§ 2 — Definitions

§ 2. Definitions. 1. Unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the\ncontext or subject matter otherwise requires, "tax department" or\n"department", as used in this chapter, means the department of taxation\nand finance, "commissioner" means the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance or his delegate, and "tax commission" or "commission", in all\nmatters pertaining to the administration of the division of tax appeals,\nmeans the tax appeals tribunal and in all other matters means the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance.\n 2. "Comptroller" as used in this chapter means the state comptroller.\n 3. "County treasurer" includes any officer performing the duties\ndevolving upon such office under whatever name.\n 4. "Infant" or "minor" as used in this chapter means a person who has\nnot attained the age of eighteen years.\n 5. The term "limited liability company" means a domestic limited\nliability company or a foreign limited liability company, as defined in\nsection one hundred two of the limited liability company law, a limited\nliability investment company formed pursuant to section five hundred\nseven of the banking law, or a limited liability trust company formed\npursuant to section one hundred two-a of the banking law.\n 6. "Partnership and partner," unless the context requires otherwise,\nshall include, but shall not be limited to, a limited liability company\nand a member thereof, respectively.\n 7. "REIT" means a real estate investment trust as defined in section\neight hundred fifty-six of the internal revenue code.\n 8. "RIC" means a regulated investment company as defined in section\neight hundred fifty-one of the internal revenue code.\n 9. "Captive REIT" means a REIT that is not regularly traded on an\nestablished securities market, and ( more than fifty percent of the\nvoting stock of which is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by\na single entity treated as an association taxable as a corporation under\nthe Internal Revenue Code that is not exempt from federal income tax and\nis not a REIT. Any voting stock in a REIT that is held in a segregated\nasset account of a life insurance corporation (as described in section\n817 of the internal revenue code) shall not be taken into account for\npurposes of determining whether a REIT is a captive REIT. None of the\nfollowing entities shall be considered an association taxable as a\ncorporation for purposes of this subdivision:\n (a) any listed Australian property trust (meaning an Australian unit\ntrust registered as a "managed investment scheme" under the Australian\nCorporations Act in which the principal class of units is listed on a\nrecognized stock exchange in Australia and is regularly traded on an\nestablished securities market), or an entity organized as a trust,\nprovided that a listed Australian property trust owns or controls,\ndirectly or indirectly, seventy-five percent or more of the voting power\nor value of the beneficial interests or shares of such trust; or\n (b) any qualified foreign entity, meaning a corporation, trust,\nassociation or partnership organized outside the laws of the United\nStates and which satisfies the following criteria:\n (i) at least seventy-five percent of the entity's total asset value at\nthe close of its taxable year is represented by real estate assets (as\ndefined at subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subsection (c) of\nsection eight hundred fifty-six of the internal revenue code, thereby\nincluding shares or certificates of beneficial interest in any real\nestate investment trust), cash and cash equivalents, and United States\nGovernment securities;\n (ii) the entity is not subject to tax on amounts distributed to its\nbeneficial owners, or is exempt from entity-level taxation;\n (iii) the entity distributes at least eight-five percent of its\ntaxable income (as computed in the jurisdiction in which it is\norganized) to the holders of its shares or certificates of beneficial\ninterest on an annual basis;\n (iv) not more than ten percent of the voting power or value in such\nentity is held directly or indirectly or constructively by a single\nentity or individual, or the shares or beneficial interests of such\nentity are regularly traded on an established securities market; and\n (v) the entity is organized in a country which has a tax treaty with\nthe United States.\n 10. "Captive RIC" means a RIC (a) that is not regularly traded on an\nestablished securities market, and (b) more than fifty percent of the\nvoting stock of which is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by\na single corporation that is not exempt from federal income tax and is\nnot a RIC. Any voting stock in a RIC that is held in a segregated asset\naccount of a life insurance corporation (as described in section 817 of\nthe internal revenue code) shall not be taken into account for purposes\nof determining whether a RIC is a captive RIC.\n 11. The term "combinable captive insurance company" means an entity\nthat is treated as an association taxable as a corporation under the\ninternal revenue code (a) more than fifty percent of the voting stock of\nwhich is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a single entity\nthat is treated as an association taxable as a corporation under the\ninternal revenue code and not exempt from federal income tax; (b) that\nis licensed as a captive insurance company under the laws of this state\nor another jurisdiction; (c) whose business includes providing, directly\nand indirectly, insurance or reinsurance covering the risks of its\nparent and/or members of its affiliated group; and (d) fifty percent or\nless of whose gross receipts for the taxable year consist of premiums\nfrom arrangements that constitute insurance for federal income tax\npurposes. For purposes of this subdivision, "affiliated group" has the\nsame meaning as that term is given in section 1504 of the internal\nrevenue code, except that the term "common parent corporation" in that\nsection is deemed to mean any person, as defined in section 7701 of the\ninternal revenue code and references to "at least eighty percent" in\nsection 1504 of the internal revenue code are to be read as "fifty\npercent or more;" section 1504 of the internal revenue code is to be\nread without regard to the exclusions provided for in subsection (b) of\nthat section; "premiums" has the same meaning as that term is given in\nparagraph one of subdivision (c) of section fifteen hundred ten of this\nchapter, except that it includes consideration for annuity contracts and\nexcludes any part of the consideration for insurance, reinsurance or\nannuity contracts that do not provide bona fide insurance, reinsurance\nor annuity benefits; and "gross receipts" includes the amounts included\nin gross receipts for purposes of section 501(c) (15) of the internal\nrevenue code, except that those amounts also include all premiums as\ndefined in this subdivision.\n