N.Y. Tax Law § 183-A — Metropolitan transportation business tax surcharge on transportation and transmission corporations and associations

§ 183-a. Metropolitan transportation business tax surcharge on\ntransportation and transmission corporations and associations.\n 1. The term "corporation" as used in this section shall include an\nassociation, within the meaning of paragraph three of subsection (a) of\nsection seventy-seven hundred one of the internal revenue code\n(including a limited liability company), a publicly traded partnership\ntreated as a corporation for purposes of the internal revenue code\npursuant to section seventy-seven hundred four thereof and any business\nconducted by a trustee or trustees wherein interest or ownership is\nevidenced by certificates or other written instruments. Every\ncorporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or\nprincipally engaged in the conduct of canal, steamboat, ferry (except a\nferry company operating between any of the boroughs of the city of New\nYork under a lease granted by the city), express, navigation, pipe line,\ntransfer, baggage express, omnibus, taxicab, telegraph, or telephone\nbusiness, or formed for or principally engaged in the conduct of two or\nmore such businesses, and every corporation, joint-stock company or\nassociation formed for or principally engaged in the conduct of a\nrailroad, palace car, sleeping car or trucking business or formed for or\nprincipally engaged in the conduct of two or more of such businesses and\nwhich has made an election pursuant to subdivision ten of section one\nhundred eighty-three of this article, and every other corporation,\njoint-stock company or association principally engaged in the conduct of\na transportation or transmission business, except a corporation,\njoint-stock company or association formed for or principally engaged in\nthe conduct of a railroad, palace car, sleeping car or trucking business\nor formed for or principally engaged in the conduct of two or more of\nsuch businesses and which has not made the election provided for in\nsubdivision ten of section one hundred eighty-three of this article, and\nexcept a corporation, joint-stock company or association principally\nengaged in the conduct of aviation (including air freight forwarders\nacting as principal and like indirect air carriers) and except a\ncorporation principally engaged in providing telecommunication services\nbetween aircraft and dispatcher, aircraft and air traffic control or\nground station and ground station (or any combination of the foregoing),\nat least ninety percent of the voting stock of which corporation is\nowned, directly or indirectly, by air carriers and which corporation's\nprincipal function is to fulfill the requirements of (i) the federal\naviation administration (or the successor thereto) or (ii) the\ninternational civil aviation organization (or the successor thereto),\nrelating to the existence of a communication system between aircraft and\ndispatcher, aircraft and air traffic control or ground station and\nground station (or any combination of the foregoing) for the purposes of\nair safety and navigation, shall pay for the privilege of exercising its\ncorporate franchise, or of doing business, or of employing capital, or\nof owning or leasing property in the metropolitan commuter\ntransportation district in such corporate or organized capacity, or of\nmaintaining an office in such district, a tax surcharge, which tax\nsurcharge, in addition to the tax imposed by section one hundred\neighty-three of this article, shall be computed at the rate of seventeen\npercent of the tax imposed under such section for such years or any part\nof such years after the deduction of any credits otherwise allowable\nunder this article; provided, however, that such rates of tax surcharge\nshall be applied only to that portion of the tax imposed under section\none hundred eighty-three of this article after the deduction of any\ncredits otherwise allowable under this article which is attributable to\nthe taxpayer's business activity carried on within the metropolitan\ncommuter transportation district as so determined in the manner\nprescribed by the rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner.\n 2. The owning or holding in the metropolitan commuter transportation\ndistrict by a corporation, or by a trustee or trustees included under\nthis section within the meaning of the term corporation as hereinbefore\ndefined, of property shall constitute doing business in the metropolitan\ncommuter transportation district within the meaning of this section;\nprovided, however, that the owning or holding in such district by a\nrailroad, palace car or sleeping car corporation, business, navigation,\ncanal, ferry, (except a ferry company operating between any of the\nboroughs of the city of New York under a lease granted by the city), or\nsteamboat or any other corporation formed for or principally engaged in\nthe operation of vessels included under this section within the meaning\nof the term corporation as hereinbefore defined, of property used\nexclusively in interstate or foreign commerce shall not constitute doing\nbusiness in such district within the intent of this