Ryan, Inc. v. New York State Department of Taxation & Finance

26 Misc. 3d 563
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 12, 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 26 Misc. 3d 563 (Ryan, Inc. v. New York State Department of Taxation & Finance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ryan, Inc. v. New York State Department of Taxation & Finance, 26 Misc. 3d 563 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2009).

Opinion

[564]*564OPINION OF THE COURT

Walter B. Tolub, J.

This is a declaratory judgment action by which plaintiff Ryan, Inc. (formerly known as Ryan & Company, Inc.) seeks a judgment declaring that Tax Law § 210 (1) (g) (1), as in effect during the years 2003-2007, was unconstitutional because it imposed a tax on S corporations based on the corporation’s gross payroll, regardless of whether such payroll related to services provided by persons located in New York.

By this motion defendants New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and Robert L. Megna, sued in his capacity as Commissioner of Taxation and Finance of the State of New York, move, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (1), (2) and (7), for an order dismissing the complaint.

Plaintiff cross-moves for summary judgment, pursuant to CPLR 3212 (e), for an order declaring that Tax Law § 210 (1) (g) (1), as in effect during the years 2003-2007, was unconstitutional.

Background and Factual Allegations

Plaintiff is a Delaware corporation whose principal place of business is in Texas. Plaintiff began doing business in New York on December 1, 2003 and has an office located in New York, New York. Plaintiff is an eligible S corporation pursuant to Tax Law § 660. (Plaintiffs mem of law in opposition at 4.)

During the tax years 2003-2007, under Tax Law § 210 (1) (g), S corporations were required to pay a franchise tax, also named a “fixed dollar minimum tax” (FDMT), at a rate determined based on the nationwide gross payroll of the corporation taxed. (Tompkins’s affirmation If 5.) “Gross payroll” is defined as “the same as the total wages, salaries and other personal service compensation of all the taxpayer’s employees, within and without this state . . . except that general executive officers shall not be excluded.” (Tax Law § 210 [1] [d] [2] [A], quoted in plaintiffs mem of law in opposition at 5.)

For the year 2003, plaintiff computed and paid a prorated FDMT based on its total wages. For the years 2004 and 2007, plaintiff computed and only paid the FDMT based on its New York gross wages. Plaintiff did not follow the statutory formula because it believed it was unconstitutional, since it imposed an FDMT based on the corporation’s gross payroll, regardless of whether any of the payroll related to services provided by [565]*565persons located in New York. Plaintiff states that the FDMT provided for by the statute would demand that an S corporation “that has no New York employees and has only a small amount of New York property and sales would pay the same FDMT as an S corporation where 100% of its payroll, property and sales are New York-sourced.” (Plaintiffs mem of law in opposition at 6.)

Defendants audited plaintiff, and, on October 25, 2007, issued a notice of deficiency (Notice) that plaintiff owed an additional $15,158.36 in FDMT (an amount including penalties and interest) for the tax year 2004. Plaintiff received this Notice because it calculated its FDMT tax liability based on its New York payroll, versus its nationwide payroll. The FDMT for the year 2004 as it appeared in the tax schedule, according to plaintiffs calculations, should have been $325. On January 25, 2008, plaintiff filed a request for a conference with the Bureau of Conciliation and Mediation Services. It rescinded this request on May 8, 2008. On August 1, 2008, plaintiff filed a petition for a hearing with the Division of Tax Appeals.

On October 29, 2008, defendants determined that plaintiff did not owe the amount due in the Notice, and informed plaintiff of such. (Defendants’ exhibit E.) Defendants state that

“[b]ased on audit, and the specific and individual facts relating to the operation of plaintiffs business, DTF has determined that plaintiff does not owe the FDMT as calculated based on nationwide gross payroll for the tax year and all other open tax years but, instead, may, as it did in 2004, submit the FDMT based on its New York payroll.” (Tompkins’s affirmation 1Í14.)

On December 4, 2008, an order of discontinuance of the petition for hearing was entered by the Division of Tax Appeals and the proceeding was dismissed with prejudice. (Defendants’ exhibit F.) Defendants have also informed plaintiff that they are issuing refunds to plaintiff for the tax years of 2005 and 2006 based on the difference in the amount of FDMT plaintiff paid based on its gross payroll versus its New York payroll. (Defendants’ exhibit G.) Specifically, as per the tax schedule in the statute for 2005, plaintiff paid the FDMT in the amount of $425 based on its New York payroll. It also paid an additional $19,271.21, so that its total payment reflected the FDMT calculated based on nationwide payroll, plus interest and penalties. According to defendants, this $19,271.21 will be refunded [566]*566to plaintiff so that it is only required to pay the FDMT based on its New York payroll. Similarly for 2006, plaintiff will be receiving a refund of $9,384.34 which is the FDMT payment it made, plus interest and penalties based on its nationwide payroll. Plaintiff also paid $425 in FDMT for the tax year 2006 as per statute. Defendants also agreed to take no collection action for the year 2007. For the tax year 2007, plaintiff paid the FDMT in the amount of $425, which was based on its New York payroll.

Plaintiff paid the FDMT for the tax year 2003 in the amount of $750, based on its gross receipts. No notice of deficiency was sent to plaintiff for the tax year 2003.

For the tax years after 2007, the FDMT provisions have been amended so that the franchise tax on S corporations is determined based on New York receipts, which is the amount of New York business attributable to the corporation. (Tax Law § 210 [1] [d] [4]; [g]; see also Tax Law § 210 [3] [a] [2] [for method of determining New York receipts].)

On March 6, 2009, plaintiff filed claims for a refund for all the FDMT it paid on its New York gross receipts. This includes $750 for 2003, $325 for 2004, and $425 each for the years 2005-2007. (Plaintiffs exhibit 4.)

On July 31, 2008, plaintiff filed a complaint for a declaratory judgment, seeking a declaration that Tax Law § 210 (1) (g) (1), as in effect for the tax years 2003-2007, was unconstitutional because it imposed an FDMT based on the S corporation’s gross payroll versus its New York payroll. Plaintiff alleges that since this tax was unapportioned, it violated the Commerce and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution.

Defendants move, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (1), (2) and (7), for an order dismissing the complaint. Defendants argue that plaintiff lacks standing to bring a claim since it received refunds for any tax based on its nationwide payroll that it paid for the years in question. Defendants also argue that the issue is moot since, after the tax year 2007, the FDMT statute has been amended and superceded so as to only include New York receipts.

Plaintiff argues that the defendants issued refunds to it, after the complaint was filed, in an “apparent attempt to avoid a public decision and the many refund claims that would result.”1 (Plaintiff s mem of law in opposition at 1.) Plaintiff argues that [567]*567similarly unapportioned taxes have been held to violate the Federal Constitution, most recently in California. It claims that it does have standing as it suffered an injury-in-fact.

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Related

Manning v. Pioneer Savings Bank
56 Misc. 3d 790 (New York Supreme Court, 2016)
Ryan, Inc. v. New York State Department of Taxation & Finance
83 A.D.3d 482 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2011)

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26 Misc. 3d 563, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ryan-inc-v-new-york-state-department-of-taxation-finance-nysupct-2009.