S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2279
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 15, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
         on Real Property Taxation
       AN  ACT  to  amend the real property tax law, in relation to prohibiting
         tax credits against real property tax for franchise fees collected and
         remitted by cable television companies to assessing units
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 626 of the real property tax law,
    2  as further amended by subdivision (b) of section 1 of part W of  chapter
    3  56  of  the laws of 2010, is amended and a new subdivision 5 is added to
    4  read as follows:
    5    1. When a tax levied on a special franchise is due  in  any  assessing
    6  unit,  if  the  special franchise owner has paid such assessing unit for
    7  its exclusive use during the past year under any  agreement  or  statute
    8  requiring  the  same, a sum based upon a percentage of gross earnings or
    9  other income, a license fee, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION  FIVE  OF
   10  THIS SECTION, or other sum of money on account of such special franchise
   11  possessed  by  such  special  franchise  owner, which payment was in the
   12  nature of a tax, all amounts so paid  for  the  exclusive  use  of  such
   13  assessing  unit,  except  money paid or expended for paving or repairing
   14  the pavement of a street, highway or public place, and except in a  city
   15  having a population of one hundred seventy-five thousand or more accord-
   16  ing to the latest federal census, car license fees or tolls paid for the
   17  privilege of crossing a bridge owned by the city, shall be deducted from
   18  the tax based on the assessment made by the commissioner for purposes of
   19  the  assessing  unit,  but not otherwise, and the remainder shall be the
   20  tax on such special franchise payable for such purposes.
   21    5. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING PROVISIONS, A CABLE TELEVISION COMPA-
   22  NY, AS DEFINED IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWELVE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE  LAW,
   23  THAT  IS  A  SPECIAL  FRANCHISE  OWNER  AND  COLLECTS A LICENSE FEE FROM
   24  SUBSCRIBERS SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED ANY CREDIT PURSUANT TO  THE  PROVISIONS
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06161-01-5
       A. 2279                             2
    1  OF  THIS  SECTION AGAINST THE AMOUNT OF REAL PROPERTY TAX, DETERMINED BY
    2  ITS CURRENT SPECIAL FRANCHISE ASSESSMENT, DUE TO THE ASSESSING UNIT WITH
    3  WHICH SUCH CABLE TELEVISION COMPANY MAINTAINS A SPECIAL FRANCHISE AGREE-
    4  MENT.
    5    S  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    6  ing the date on which it shall have become a  law  and  shall  apply  to
    7  assessment  rolls  with taxable status dates occurring on and after such
    8  date.