2023 New York Laws › TAX - Tax › Article 11 - Tax on Mortgages › 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
in this state having a population of one million or more, acting through
its local legislative body, is hereby authorized and empowered to  adopt
and  amend  local  laws  imposing in any such city (A) prior to February
first, nineteen hundred eighty-two a tax of fifty cents, (B) on or after
February first, nineteen  hundred  eighty-two  and  before  July  first,
nineteen hundred eighty-two with respect to (i) one, two or three-family
houses,  individual  cooperative  apartments  and individual residential
condominium units, and (ii) real property securing a principal  debt  or
obligation  of  less  than five hundred thousand dollars, a tax of fifty
cents, and with respect to all other real property a tax of  one  dollar
and  twelve  and  one-half  cents, (C) on and after July first, nineteen
hundred eighty-two and before August first, nineteen hundred ninety with
respect to real property securing a principal debt or obligation of less
than five hundred thousand dollars, a tax of fifty cents,  with  respect
to  one,  two  or three-family houses, individual cooperative apartments
and individual residential condominium units securing a  principal  debt
or  obligation  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  or  more, a tax of
sixty-two and one-half  cents,  and  with  respect  to  all  other  real
property a tax of one dollar and twenty-five cents, and (D) on and after
August  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety  with respect to real property
securing a principal debt  or  obligation  of  less  than  five  hundred
thousand  dollars,  a  tax  of  one  dollar, with respect to one, two or
three-family  houses  and  individual  residential   condominium   units
securing a principal debt or obligation of five hundred thousand dollars
or  more,  a  tax  of one dollar and twelve and one-half cents, and with
respect to all other real property a tax of one dollar and  seventy-five
cents,  for  each  one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction
thereof  of  principal  debt  or  obligation  which  is  or  under   any
contingency  may  be secured at the date of execution thereof, or at any
time thereafter, by a mortgage on such  real  property  situated  within
such  city  and  recorded on or after the date upon which such tax takes
effect and a tax of one dollar on such mortgage if the principal debt or
obligation which is or  by  any  contingency  may  be  secured  by  such
mortgage  is  less  than one hundred dollars. In each instance where the
tax imposed pursuant to this subdivision is one dollar  and  twenty-five
cents  for  each  one  hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction
thereof of such principal debt or obligation, fifty percent of the total
amount of such tax, including fifty percent of any interest or penalties
thereon, shall be set aside in a special account by the commissioner  of
finance of such city. In each instance where the tax imposed pursuant to
this  subdivision  is  one  dollar  and  seventy-five cents for each one
hundred dollars and  each  remaining  major  fraction  thereof  of  such
principal  debt  or  obligation, thirty-five and seven-tenths percent of
the total amount of such tax,  including  thirty-five  and  seven-tenths
percent of any interest or penalties thereon, shall also be set aside in
such  special  account. Moneys in such account shall be used for payment
by such commissioner to the state comptroller for deposit in  the  urban
mass  transit  operating  assistance  account of the mass transportation
operating assistance fund of any amount of  insufficiency  certified  by
the  state  comptroller pursuant to the provisions of subdivision six of
section eighty-eight-a of the state finance law, and, on  the  fifteenth
day  of  each  month, such commissioner shall transmit all funds in such
account on the last day  of  the  preceding  month,  except  the  amount
required for the payment of any amount of insufficiency certified by the
state  comptroller and such amount as he deems necessary for refunds and
such other amounts necessary to finance the New York city transportation
disabled  committee  and  the  New  York  city  paratransit  system   as

established  by  section  fifteen-b of the transportation law, provided,
however, that such amounts shall not exceed six  percent  of  the  total
funds  in  the  account  but  in  no  event  be  less  than  two hundred
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  beginning  April first, nineteen hundred
eighty-six, and further  that  beginning  November  fifteenth,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-four  and during the entire period prior to operation of
such system, the total of such amounts shall not  exceed  three  hundred
seventy-five  thousand  dollars  for the administrative expenses of such
committee and fifty thousand dollars for  the  expenses  of  the  agency
designated  pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision five of such section,
and other amounts necessary  to  finance  the  operating  needs  of  the
private bus companies franchised by the city of New York and eligible to
receive  state  operating  assistance  under  section  eighteen-b of the
transportation law, provided,  however,  that  such  amounts  shall  not
exceed  four  percent of the total funds in the account, to the New York
city transit authority for mass transit within the city.
