[Adopted by the County Legislature 9-5-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006]
Pursuant to Article 31-G of New York State Tax
Law, a tax is hereby imposed on each conveyance of real property or
interest therein in Tompkins County when the consideration exceeds
$500, at a rate of $1 for each $500 or fractional part thereof.
This tax shall apply to any conveyance occurring
on or after December 1, 2006, but shall not apply to conveyances made
on or after December 1, 2006, pursuant to binding written contracts
entered into prior to such date, provided that the date of the execution
of such contract is confirmed by independent evidence such as the
recording of the contract, payment of a deposit, or other facts and
circumstances as determined by the County Finance Director.
A.
The real estate transfer tax shall be paid to the Finance Director or the Tompkins County Clerk or other recording officer acting as the agent of the Finance Director upon designation as such agent by the Finance Director. Such tax shall be paid at the same time as the real estate transfer tax imposed by Article 31 of the New York State Tax Law is required to be paid. The Finance Director or recording officer shall endorse, upon each deed or instrument affecting a conveyance, a receipt for the amount of the tax so paid.
B.
A return shall be required to be filed with the Finance Director or recording officer for purposes of the real estate transfer tax imposed pursuant to this article at the same time as a return is required to be filed for purposes of the real estate transfer tax imposed by Article 31. The return, for purposes of the real estate transfer tax imposed pursuant to this article, shall be a photocopy or carbon copy of the real estate transfer tax return required to be filed pursuant to § 1409 of New York State Tax Law. However, when an apportionment is required to be made pursuant to § 150-62, a supplemental form shall also be required to be filed. The real estate transfer tax returns and supplemental forms required to be filed pursuant to this section shall be preserved for three years and thereafter until the Finance Director or recording officer orders them to be destroyed.
C.
The recording officer shall not record an instrument
affecting a conveyance unless the return required by this section
has been filed and the tax imposed pursuant to this article shall
have been paid as provided in this section.
A.
The real estate transfer tax shall be paid by the
grantor. If the grantor has failed to pay the tax or if the grantor
is exempt from such tax, the grantee shall have the duty to pay the
tax. Where the grantee has the duty to pay the tax because the grantor
has failed to pay, such tax shall be the joint and several liability
of the grantor and the grantee.
B.
For the purpose of the proper administration of this
article and to prevent evasion of the tax hereby authorized, it shall
be presumed that all conveyances are taxable. Where the consideration
includes property other than money, it shall be presumed that the
consideration is the fair market value of the real property or interest
therein. These presumptions shall prevail until the contrary is proven,
and the burden of proving the contrary shall be on the person liable
for payment of the tax.
A.
The following shall be exempt from payment of the
real estate transfer tax:
(1)
The State of New York, or any of its agencies, instrumentalities,
political subdivisions, or public corporations (including a public
corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
state or the dominion of Canada);
(2)
The United Nations, the United States of America and
any of its agencies and instrumentalities.
B.
The exemption of such governmental bodies or persons
shall not, however, relieve a grantee from them of liability for the
tax.
C.
The tax shall not apply to any of the following conveyances:
(1)
Conveyances to the United Nations, the United States
of America, the State of New York, or any of their instrumentalities,
agencies or political subdivisions (or any public corporation, including
a public corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with
another state or the dominion of Canada);
(2)
Conveyances that are or were used to secure a debt
or other obligation;
(3)
Conveyances that, without additional consideration,
confirm, correct, modify, or supplement a prior conveyance;
(4)
Conveyances of real property without consideration
and otherwise than in connection with a sale, including conveyances
conveying realty as bona fide gifts;
(5)
Conveyances given in connection with a tax sale;
(6)
Conveyances to effectuate a mere change of identity
or form of ownership or organization where there is no change in beneficial
ownership, other than conveyances to a cooperative housing corporation
of the real property comprising the cooperative dwelling or dwellings;
(7)
Conveyances that consist of a deed of partition;
(8)
Conveyances given pursuant to the federal bankruptcy
act;
(9)
Conveyances of real property that consist of the execution
of a contract to sell real property without the use or occupancy of
such property or the granting of an option to purchase real property
without the use or occupancy of such property; and
(10)
Conveyances of an option or contract to purchase
real property with the use or occupancy of such property where the
consideration is less than $200,000 and such property was used solely
by the grantor as his personal residence and consists of a one-, two-
or three-family house, an individual residential condominium unit,
or the sale of stock in a cooperative housing corporation in connection
with the grant or transfer of a proprietary leasehold covering an
individual residential cooperative unit.
A grantor shall be allowed a credit against
the tax due on a conveyance of real property to the extent tax was
paid by such grantor on a prior creation of a leasehold of all or
a portion of the same real property or on the granting of an option
or contract to purchase all or a portion of the same real property,
by such grantor. Such credit shall be computed by multiplying the
tax paid on the creation of the leasehold or on the granting of the
option or contract by a fraction, the numerator of which is the value
of the consideration used to compute such tax paid that is not yet
due to such grantor on the date of the subsequent conveyance (and
that such grantor will not be entitled to receive after such date),
and the denominator of which is the total value of the consideration
used to compute such tax paid.
The provisions of Article 31-G of the State
Tax Law shall govern transfers involving cooperative housing corporations.
The Finance Director or his duly authorized
agent shall be responsible for the deposit of revenue collected or
received from the tax imposed. The Finance Director shall maintain
a system of accounts showing the revenue collected or received from
the tax imposed. All revenue derived from the imposition of such tax
shall be deposited into the general fund of the County of Tompkins.
The amount of tax due whenever the real property
or interest therein is situated within and without the County of Tompkins
shall be in proportion to the value of the property in the County
of Tompkins relative to the value outside the County.
A.
Whenever any person shall fail to pay any tax, penalty,
or penalty of interest imposed by this article, the County Attorney
shall, upon the request of the Finance Director, bring or cause to
be brought an action to enforce the payment of the same on behalf
of the County in any court of the State of New York or of any other
state or of the United States. The person who fails to pay the tax,
penalty, or penalty of interest shall be responsible for all costs
and attorney fees associated with the proceeding.
B.
Any grantor or grantee failing to file a return or
to pay any tax within the time required by this article shall be subject
to a penalty of 10% of the amount of tax due plus an interest penalty
of 2% of such amount for each month of delay or fraction thereof after
the expiration of the first month after such return was required to
be filed or such tax became due, such interest penalty shall not exceed
25% in the aggregate. If the Director of Finance determines that such
failure or delay was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful
neglect, the Commissioner shall remit, abate or waive all of such
penalty and such interest penalty.
