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise, and any combination of the foregoing.
PURCHASER
A person who purchases property or to whom are rendered services, the receipts from which are taxable under this enactment.
RECEIPT
The amount of the sale price of any property and the charge for any service taxable under this enactment valued in money, whether received in money or otherwise, including any amount for which credit is allowed by the vendor to the purchaser, without any deduction for expenses or early payment discounts.
SALE, SELLING OR PURCHASE
Any transfer of title or possession or both, exchange or barter, rental, lease or license to use or consume, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by any means whatsoever for a consideration, or any agreement therefor, including the rendering of any service, taxable under this enactment for a consideration or any agreement therefor.
VENDOR
Includes:
A. 
A person making sales of property or services, the receipts from which are taxed by this enactment;
B. 
The State of New York or any of its agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations, including a public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another state or Canada, or political subdivisions when such entity sells services or property of a kind ordinarily sold by private persons; and
C. 
Any salesman, representative, peddler or canvasser who is treated by the State Tax Commission as a vendor, pursuant to the provisions of § 1101(b)(8)(ii) of the Tax Law.
On and after the first day of March 1992, there is hereby imposed and there shall be paid a tax of 3% upon the receipts from every sale, other than sales for resale, of gas, electricity, refrigeration and steam, and gas, electric, refrigeration and steam service of whatever nature, and from every sale, other than sales for resale, of telephony and telegraphy and telephone and telegraph service of whatever nature except interstate and international telephony and telegraphy and telephone and telegraph service.
The tax imposed by this article shall be paid with respect to receipts for property or services sold on or after the first day of March 1992, although made under a prior contract. Where property or service is sold on a monthly, quarterly or other term basis and the bills for such property or service are based on meter readings, the amount received on each bill for such property or service for a month or other term shall be a receipt subject to the tax, but such tax shall be applicable to all bills based on meters read on or after the first day of March 1992 only where more than 1/2 of the number of days included in the month or other period billed are days subsequent to the 29th day of February 1992; provided, however, that where such bills are for telephone or telegraph service, the tax shall apply to all receipts on such bills dated on or after the first day of March 1992 for which no previous bill was rendered; excepting, however, charges for services furnished before the date of the first of such bills.
A. 
Receipts from the following shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this article:
(1) 
Gas, electricity, refrigeration and steam, and gas, electric, refrigeration and steam service of whatever nature for use or consumption directly and exclusively in the production of tangible personal property, gas, electricity, refrigeration or steam, for sale, by manufacturing, processing, assembling, generating, refining, mining, extracting, farming, agriculture, horticulture or floriculture.
(2) 
Gas, electricity, refrigeration and steam, and gas, electric, refrigeration and steam service of whatever nature for use or consumption directly and exclusively in research and development in the experimental or laboratory sense. Such research and development shall not be deemed to include the ordinary testing or inspection of materials or products for quality control, efficiency surveys, management studies, consumer surveys, advertising, promotions or research in connection with literary, historical or similar projects.
(3) 
Telephony and telegraphy and telephone and telegraph service used by newspapers, radio broadcasters and television broadcasters in the collection or dissemination of news, if the charge for such services is a toll charge or a charge for mileage services, including the associated station terminal equipment.
(4) 
Telephone and telegraph service paid for by inserting coins in coin-operated telephones where the charge is $0.10 or less.
B. 
Exempt organizations.
(1) 
Except as otherwise provided in this section, any sale by or to any of the following shall not be subject to the tax imposed under this article:
(a) 
The State of New York or any of its agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations, including a public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another state or Canada, or political subdivisions where it is the purchaser, user or consumer or where it is a vendor of services or property of a kind not ordinarily sold by private persons.
(b) 
The United States of America and any of its agencies and instrumentalities, insofar as it is immune from taxation, where it is the purchaser, user or consumer or where it sells services or property of a kind not ordinarily sold by private persons.
