[Adopted 5-31-1950 (Ch. 51 of the 1965 Code)]
Pursuant to the authority granted by New York Village Law § 5-530,
a tax equal to 1% of its gross income from June 1, 1950, is hereby
imposed upon every utility doing business in the Village of Sleepy
Hollow 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 Transportation Law § 240 et seq.,
and a tax equal to 1% of its gross operating income is hereby imposed
for the same period upon every other utility doing business in the
Village of Sleepy Hollow which has a gross operating income for 12
months, ending May 31, in excess of $500, which taxes shall have application
only within the territorial limits of the Village of Sleepy Hollow
and shall be in addition to any and all other taxes and fees imposed
by any other provision of law for the same period. Such taxes shall
not be imposed on any transaction originating or consummated outside
of the territorial limits of the Village of Sleepy Hollow, 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 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 Sleepy Hollow, including
cash, credits and property of any kind or nature (whether or not such
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 securities; 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 Sleepy Hollow 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 encumbered in connection with the receipt
thereof; and also profits from any transaction (except sales for resale
and rentals) within the Village of Sleepy Hollow whatsoever.
A.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article or of § 186-a
of the Tax Law, the words "gross income" shall include:
(1)
In the case of a utility engaged in selling telephony or telephone
service, only receipts from local exchange service wholly consummated
within the Village; and
(2)
In the case of a utility engaged in selling telegraphy or telegraph
service, only receipts from transactions wholly consummated within
the Village.
B.
The words "gross operating income" mean and include receipts
received in or by reason of any sale, conditional or otherwise, made
for ultimate consumption of 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 Sleepy Hollow, 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, assignees 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.
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES
Telephony or telegraphy, or telephone or telegraph service,
including, but not limited to, any transmission of voice, image, data,
information and paging, through the use of wire, cable, fiber-optic,
laser, microwave, radiowave, satellite or similar media or any combination
thereof and shall include services that are ancillary to the provision
of telephone service (such as, but not limited to, dial tone, basic
service, directory information, call forwarding, caller-identification,
call-waiting and the like) and also include any equipment and services
provided therewith; provided the definition of "telecommunication
services" shall not apply to separately stated charges for any service
which alters the substantive content of the message received by the
recipient from that sent.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L.
No. 1-2013]
UTILITY
Every person, including every provider of telecommunications
services, subject to the supervision of either division of the State
Department of Public Service, except persons engaged in the business
of operating on the public highways of this state omnibuses, having
a seating capacity of more than seven persons, and persons engaged
in the business of operating or leasing sleeping and parlor railroad
cars of operating railroads other than street surface, rapid transit,
subway and elevated railroad; 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.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
Every utility subject to tax under this article shall keep such
records of its business and in such form as the Treasurer may require,
and such records shall be preserved for a period of three years, except
that the 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, on or before
September 25, December 25, March 25 and June 25, 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, each of which returns shall state the gross income or
gross operating income for the period covered by each such return.
Returns shall be filed with the Treasurer of the Village, on a form
to be furnished by him for such purpose, and shall contain such other
data, information, or matter as the Treasurer may require to be included
therein. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this article,
any utility whose average gross income, or average operating income,
as the case may be, for the aforesaid three-month period is less than
$1,500, may file its returns for such periods on June 25, 1951. The
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 the Treasurer. Every return shall
have annexed thereto an affidavit of the head of the utility making
the same, or of the owner or of the copartner thereof, or of the principal
officer of the 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 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.
In case any return filed pursuant to this article shall be insufficient
or unsatisfactory to the Treasurer, and if a corrected or sufficient
return is not filed within 20 days after the same is required by notice
from the Treasurer or if no return is made for any period, the Treasurer
shall determine the amount of tax due from such information as he
is able to obtain and, if necessary, may estimate the tax on the basis
of external indices or otherwise. The Treasurer 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 Treasurer for a hearing or unless
the Treasurer, of his own motion, shall reduce the same. After such
hearing, the Treasurer shall give notice of his decision to the person
liable for the tax. The decision of the Treasurer may be reviewed
by certiorari, if certiorari therefor is made within 30 days after
the giving of notice of such decision. An order of certiorari shall
not be granted unless the amount of any tax sought to be reviewed
with penalties thereon, if any, shall be first deposited with the
Treasurer and an undertaking filed with him in such amount and with
such sureties as a Justice of the Supreme Court shall approve, to
the effect that, if such order be dismissed or the tax confirmed,
the applicant for the order will pay all costs and charges which may
accrue in the prosecution of the certiorari proceeding, or at the
option of the applicant, such undertaking may be in a sum sufficient
to cover the tax, penalties, costs and charges aforesaid, in which
event the applicant shall not be required to pay such tax and penalties
as a condition precedent to the granting of such order.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
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, by certified mail, return receipt requested, 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 periods 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 such tax for each
month 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 Treasurer,
if satisfied that the delay was excusable, may remit all or any portion
of such penalty.
If within one year from the payment of any tax or penalty the
payer thereof shall make application for a refund thereof and the
Treasurer or the court shall determine that such tax or penalty or
any portion thereof was erroneously or illegally collected, the 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 Treasurer.
However, no refund shall be made of a tax or penalty paid pursuant
to a determination of the Treasurer as hereinbefore provided unless
the 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 certiorari proceeding 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 Treasurer may receive
additional evidence with respect thereto. After making his determination,
the Treasurer shall give notice thereof to the person interested,
and he shall be entitled to a certiorari order to review such determination,
subject to the provisions hereinbefore contained relating to the granting
of such an order.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
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.
Whenever any person shall fail to pay any tax or penalty imposed
by this article, the Village Attorney shall, upon the request of the
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 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 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 the proper judicial order or as otherwise provided
by law, it shall be unlawful for the Treasurer or any agent, clerk
or employee of the Village of Sleepy Hollow 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 Sleepy Hollow in an action or proceeding under the
provisions of this article or on behalf of the State Department of
Taxation and Finance 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 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 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 Sleepy Hollow 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. Penalty.
Any offense against the foregoing secrecy provisions shall be punishable
by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding six
months, or both, and if the offender is an officer, agent, clerk or
employee of the Village of Sleepy Hollow, he shall be dismissed from
office and shall be incapable of holding any office or employment
in the Village of Sleepy Hollow for a period of five years thereafter.
C. Exception.
Notwithstanding any provisions of this article, the Treasurer may
exchange with the chief fiscal officer of any other city or first
class village in the State of New York information contained in returns
filed under this article, provided such other city or village grants
similar privileges to the Village of Sleepy Hollow, and provided such
information is to be used for tax purposes only and the Treasurer
shall, upon request, furnish the State Department of Taxation and
Finance with any information contained in such returns.
All taxes and penalties received by the Treasurer for taxes
heretofore or hereafter imposed under this article shall be credited
and deposited by him in the general fund of the Village.