§ 1283 — Liability for tax; special provisions

§ 1283. Liability for tax; special provisions. Notwithstanding any\nprovision of law to the contrary: (a) The taxicab owner or HAIL base, as\nthe case may be, shall be liable for the tax imposed by this article.\n (b) (1) If the taxicab owner has designated an agent, then the agent\nshall be jointly liable with the taxicab owner for the tax on trips\noccurring during the period that such designation is in effect. Even if\nthe TLC has specified that the taxicab owner's agent cannot operate as\nan agent, that agent shall be jointly liable with the taxicab owner if\nthe agent has acted for the taxicab owner. During the period that a\ntaxicab owner's designation of an agent is in effect, the agent shall\nfile the returns required by this article and pay any tax due with such\nreturn, but the taxicab owner shall not be relieved of liability for\ntax, penalty or interest due under this article, or for the filing of\nreturns required to be filed, unless the agent has timely filed accurate\nreturns and timely paid the tax required to be paid under this article.\nIf a taxicab owner has designated an agent, then the agent must perform\nany act this article requires the taxicab owner to perform, but the\nfailure of such agent to perform any such act shall not relieve the\ntaxicab owner from the obligation to perform such act or from any\nliability that may arise from failure to perform the act.\n (2) (A) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a TSP that collects the trip\nrecord and the trip fare on behalf of a taxicab owner or a HAIL vehicle\nowner shall withhold from daily collections the taxes due on such trips,\nand shall withhold from such collections the taxes due on cash trips. If\nthe TSP's daily collections, after retaining any fees to which it is\nentitled pursuant to a contract with such taxicab owner or HAIL vehicle\nowner, are insufficient to cover the taxes due on such cash trips, the\nTSP shall withhold an amount from subsequent daily collections, to the\nextent funds are available, until all taxes due for a quarterly period\ndescribed in section twelve hundred eighty-four of this article have\nbeen withheld. If a TSP is unable to withhold all the taxes due in such\nquarterly period, it shall withhold such unwithheld taxes from daily\ncollections in the next quarterly period. A TSP shall be jointly liable\nfor the tax due on all trips for which it collects the trip record, but\nshall be relieved of liability for any taxes attributable to cash trips\nfor which it was unable to withhold the taxes due because there was\ninsufficient daily collections during four successive quarterly periods.\n (B) For any period that the TSP collects trip records on behalf of a\ntaxicab owner or HAIL vehicle owner, the TSP shall file returns\nreporting the tax due on all trips for which it collected trip records\nand shall remit the taxes withheld on all such trips and shall report\nany unwithheld taxes due because of insufficient daily collections to\ncover the taxes due on cash trips.\n (c) (1) Although the tax is imposed on the taxicab owner or the HAIL\nbase, the city or the TLC shall adopt or amend ordinances or regulations\nto ensure that the economic incidence of the tax is passed through to\npassengers, such as by increasing taxicab or HAIL vehicle trip fares.\nThe passing along of such economic incidence may not be construed by any\ncourt or administrative body as imposing the tax on any person other\nthan the taxicab owner or the HAIL base. The city or the TLC must adjust\ntrip fares to include therein the pass-through of the economic incidence\nof the tax imposed by this article, as the rate of such tax may from\ntime to time change, and must timely require that any taximeter in a\ntaxicab or HAIL vehicle used to provide trips that originate in the city\nbe adjusted to include the pass-through.\n (2) A taxicab owner or a HAIL base or HAIL vehicle owner in such city\nmust timely adjust the taximeter in any of such person's taxicabs or\nHAIL vehicles so that it reflects such pass-through as such pass-through\namount may from time to time change.\n (3) Neither the failure of such city or the TLC to adjust fares nor\nthe failure of a taxicab owner, HAIL base, HAIL vehicle owner, or other\nperson to adjust a taximeter will relieve any person liable for the tax\nimposed by this article from the obligation to pay such tax timely, at\nthe correct rate.\n (d) Nothing in this article shall be construed as limiting the\nimposition of any tax imposed by article twenty-eight of this chapter on\ntransportation service provided by a HAIL base, HAIL vehicle, or owner\nor operator of a HAIL vehicle. Nor shall anything in article\ntwenty-eight of this chapter be construed as limiting the imposition of\nany tax imposed by this article on a HAIL vehicle trip or as limiting\nthe obligation on a HAIL base to pay such tax.\n