§ 184-a. Additional metropolitan transportation business tax surcharge
on transportation and transmission corporations and associations
services.
1. The term "corporation" as used in this section shall include an
association, within the meaning of paragraph three of subsection (a) of
section seventy-seven hundred one of the internal revenue code
(including a limited liability company), and a publicly traded
partnership treated as a corporation for purposes of the internal
revenue code pursuant to section seventy-seven hundred four thereof.
Every corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of canal, steamboat, ferry (except a
ferry company operating between any of the boroughs of the city of New
York under a lease granted by the city), express, navigation, pipe line,
transfer, baggage express, omnibus, taxicab, telegraph or local
telephone business, or formed for or principally engaged in the conduct
of two or more such businesses, and every corporation, joint-stock
company or association formed for or principally engaged in the conduct
of a surface railroad, whether or not operated by steam, subway
railroad, elevated railroad, palace car, sleeping car or trucking
business or principally engaged in the conduct of two or more such
businesses and which has made an election pursuant to subdivision ten of
section one hundred eighty-three of this article, and every other
corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of a transportation or transmission
business (other than a telephone business) except a corporation,
joint-stock company or association formed for or principally engaged in
the conduct of a surface railroad, whether or not operated by steam,
subway railroad, elevated railroad, palace car, sleeping car or trucking
business or principally engaged in the conduct of two or more such
businesses and which has not made the election provided for in
subdivision ten of section one hundred eighty-three of this article, and
except a corporation, joint-stock company or association principally
engaged in the conduct of aviation (including air freight forwarders
acting as principal and like indirect air carriers) and except a
corporation principally engaged in providing telecommunication services
between aircraft and dispatcher, aircraft and air traffic control or
ground station and ground station (or any combination of the foregoing),
at least ninety percent of the voting stock of which corporation is
owned, directly or indirectly, by air carriers and which corporation's
principal function is to fulfill the requirements of (i) the federal
aviation administration (or the successor thereto) or (ii) the
international civil aviation organization (or the successor thereto),
relating to the existence of a communication system between aircraft and
dispatcher, aircraft and air traffic control or ground station and
ground station (or any combination of the foregoing) for the purposes of
air safety and navigation, shall pay for the privilege of exercising its
corporate franchise, or of doing business, or of employing capital, or
of owning or leasing property in the metropolitan commuter
transportation district in such corporate or organized capacity, or of
maintaining an office in such district, a tax surcharge, which tax
surcharge, in addition to the tax imposed by section one hundred
eighty-four of this article, shall be computed at the rate of seventeen
percent of the tax imposed under such section for such taxable years or
any part of such taxable years after the deduction of any credits
otherwise allowable under this article; provided, however, that such
rates of tax surcharge shall be applied only to that portion of the tax
imposed under section one hundred eighty-four of this article after the
deduction of any credits otherwise allowable under this article which is
attributable to the taxpayer's business activity carried on within the
metropolitan commuter transportation district. Provided, however, that
for taxable years beginning in two thousand and thereafter, for purposes
of this subdivision the tax imposed under section one hundred
eighty-four of this article shall be deemed to have been imposed at the
rate of three-quarters of one percent, except that in the case of a
corporation, joint-stock company or association which has made an
election pursuant to subdivision ten of section one hundred eighty-three
of this article, for purposes of this subdivision the tax imposed under
section one hundred eighty-four of this article shall be deemed to have
been imposed at the rate of six-tenths of one percent.
The term "local telephone business" shall have the same meaning as
such term is used in section one hundred eighty-four of this article.
The term "telecommunication services" shall have the meaning ascribed to
such term in section one hundred eighty-six-e of this article.
2. (a) A transportation and transmission corporation shall determine
the portion of its tax attributable to business activity carried on in
the metropolitan commuter transportation district (except as otherwise
provided for in this subdivision) by multiplying the tax imposed under
section one hundred eighty-four of this article by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the taxpayer's mileage within the metropolitan
commuter transportation district, and the denominator of which is the
taxpayer's mileage within the entire state during the period covered by
the report or reports required by this article.
(b) A corporation principally engaged in the operation of vessels
shall determine the portion of its tax attributable to business activity
carried on in the metropolitan commuter transportation district during
the period covered by the report or reports required by this section by
multiplying the tax imposed under section one hundred eighty-four of
this article by a percentage which represents the ratio of the aggregate
number of working days of the vessels it owns or leases in all navigable
lakes, rivers, streams and waters within the metropolitan commuter
transportation district to the aggregate number of working days of all
the vessels it owns or leases within the entire state and in the New
York territorial waters during such period.
(c) A telephone or telegraph corporation shall determine the portion
of its tax attributable to business activity carried on within the
metropolitan commuter transportation district by multiplying the tax
imposed under section one hundred eighty-four of this article by the
ratio of its total gross operating revenue from transmission services
performed wholly within the metropolitan commuter transportation
district to its total gross operating revenue from transmission services
performed within the entire state during the period covered by the
report or reports required under this article.
(d) With respect to other types of transportation and transmission
corporations or where the tax commission decides that with respect to a
certain corporation the method prescribed above does not fairly and
equitably reflect gross earnings from all sources within the
metropolitan commuter transportation district, the tax commission shall
prescribe methods of allocation or apportionment which fairly and
equitably reflect gross earnings from all sources within such district.
Also, the tax commission may, in order to properly reflect gross
earnings, determine the report period in which any item of gross
earnings shall be included without regard to the method of accounting
employed by a corporation taxable hereunder.
3. The term metropolitan commuter transportation district as used in
this section shall be defined pursuant to section twelve hundred
sixty-two of the public authorities law.
4. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state or local law, the
tax surcharge imposed under this section shall not be allowed as a
deduction in the computation of any state or local tax imposed under
this chapter or any chapter or local law. Furthermore, the credits
otherwise allowable under this article shall not be allowed against the
tax surcharge imposed by this section.
5. The provisions concerning reports under section one hundred
ninety-two of this article shall be applicable to this section. An
extension pursuant to section one hundred ninety-three shall be allowed
only if a taxpayer files with the commissioner an application for
extension in such form as said commissioner may prescribe by regulation
and pays on or before the date of such filing in addition to any other
amounts required under this article, either ninety percent of the entire
tax surcharge required to be paid under this section for the applicable
period, or not less than the tax surcharge shown on the taxpayer's
report for the preceding taxable year, if such preceding taxable year
was a taxable year of twelve months. The tax surcharge imposed by this
section shall be payable to the commissioner in full at the time the
report is required to be filed, and such tax surcharge or the balance
thereof, imposed on any taxpayer which ceases to exercise its franchise
or be subject to the tax surcharge imposed by this section shall be
payable to the commissioner at the time the report is required to be
filed, provided such tax surcharge of a domestic corporation which
continues to possess its franchise shall be subject to adjustment as the
circumstances may require; all other tax surcharges of any such
taxpayer, which pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this section
would otherwise be payable subsequent to the time such report is
required to be filed, shall nevertheless be payable at such time. All of
the provisions of this article presently applicable to section one
hundred eighty-four of this article are applicable to the tax surcharge
imposed by this section.