2020 New York Laws
TAX - Tax
Article 9 - Corporation Tax
184 - Additional Franchise Tax on Transportation and Transmission Corporations and Associations.
§ 184. Additional franchise tax on transportation and transmission
corporations and associations.-- 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), 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 of such businesses, and every corporation, joint-stock
company or association formed for or principally engaged in the conduct
of surface railroad, whether or not operated by steam, subway railroad,
elevated railroad, palace car, sleeping car or trucking business or
formed for 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 formed for or principally engaged in the conduct of two or
more of 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 and for the privilege of
exercising its corporate franchise, or of doing business, or of
employing capital, or of owning or leasing property in this state in a
corporate or organized capacity, or maintaining an office in this state,
shall pay a franchise tax which shall be equal to three-eighths of one
percent for taxable years commencing after two thousand, upon its gross
earnings from all sources within this state; except that, for taxable
years commencing on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety,
every corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of local telephone business, or
telegraph business shall pay a franchise tax which shall be equal to
three-eighths of one percent for taxable years commencing after two
thousand, upon its gross earnings from all sources within this state,
except that a corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for
or principally engaged in the conduct of a local telephone business
shall exclude the following earnings (but not in any event earnings
derived by such taxpayer from the provision of carrier access services)
derived by such taxpayer from sales for ultimate consumption of
telecommunications service to its customers (i) thirty percent of
separately charged intra-LATA toll service (which shall also include
interregion regional calling plan service) and (ii) one hundred percent
of separately charged inter-LATA, interstate or international
telecommunications service; and except that corporations, joint-stock
companies or associations 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), navigation or any corporation formed for or
principally engaged in the operation of vessels, shall pay a franchise
tax which shall be equal to three-quarters of one per centum upon its
gross earnings from all sources within this state, excluding earnings
derived from business of an interstate or foreign character; except that
for taxable years beginning in nineteen hundred ninety-seven or
thereafter, in the case of a corporation, joint-stock company or
association which, with respect to taxable years beginning after
nineteen hundred ninety-seven, has made an election pursuant to
subdivision ten of section one hundred eighty-three of this article and
which is formed for or principally engaged in the conduct of surface
railroad, whether or not operated by steam, subway railroad, elevated
railroad, palace car, sleeping car or trucking business or formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of two or more of such businesses,
such corporation, joint-stock company or association shall pay a
franchise tax which shall be equal to three-eighths of one percent for
taxable years commencing after two thousand, upon its gross earnings
from all sources within this state, provided that in the case of a
corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of surface railroad, whether or not
operated by steam, subway railroad, elevated railroad, palace car or
sleeping car business, or formed for or principally engaged in the
conduct of two or more of such businesses, such gross earnings shall not
include earnings derived from business of an interstate or foreign
character.
Provided, however, with respect to railroad, elevated railroad, palace
car or sleeping car business or any other corporation formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of a railroad business and 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),
navigation or any corporation formed for or principally engaged in the
operation of vessels where the gross earnings from such transportation
business both originating and terminating within this state and
traversing both this state and another state or states or country shall
be subject to the franchise tax imposed by this section (except where
such corporation, joint-stock company or association is formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of a railroad (including surface
railroad, whether or not operated by steam, subway railroad or elevated
railroad), palace car or sleeping car business or formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of two or more of such businesses,
and has not made the election provided for under subdivision ten of
section one hundred eighty-three of this article) and such earnings
shall be allocated to this state in the same ratio that the mileage
within the state bears to the total mileage of such business. Provided,
further, a corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or
principally engaged in the transportation, transmission or distribution
of gas, electricity or steam shall not be subject to tax under this
section or section one hundred eighty-three of this article.
The term "local telephone business" means the provision or furnishing
of telecommunication services for hire wherein the service furnished by
the provider thereof consists of carrier access service or the service
originates and terminates within the same local access and transport
area ("LATA"), a local access and transport area being that geographic
area as established and approved, and as so set and in existence on July
first, nineteen hundred ninety-four, pursuant to the modification of
final judgment in United States v. Western Electric Company (civil
action no. 82-0192) in the United States district court for the District
of Columbia or within the LATA-like Rochester non-associated independent
area.
The term "telecommunication services" shall have the meaning ascribed
to such term in section one hundred eighty-six-e of this article.
1-a. Where a taxpayer is a partner, member or associate of a publicly
traded partnership or an association which is subject to the tax imposed
under this section, the amount to be included in such taxpayer's gross
earnings with respect to such partnership or association shall be the
amount received with respect to such partnership or association which is
required to be reported as dividends to the United States treasury
department.
