§ 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\nin this state having a population of one million or more, acting through\nits local legislative body, is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt\nand amend local laws imposing in any such city (A) prior to February\nfirst, nineteen hundred eighty-two a tax of fifty cents, (B) on or after\nFebruary first, nineteen hundred eighty-two and before July first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-two with respect to (i) one, two or three-family\nhouses, individual cooperative apartments and individual residential\ncondominium units, and (ii) real property securing a principal debt or\nobligation of less than five hundred thousand dollars, a tax of fifty\ncents, and with respect to all other real property a tax of one dollar\nand twelve and one-half cents, (C) on and after July first, nineteen\nhundred eighty-two and before August first, nineteen hundred ninety with\nrespect to real property securing a principal debt or obligation of less\nthan five hundred thousand dollars, a tax of fifty cents, with respect\nto one, two or three-family houses, individual cooperative apartments\nand individual residential condominium units securing a principal debt\nor obligation of five hundred thousand dollars or more, a tax of\nsixty-two and one-half cents, and with respect to all other real\nproperty a tax of one dollar and twenty-five cents, and (D) on and after\nAugust first, nineteen hundred ninety with respect to real property\nsecuring a principal debt or obligation of less than five hundred\nthousand dollars, a tax of one dollar, with respect to one, two or\nthree-family houses and individual residential condominium units\nsecuring a principal debt or obligation of five hundred thousand dollars\nor more, a tax of one dollar and twelve and one-half cents, and with\nrespect to all other real property a tax of one dollar and seventy-five\ncents, for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction\nthereof of principal debt or obligation which is or under any\ncontingency may be secured at the date of execution thereof, or at any\ntime thereafter, by a mortgage on such real property situated within\nsuch city and recorded on or after the date upon which such tax takes\neffect and a tax of one dollar on such mortgage if the principal debt or\nobligation which is or by any contingency may be secured by such\nmortgage is less than one hundred dollars. In each instance where the\ntax imposed pursuant to this subdivision is one dollar and twenty-five\ncents for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction\nthereof of such principal debt or obligation, fifty percent of the total\namount of such tax, including fifty percent of any interest or penalties\nthereon, shall be set aside in a special account by the commissioner of\nfinance of such city. In each instance where the tax imposed pursuant to\nthis subdivision is one dollar and seventy-five cents for each one\nhundred dollars and each remaining major fraction thereof of such\nprincipal debt or obligation, thirty-five and seven-tenths percent of\nthe total amount of such tax, including thirty-five and seven-tenths\npercent of any interest or penalties thereon, shall also be set aside in\nsuch special account. Moneys in such account shall be used for payment\nby such commissioner to the state comptroller for deposit in the urban\nmass transit operating assistance account of the mass transportation\noperating assistance fund of any amount of insufficiency certified by\nthe state comptroller pursuant to the provisions of subdivision six of\nsection eighty-eight-a of the state finance law, and, on the fifteenth\nday of each month, such commissioner shall transmit all funds in such\naccount on the last day of the preceding month, except the amount\nrequired for the payment of any amount of insufficiency certified by the\nstate comptroller and such amount as he deems necessary for refunds and\nsuch other amounts necessary to finance the New York city transportation\ndisabled committee and the New York city paratransit system as\nestablished by section fifteen-b of the transportation law, provided,\nhowever, that such amounts shall not exceed six percent of the total\nfunds in the account but in no event be less than two hundred\ntwenty-five thousand dollars beginning April first, nineteen hundred\neighty-six, and further that beginning November fifteenth, nineteen\nhundred eighty-four and during the entire period prior to operation of\nsuch system, the total of such amounts shall not exceed three hundred\nseventy-five thousand dollars for the administrative expenses of such\ncommittee and fifty thousand dollars for the expenses of the agency\ndesignated pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision five of such section,\nand other amounts necessary to finance the operating needs of the\nprivate bus companies franchised by the city of New York and eligible to\nreceive state operating assistance under section eighteen-b of the\ntransportation law, provided, however, that such amounts shall not\nexceed four percent of the total funds in the account, to the New York\ncity transit authority for mass transit within the city.