2. (a) For the purpose of determining whether a mortgage is subject to
the tax authorized to be imposed by paragraph (B) or (C) of  subdivision
one  of this section at a rate in excess of fifty cents, or by paragraph
(D) of subdivision one of this section  at  a  rate  in  excess  of  one
dollar,  for  each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction
thereof  of  principal  debt  or  obligation,  the  principal  debt   or
obligation  which is or under any contingency may be secured at the date
of execution thereof, or at any time thereafter, by such mortgage  shall
be  aggregated  with  the principal debt or obligation which is or under
any contingency may be secured at the date of execution thereof,  or  at
any  time  thereafter,  by any other mortgage, where such mortgages form
part of the same or related transactions and have the  same  or  related
mortgagors.  If  the  commissioner  of taxation and finance finds that a
mortgage transaction or mortgage transactions have been  formulated  for
the  purpose  of  avoiding  or  evading  a  rate of tax authorized to be
imposed under subdivision one of this section in excess  of  the  lowest
such  authorized rate, rather than solely for an independent business or
financial purpose, such commissioner shall treat all  of  the  mortgages
forming  part  of  such transaction or transactions as a single mortgage
for the purpose of determining the applicable rate of tax. For  purposes
of  this  subdivision,  there  shall be a presumption that all mortgages
offered for recording within  a  period  of  twelve  consecutive  months
having the same or related mortgagors are part of a related transaction,
and  such  presumption  may  be  rebutted only with clear and convincing
evidence to the contrary. The commissioner of taxation and  finance  may
require  such  affidavits  and  forms,  and may prescribe such rules and
regulations, as he determines to be necessary to enforce the  provisions
of this subdivision.
(b)  The  term "related", when used in this subdivision with reference
to mortgagors, shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following
relationships:
(i)  members  of  a  family,  including  spouses,  ancestors,   lineal
descendants,  and  brothers  and  sisters  (whether by the whole or half
blood);
(ii) a shareholder and a corporation more than fifty  percent  of  the
value  of the outstanding stock of which is owned or controlled directly
or indirectly by such shareholder;
(iii) a partner and a partnership  more  than  fifty  percent  of  the
capital  or profits interest in which is owned or controlled directly or
indirectly by such partner;
(iv) a beneficiary  and  a  trust  more  than  fifty  percent  of  the
beneficial  interest  in  which  is  owned  or  controlled  directly  or
indirectly by such beneficiary;
(v)  two  or more corporations, partnerships, associations, or trusts,
or any combination  thereof,  which  are  owned  or  controlled,  either
directly or indirectly, by the same person, corporation or other entity,
or interests; and
(vi) a grantor of a trust and such trust.
* 4.  The  taxes  imposed under the authority of this section shall be
administered and collected in the same manner as the taxes imposed under
subdivision one of section two hundred fifty-three and paragraph (b)  of
subdivision  one  of  section  two  hundred  fifty-five of this chapter.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, all the provisions of this
article relating to or applicable to the administration  and  collection
of  the  taxes  imposed  by  such  subdivisions shall apply to the taxes
imposed under the authority of this section with such  modifications  as
may  be  necessary to adapt such language to the tax so authorized. Such
provisions shall apply with the  same  force  and  effect  as  if  those
provisions  had  been  set  forth  in full in this section except to the
extent that any provision is either inconsistent  with  a  provision  of
this  section or not relevant to the tax authorized by this section. For
purposes of this section, any reference in this article to  the  tax  or
taxes  imposed by this article shall be deemed to refer to a tax imposed
pursuant to this section, and any reference to the phrase  "within  this
state"  shall  be  read  as  "within  a  city imposing a tax pursuant to
section two  hundred  fifty-three-a",  unless  a  different  meaning  is
clearly required.
* NB Amended as sub 4;should be sub 3
4.  Where the real property covered by the mortgage subject to the tax
imposed pursuant to the authority of this section is  situated  in  this
state  but  within  and  without a city imposing such tax, the amount of
such tax due and payable to such city shall be determined  in  a  manner
similar to that prescribed in the first paragraph of section two hundred
sixty  which  concerns  real  property situated in two or more counties.
Where such property is situated both within such city  and  without  the
state,  the  amount  due and payable to such city shall be determined in
the manner prescribed in the second paragraph  of  section  two  hundred
sixty  which  concerns  property  situated within and without the state.
Where real property is situated within and  without  the  city  imposing
such  tax,  the  recording  officer  of  the  jurisdiction  in which the
mortgage is first recorded  shall  be  required  to  collect  the  taxes
imposed pursuant to this section.
5. A tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this section shall be in
addition to the taxes imposed by section two hundred fifty-three.
6.  Any  local  law  imposing  a tax pursuant to the authority of this
section or repealing or suspending such a tax shall take effect only  on
the  first  day  of  a  calendar  month.  Such  a local law shall not be
effective unless a certified copy thereof is  mailed  by  registered  or
certified  mail  to  the state tax commission at its office in Albany at
least sixty days prior to the date the  local  law  shall  take  effect.
However,  the  tax commission may waive and reduce such sixty-day notice
requirement to a requirement that  such  certified  copy  be  mailed  by
registered  or  certified  mail  within a period of not less than thirty
days prior to such  effective  date  if  it  deems  such  action  to  be
consistent with its duties under this section.
7.  Certified  copies of any local law described in this section shall
also be filed with the city clerk, the secretary of state and the  state
comptroller within five days after the date it is duly enacted.