(c) 
The United Nations or any international organization of which the United States of America is a member where it is the purchaser, user or consumer or where it sells services or property of a kind not ordinarily sold by private persons.
(d) 
Any corporation, association, trust or community chest, fund or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary or educational purposes or to foster national or international amateur sports competition, but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, except as otherwise provided in Subsection (h) of Section 501 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and which does not participate in or intervene in, including the publishing or distributing of statements, any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
(e) 
A post or organization of past or present members of the Armed Forces of the United States, or an auxiliary unit or society of, or a trust or foundation for, any such post or organization:
[1] 
Organized in this state;
[2] 
At least 75% of the members of which are past or present members of the Armed Forces of the United States and substantially all of the other members of which are individuals who are cadets or are spouses, widows or widowers of past or present members of the Armed Forces of the United States or of cadets; and
[3] 
No part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
(f) 
The following Indian nations or tribes residing in New York State: Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Poospatuck, Saint Regis Mohawk, Seneca, Shinnecock, Tonawanda and Tuscarora, where it is the purchase, user or consumer.
(g) 
A not-for-profit corporation operating as a health maintenance organization subject to the provisions of Article 44 of the Public Health Law.
(h) 
Cooperative and foreign corporations doing business in this state pursuant to the Rural Electric Cooperative Law.
(2) 
Nothing in this section shall exempt retail sales of gas, electricity, refrigeration or steam or related services by cooperative and foreign corporations doing business in this state pursuant to the Rural Electric Cooperative Law from the tax imposed hereunder unless the purchaser is an organization exempt under this section.
(3) 
Amateur sports organizations.
(a) 
For purposes of Subsection B(1)(d) of this section, in the case of a qualified amateur sports organization:
[1] 
The requirement of such subsection that no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment shall not apply; and
[2] 
Such organizations shall not fail to meet the requirement of such paragraph merely because its membership is local or regional in nature.
(b) 
For purposes of this Subsection B(3), the term "qualified amateur sports organization" means any organization organized and operated exclusively to foster national or international amateur sports competition if such organization is also organized and operated primarily to conduct national or international competition in sports or to support and develop amateur athletes for national or international competition in sports.
The tax imposed under the authority of this enactment shall apply only within the territorial limits of this taxing jurisdiction, except that any establishment located partially within this taxing jurisdiction and partially within a Town or towns and receiving any services or utilities provided by this taxing jurisdiction shall be deemed to be wholly within this taxing jurisdiction for the purposes of the tax.
The tax imposed by this article shall be administered and collected by the State Tax Commission in the same manner as the taxes imposed under Article 28 of the Tax Law of the State of New York are administered and collected by such Commission. All of the provisions of said Article 28 relating to or applicable to the administration and collection of the taxes imposed by that article shall apply to the taxes imposed by this enactment, including but not limited to §§ 1101, 1111 and 1131 through 1147, with the same force and effect as if those provisions had been incorporated in full into this enactment, except as otherwise provided in § 1250 of the Tax Law.
Net collections distributed to this taxing jurisdiction by the State Tax Commission pursuant to § 1261 of the Law of the State of New York shall be paid into the treasury of this taxing jurisdiction, shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund thereof and shall be available for any City purpose. Expenditures from the proceeds of the tax imposed by this enactment shall not be considered as part of the cost of government within the meaning of any limitation on expenditures contained in any general, special or local law applicable to this taxing jurisdiction. As used in this section, "net collections" shall mean the moneys collected from the taxes imposed pursuant to this enactment, after deducting therefrom expenses of administration and collection and amounts refunded or to be refunded.
This article shall be construed and enforced in conformity with Articles 28 and 29 of the Tax Law of the State of New York, pursuant to which the same is enacted.
This article shall take effect on the first day of March 1992, except that certificates of registration may be filed with the State Tax Commission and certificates of authority to collect tax may be issued by the State Tax Commission prior to said date.