\n 2. (a) For the purpose of determining whether a mortgage is subject to\nthe tax authorized to be imposed by paragraph (B) or (C) of subdivision\none of this section at a rate in excess of fifty cents, or by paragraph\n(D) of subdivision one of this section at a rate in excess of one\ndollar, for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction\nthereof of principal debt or obligation, the principal debt or\nobligation which is or under any contingency may be secured at the date\nof execution thereof, or at any time thereafter, by such mortgage shall\nbe aggregated with the principal debt or obligation which is or under\nany contingency may be secured at the date of execution thereof, or at\nany time thereafter, by any other mortgage, where such mortgages form\npart of the same or related transactions and have the same or related\nmortgagors. If the commissioner of taxation and finance finds that a\nmortgage transaction or mortgage transactions have been formulated for\nthe purpose of avoiding or evading a rate of tax authorized to be\nimposed under subdivision one of this section in excess of the lowest\nsuch authorized rate, rather than solely for an independent business or\nfinancial purpose, such commissioner shall treat all of the mortgages\nforming part of such transaction or transactions as a single mortgage\nfor the purpose of determining the applicable rate of tax. For purposes\nof this subdivision, there shall be a presumption that all mortgages\noffered for recording within a period of twelve consecutive months\nhaving the same or related mortgagors are part of a related transaction,\nand such presumption may be rebutted only with clear and convincing\nevidence to the contrary. The commissioner of taxation and finance may\nrequire such affidavits and forms, and may prescribe such rules and\nregulations, as he determines to be necessary to enforce the provisions\nof this subdivision.\n (b) The term "related", when used in this subdivision with reference\nto mortgagors, shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following\nrelationships:\n (i) members of a family, including spouses, ancestors, lineal\ndescendants, and brothers and sisters (whether by the whole or half\nblood);\n (ii) a shareholder and a corporation more than fifty percent of the\nvalue of the outstanding stock of which is owned or controlled directly\nor indirectly by such shareholder;\n (iii) a partner and a partnership more than fifty percent of the\ncapital or profits interest in which is owned or controlled directly or\nindirectly by such partner;\n (iv) a beneficiary and a trust more than fifty percent of the\nbeneficial interest in which is owned or controlled directly or\nindirectly by such beneficiary;\n (v) two or more corporations, partnerships, associations, or trusts,\nor any combination thereof, which are owned or controlled, either\ndirectly or indirectly, by the same person, corporation or other entity,\nor interests; and\n (vi) a grantor of a trust and such trust.\n * 4. The taxes imposed under the authority of this section shall be\nadministered and collected in the same manner as the taxes imposed under\nsubdivision one of section two hundred fifty-three and paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision one of section two hundred fifty-five of this chapter.\nExcept as otherwise provided in this section, all the provisions of this\narticle relating to or applicable to the administration and collection\nof the taxes imposed by such subdivisions shall apply to the taxes\nimposed under the authority of this section with such modifications as\nmay be necessary to adapt such language to the tax so authorized. Such\nprovisions shall apply with the same force and effect as if those\nprovisions had been set forth in full in this section except to the\nextent that any provision is either inconsistent with a provision of\nthis section or not relevant to the tax authorized by this section. For\npurposes of this section, any reference in this article to the tax or\ntaxes imposed by this article shall be deemed to refer to a tax imposed\npursuant to this section, and any reference to the phrase "within this\nstate" shall be read as "within a city imposing a tax pursuant to\nsection two hundred fifty-three-a", unless a different meaning is\nclearly required.\n * NB Amended as sub 4;should be sub 3\n 4. Where the real property covered by the mortgage subject to the tax\nimposed pursuant to the authority of this section is situated in this\nstate but within and without a city imposing such tax, the amount of\nsuch tax due and payable to such city shall be determined in a manner\nsimilar to that prescribed in the first paragraph of section two hundred\nsixty which concerns real property situated in two or more counties.\nWhere such property is situated both within such city and without the\nstate, the amount due and payable to such city shall be determined in\nthe manner prescribed in the second paragraph of section two hundred\nsixty which concerns property situated within and without the state.\nWhere real property is situated within and without the city imposing\nsuch tax, the recording officer of the jurisdiction in which the\nmortgage is first recorded shall be required to collect the taxes\nimposed pursuant to this section.\n 5. A tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this section shall be in\naddition to the taxes imposed by section two hundred fifty-three.\n 6. Any local law imposing a tax pursuant to the authority of this\nsection or repealing or suspending such a tax shall take effect only on\nthe first day of a calendar month. Such a local law shall not be\neffective unless a certified copy thereof is mailed by registered or\ncertified mail to the state tax commission at its office in Albany at\nleast sixty days prior to the date the local law shall take effect.\nHowever, the tax commission may waive and reduce such sixty-day notice\nrequirement to a requirement that such certified copy be mailed by\nregistered or certified mail within a period of not less than thirty\ndays prior to such effective date if it deems such action to be\nconsistent with its duties under this section.\n 7. Certified copies of any local law described in this section shall\nalso be filed with the city clerk, the secretary of state and the state\ncomptroller within five days after the date it is duly enacted.\n