NY Tax L § 184 (2021)
2021 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 not be taxed under the provisions of this article. 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)  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.   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.