2. (a) During the period that the state tax on motor fuel, computed
without regard to any reimbursement allowable under paragraph (d) of
subdivision three of section two hundred eighty-nine-c of this chapter,
exceeds two cents per gallon the corporations herein classed as
"taxicab" and "omnibus", other than corporations described in paragraph
(b) of this subdivision, shall be taxed under the provisions of article
nine-a of the tax law and as other business corporations are taxed and
not upon their gross receipts. (b) (1) A corporation classed as a "taxicab" or "omnibus",
(i) which is organized, incorporated or formed under the laws of any
other state, country or sovereignty, and
(ii) which neither owns nor leases property in this state in a
corporate or organized capacity, nor
(iii) maintains an office in this state in a corporate or organized
capacity, but
(iv) which is doing business or employing capital in this state by
conducting at least one but fewer than twelve trips into this state
during the calendar year,
shall annually pay a tax equal to fifteen dollars for each trip
conducted into this state. If the only property a corporation owns or
leases in this state is a vehicle or vehicles used to conduct trips, it
shall not be considered, for purposes of clause (ii) of this
subparagraph, to be owning or leasing property in this state.
(2) The commissioner of taxation and finance may prescribe such forms
as he may deem necessary to report such tax in a simplified manner.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, a corporation classed as a
"taxicab" or "omnibus" shall be considered to be conducting a trip into
New York state when one of its vehicles enters New York state and
transports passengers to, from, or to and from a location in New York
state. A corporation shall not be considered to be conducting a trip
into New York state if its vehicle only makes incidental stops at
locations in the state while in transit from a location outside New York
state to another location outside New York state. The number of trips a
corporation conducts into New York state shall be calculated by
determining the number of trips each vehicle owned, leased or operated
by the corporation conducts into New York state and adding those numbers
together.
(4) Provided, however, that the provisions of this paragraph shall not
apply to any corporation which does not file its franchise tax report in
a timely manner (determined with regard to any extension of time for
filing).
3. Any corporation, joint-stock company or association formed for or
principally engaged in the conduct of subway railroad, elevated
railroad, or surface railroad not operated by steam, business, whose
property is leased to another railroad corporation, shall only be
required under this section to pay an annual tax at the rate of four and
one-half per centum upon the dividends paid during the year ending on
the thirty-first day of December in excess of four per centum upon the
amount of its capital stock, provided, however, that for the year ending
on the thirty-first day of December nineteen hundred seventy-six, as
described in subdivision two of section one hundred ninety-two of this
chapter, the tax shall be paid upon dividends paid during the months of
July through December of such year in excess of two per centum upon the
amount of its capital stock, except that where the property leased is
operated by a receiver and the gross earnings are not included with the
gross earnings of the lessee for the purposes of taxation under this
section, then such receiver shall be required to pay the tax upon gross
earnings as hereinbefore provided.
4. Allocation of gross earnings from transportation and transmission
services.--(a) General. A transportation or transmission corporation
shall determine its gross earnings from transportation and transmission
services within this state (except as otherwise provided for in this
subdivision) by multiplying its gross earnings from transportation and
transmission within and without the state by a fraction, the numerator
of which is the taxpayer's mileage within this state and the denominator
of which is the taxpayer's mileage within and without this state during
the period covered by the report or reports required by this chapter.
(b) Corporations engaged in the operation of vessels. A corporation
principally engaged in the operation of vessels shall determine its
gross earnings from transportation services within this state during the
period covered by the report or reports required by this chapter by
multiplying its gross earnings from transportation services within and
without this state 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 this state and in New
York territorial waters to the aggregate number of working days of all
the vessels it owns or leases during such period.
(c) Telephone and telegraph corporations. A telephone or telegraph
corporation shall determine its gross earnings from transmission
services within this state during the period covered by the report or
reports required by this chapter by totaling its gross operating revenue
from transmission services performed wholly within this state plus the
portion of revenue from interstate and foreign transmission service
attributable to this state during such report period.
(d) All other gross earnings, if any, shall be allocated to this state
in the manner prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated by the tax
commission.
(e) 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 this state, the
tax commission shall prescribe methods of allocation or apportionment
which fairly and equitably reflect gross earnings from all sources
within this state. 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.
7-a. A railroad, palace car or sleeping car corporation, navigation,
canal, ferry (except a ferry company operating between any of the
boroughs of the city of New York under a lease granted by the city),
steamboat, or any other corporation formed for or principally engaged in
the operation of vessels whose only activity in this state is (i) the
maintenance of an office in this state and for the employing of capital
in this state and (ii) the use of property exclusively in interstate or
foreign commerce, shall not be subject to the tax imposed by this
section.
