N.Y. Tax Law § 253-a: Recording tax by a city of one million or more

§ 253-a. Recording tax by a city of one million or more. 1. Any city

in this state having a population of one million or more, acting through

its local legislative body, is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt

and amend local laws imposing in any such city (A) prior to February

first, nineteen hundred eighty-two a tax of fifty cents, (B) on or after

February first, nineteen hundred eighty-two and before July first,

nineteen hundred eighty-two with respect to (i) one, two or three-family

houses, individual cooperative apartments and individual residential

condominium units, and (ii) real property securing a principal debt or

obligation of less than five hundred thousand dollars, a tax of fifty

cents, and with respect to all other real property a tax of one dollar

and twelve and one-half cents, (C) on and after July first, nineteen

hundred eighty-two and before August first, nineteen hundred ninety with

respect to real property securing a principal debt or obligation of less

than five hundred thousand dollars, a tax of fifty cents, with respect

to one, two or three-family houses, individual cooperative apartments

and individual residential condominium units securing a principal debt

or obligation of five hundred thousand dollars or more, a tax of

sixty-two and one-half cents, and with respect to all other real

property a tax of one dollar and twenty-five cents, and (D) on and after

August first, nineteen hundred ninety with respect to real property

securing a principal debt or obligation of less than five hundred

thousand dollars, a tax of one dollar, with respect to one, two or

three-family houses and individual residential condominium units

securing a principal debt or obligation of five hundred thousand dollars

or more, a tax of one dollar and twelve and one-half cents, and with

respect to all other real property a tax of one dollar and seventy-five

cents, for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction

thereof of principal debt or obligation which is or under any

contingency may be secured at the date of execution thereof, or at any

time thereafter, by a mortgage on such real property situated within

such city and recorded on or after the date upon which such tax takes

effect and a tax of one dollar on such mortgage if the principal debt or

obligation which is or by any contingency may be secured by such

mortgage is less than one hundred dollars. In each instance where the

tax imposed pursuant to this subdivision is one dollar and twenty-five

cents for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction

thereof of such principal debt or obligation, fifty percent of the total

amount of such tax, including fifty percent of any interest or penalties

thereon, shall be set aside in a special account by the commissioner of

finance of such city. In each instance where the tax imposed pursuant to

this subdivision is one dollar and seventy-five cents for each one

hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction thereof of such

principal debt or obligation, thirty-five and seven-tenths percent of

the total amount of such tax, including thirty-five and seven-tenths

percent of any interest or penalties thereon, shall also be set aside in

such special account. Moneys in such account shall be used for payment

by such commissioner to the state comptroller for deposit in the urban

mass transit operating assistance account of the mass transportation

operating assistance fund of any amount of insufficiency certified by

the state comptroller pursuant to the provisions of subdivision six of

section eighty-eight-a of the state finance law, and, on the fifteenth

day of each month, such commissioner shall transmit all funds in such

account on the last day of the preceding month, except the amount

required for the payment of any amount of insufficiency certified by the

state comptroller and such amount as he deems necessary for refunds and

such other amounts necessary to finance the New York city transportation

disabled committee and the New York city paratransit system as

established by section fifteen-b of the transportation law, provided,

however, that such amounts shall not exceed six percent of the total

funds in the account but in no event be less than two hundred

twenty-five thousand dollars beginning April first, nineteen hundred

eighty-six, and further that beginning November fifteenth, nineteen

hundred eighty-four and during the entire period prior to operation of

such system, the total of such amounts shall not exceed three hundred

seventy-five thousand dollars for the administrative expenses of such

committee and fifty thousand dollars for the expenses of the agency

designated pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision five of such section,

and other amounts necessary to finance the operating needs of the

private bus companies franchised by the city of New York and eligible to

receive state operating assistance under section eighteen-b of the

transportation law, provided, however, that such amounts shall not

exceed four percent of the total funds in the account, to the New York

city transit authority for mass transit within the city.