section. However, a\ncorporation or such trustee or trustees shall not be deemed to be doing\nbusiness, employing capital, owning or leasing property, or maintaining\nan office in the metropolitan commuter transportation district, for the\npurposes of this section, by reason of (a) the maintenance of cash\nbalances with banks or trust companies in the metropolitan commuter\ntransportation district, or (b) the ownership of shares of stock or\nsecurities kept in the metropolitan commuter transportation district, if\nkept in a safe deposit box, safe, vault or other receptacle rented for\nthe purpose, or if pledged as collateral security, or if deposited with\none or more banks or trust companies, or brokers who are members of a\nrecognized security exchange, in safekeeping or custody accounts, or (c)\nthe taking of any action by any such bank or trust company or broker,\nwhich is incidental to the rendering of safekeeping or custodian service\nto such corporation, or (d) the maintenance of an office in such\ndistrict by one or more officers or directors of the corporation who are\nnot employees of the corporation if the corporation otherwise is not\ndoing business in such district, and does not employ capital or own or\nlease property in such district, or (e) the keeping of books or records\nof a corporation in such district if such books or records are not kept\nby employees of such corporation and such corporation does not otherwise\ndo business, employ capital, own or lease property or maintain an office\nin such district, or (f) any combination of the foregoing activities.\nProvided, further, that a railroad, palace car or sleeping car\ncorporation, navigation, canal, ferry (except a ferry company operating\nbetween any of the boroughs of the city of New York under a lease\ngranted by the city), steamboat, or any other corporation formed for or\nprincipally engaged in the operation of vessels whose only activity in\nthe metropolitan commuter transportation district is (i) the maintenance\nof an office in such district and for the employing of capital in such\ndistrict and (ii) the use of property exclusively in interstate or\nforeign commerce, shall not be subject to the tax surcharge imposed by\nthis section.\n 3. The term metropolitan commuter transportation district as used in\nthis section shall be defined pursuant to section twelve hundred\nsixty-two of the public authorities law.\n 4. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state or local law, the\ntax surcharge imposed under this section shall not be allowed as a\ndeduction in the computation of any state or local tax imposed under\nthis chapter or any chapter or local law. Furthermore, the credits\notherwise allowable under this article shall not be allowed against the\ntax surcharge imposed by this section.\n 5. The report covering the tax surcharge which must be calculated\npursuant to this section based upon the tax reportable on the report due\nby March fifteenth of any year under section one hundred eighty-three of\nthis article, for taxable years beginning before January first, two\nthousand seventeen, and on the report due by April fifteenth of any year\nunder section one hundred eighty-three of this article, for taxable\nyears beginning on or after January first, two thousand seventeen, shall\nbe filed on or before March fifteenth of the year next succeeding such\nyear, for taxable years beginning before January first, two thousand\nseventeen, and on or before April fifteenth of the year next succeeding\nsuch year, for taxable years beginning on or after January first, two\nthousand seventeen. An extension pursuant to section one hundred\nninety-three of this article shall be allowed only if a taxpayer files\nwith the commissioner an application for extension in such form as said\ncommissioner may prescribe by regulation and pays on or before the date\nof such filing in addition to any other amounts required under this\narticle, either ninety percent of the entire tax surcharge required to\nbe paid under this section for the applicable period, or not less than\nthe tax surcharge shown on the taxpayer's report for the preceding year,\nif such preceding year consisted of twelve months. The tax surcharge\nimposed by this section shall be payable to the commissioner in full at\nthe time the report is required to be filed, and such tax surcharge or\nthe balance thereof, imposed on any taxpayer which ceases to exercise\nits franchise or be subject to the tax surcharge imposed by this section\nshall be payable to the commissioner at the time the report is required\nto be filed, provided such tax surcharge of a domestic corporation which\ncontinues to possess its franchise shall be subject to adjustment as the\ncircumstances may require; all other tax surcharges of any such\ntaxpayer, which pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this section\nwould otherwise be payable subsequent to the time such report is\nrequired to be filed, shall nevertheless be payable at such time. All of\nthe provisions of this article presently applicable to section one\nhundred eighty-three of this article are applicable to the tax surcharge\nimposed by this section except for section one hundred ninety-two of\nthis article.\n