2. (a) For the purpose of determining whether a mortgage is subject to

the tax authorized to be imposed by paragraph (B) or (C) of subdivision

one of this section at a rate in excess of fifty cents, or by paragraph

(D) of subdivision one of this section at a rate in excess of one

dollar, for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction

thereof of principal debt or obligation, the principal debt or

obligation which is or under any contingency may be secured at the date

of execution thereof, or at any time thereafter, by such mortgage shall

be aggregated with the principal debt or obligation which is or under

any contingency may be secured at the date of execution thereof, or at

any time thereafter, by any other mortgage, where such mortgages form

part of the same or related transactions and have the same or related

mortgagors. If the commissioner of taxation and finance finds that a

mortgage transaction or mortgage transactions have been formulated for

the purpose of avoiding or evading a rate of tax authorized to be

imposed under subdivision one of this section in excess of the lowest

such authorized rate, rather than solely for an independent business or

financial purpose, such commissioner shall treat all of the mortgages

forming part of such transaction or transactions as a single mortgage

for the purpose of determining the applicable rate of tax. For purposes

of this subdivision, there shall be a presumption that all mortgages

offered for recording within a period of twelve consecutive months

having the same or related mortgagors are part of a related transaction,

and such presumption may be rebutted only with clear and convincing

evidence to the contrary. The commissioner of taxation and finance may

require such affidavits and forms, and may prescribe such rules and

regulations, as he determines to be necessary to enforce the provisions

of this subdivision.

(b) The term "related", when used in this subdivision with reference

to mortgagors, shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following

relationships:

(i) members of a family, including spouses, ancestors, lineal

descendants, and brothers and sisters (whether by the whole or half

blood);

(ii) a shareholder and a corporation more than fifty percent of the

value of the outstanding stock of which is owned or controlled directly

or indirectly by such shareholder;

(iii) a partner and a partnership more than fifty percent of the

capital or profits interest in which is owned or controlled directly or

indirectly by such partner;

(iv) a beneficiary and a trust more than fifty percent of the

beneficial interest in which is owned or controlled directly or

indirectly by such beneficiary;

(v) two or more corporations, partnerships, associations, or trusts,

or any combination thereof, which are owned or controlled, either

directly or indirectly, by the same person, corporation or other entity,

or interests; and

(vi) a grantor of a trust and such trust.

* 4. The taxes imposed under the authority of this section shall be

administered and collected in the same manner as the taxes imposed under

subdivision one of section two hundred fifty-three and paragraph (b) of

subdivision one of section two hundred fifty-five of this chapter.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, all the provisions of this

article relating to or applicable to the administration and collection

of the taxes imposed by such subdivisions shall apply to the taxes

imposed under the authority of this section with such modifications as

may be necessary to adapt such language to the tax so authorized. Such

provisions shall apply with the same force and effect as if those

provisions had been set forth in full in this section except to the

extent that any provision is either inconsistent with a provision of

this section or not relevant to the tax authorized by this section. For

purposes of this section, any reference in this article to the tax or

taxes imposed by this article shall be deemed to refer to a tax imposed

pursuant to this section, and any reference to the phrase "within this

state" shall be read as "within a city imposing a tax pursuant to

section two hundred fifty-three-a", unless a different meaning is

clearly required.

* NB Amended as sub 4;should be sub 3

4. Where the real property covered by the mortgage subject to the tax

imposed pursuant to the authority of this section is situated in this

state but within and without a city imposing such tax, the amount of

such tax due and payable to such city shall be determined in a manner

similar to that prescribed in the first paragraph of section two hundred

sixty which concerns real property situated in two or more counties.

Where such property is situated both within such city and without the

state, the amount due and payable to such city shall be determined in

the manner prescribed in the second paragraph of section two hundred

sixty which concerns property situated within and without the state.

Where real property is situated within and without the city imposing

such tax, the recording officer of the jurisdiction in which the

mortgage is first recorded shall be required to collect the taxes

imposed pursuant to this section.

5. A tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this section shall be in

addition to the taxes imposed by section two hundred fifty-three.

6. Any local law imposing a tax pursuant to the authority of this

section or repealing or suspending such a tax shall take effect only on

the first day of a calendar month. Such a local law shall not be

effective unless a certified copy thereof is mailed by registered or

certified mail to the state tax commission at its office in Albany at

least sixty days prior to the date the local law shall take effect.

However, the tax commission may waive and reduce such sixty-day notice

requirement to a requirement that such certified copy be mailed by

registered or certified mail within a period of not less than thirty

days prior to such effective date if it deems such action to be

consistent with its duties under this section.

7. Certified copies of any local law described in this section shall

also be filed with the city clerk, the secretary of state and the state

comptroller within five days after the date it is duly enacted.