Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Summary of Draft Tax-Free NY Proposed Legislation
Proposed Tax‐Free NY Summary of Provisions in Gov. Cuomo’s June 7, 2013 Draft Legislation
6/15/2013
TaFNY Tax Benefits
• Credit to eliminate income tax (personal/partnership)
• Credit to eliminate corporate franchise tax
• Real property tax exemption (treated as exempt educational institution property). Limited to property with educational exemption as of June 1, 2013.
• Credit/refund of sales and use tax for 120 month period
• Lease is exempt from real estate transfer taxes
• For a period of up to 10 years, eligible employees working at the site are exempt from state/NYC/Yonkers income taxes
• Also an exemption for MCTD payroll tax
Eligible Sites – SUNY/Community Colleges
• SUNY campuses, with the exception of Empire State College (except Saratoga), any property of Downstate Medical Center (except incubator property), the College of Optometry and the Maritime College
• Community colleges, except a community college whose main campus is in NYC
• Sites allowed consists of:
– vacant space and vacant land on campus
– Up to 200,000sf of vacant land owned or leased by the SUNY located within one mile of campus
– Potential certification by ommissioner of ESD of land located more than one mile from campus
Eligible Sites – CUNY
• Five CUNY campuses (one in each borough)
• Limitations on selecting campus located in area with high poverty
• Up to 200,000sf of land adjacent to the campus that is owned or leased by the CUNY
Eligible Sites – Private Colleges/Universities
• Up to 3 million sf of vacant space or vacant land on a campus of a private university or college located outside Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, or NYC
• However, each of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Brooklyn,Bronx, Queens and Staten Island will have 30,000 sf in high poverty areas
• The locations for the 30,000sf sites must be owned or leased by one of the following:
– Private college or university whose campus is in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester or NYC
– One of the SUNY institutions excluded from the SUNY category
– A community college whose main campus in is NYC
– A CUNY excluded from the five sites
Eligible Sites – Educational Institutions
• All of the educational institutions are prohibited relocating academic, administrative, housing, dining athletics or any other facilities serving students in order to create vacant space
Eligible Sites – Strategic State Assets
• The TaFNY approval board may designate up to 20 strategic state assets as designated sites
• Each site must be affiliated with and supported by an educational institution]
• No limit on the size of the designated site
• A strategic state asset does not include land or buildings located in NYC
• Includes only land and buildings which are, as of June 15, 2013, closed, vacant or for which notice
of closure has been authorized by law
Eligible Businesses
• Businesses that align with university mission
• Create and maintain net new jobs (including first year of operation)
• If a business has current operations in NYS or had operations in the last 5 years, it must apply for permission from the Commissioner of ESD to participate in TaFNY
• Excluded businesses:
– businesses providing utilities
– businesses engaged in generation or distribution of electricity, the distribution of natural gas, or the production of steam
– Retail/wholesale, restaurants, hotels
– Medical or dental practices
– Real estate brokers, accountants, attorneys
– Personal service businesses
– Finance and financial services
Approval Procedures
• The draft bill would providefor a process by which an educational institution would apply to have some
of its property designated as a TaFNY area
• The application requires a plan for the types of businesses and how these businesses align with the
educational mission of the institution
• A business desiring to participate in the program will apply first to the academic institution, which application, if approved, must be approved by the Commissioner of ESD
Welcome to the Utica Comets
Following up on the noteworthy success of Gary Heenan and the Utica College Pioneers at the refurbished Utica Aud (I miss the artwork of the bell-bottomed guitarist), we all welcome the Utica Comets to the AHL. Perfect timing with the Syracuse Crunch playoff run. Will it replace the Devils???
TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League | Home Page
TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League | Home Page
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
New York Department of Taxation and Finance Issues Guidance Regarding Annual Beer Tax Return Filing
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued guidance on June 10, 2013 regarding technical amendments that permit farm breweries to file annual beer tax returns (rather than monthly filings). These changes bring consistent treatment for farm brewers, micro-breweries and restaurant breweries. To take advantage of annual filing, a farm brewer must file an election -- Application for Annual Filing Status for Certain Beer and Wine Manufacturers.
For further information, contact:
Tim Lynn
tim@bhlawpllc.com
(315) 701-6426
For further information, contact:
Tim Lynn
tim@bhlawpllc.com
(315) 701-6426
New York Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) Round 3 Announced
New York State has commenced Round 3 of the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. Pursuant to this process, approximately $750 million will be awarded to projects located in the various economic development regions, as administered by the Regional Councils. More information can be found at CFA Application Manual 2013.
The deadline for submission is August 12, 2013.
For more information, please contact:
Tim Lynn
(315) 701-6426
Friday, June 7, 2013
Split Up New York?
In response to Gov. Cuomo's Tax-Free NY plan, James Banks, writing in policymic.com, asserts that Upstate New York's problems won't be solved by tax-free zones -- the real problem is that Upstate New York cannot thrive in a tax and regulatory environment designed for NYC:
Tax-Free NY Isn't Upstate New York's Solution
While his thoughts and critiques about the problem are convincing, I am not sure, at this point, Upstate New York could survive secession. At one time, Upstate probably did fund the NYC morass. That day has passed. Would a state of 7 million residents with a struggling economy, exodus of population and loss of identity thrive in the 21st century? Would the residents accept Medicaid cuts, decreases in hospital funding, additional prison closures, management of a massive complex of state facilities and a myriad of other financial problems?
Tax-Free NY Isn't Upstate New York's Solution
While his thoughts and critiques about the problem are convincing, I am not sure, at this point, Upstate New York could survive secession. At one time, Upstate probably did fund the NYC morass. That day has passed. Would a state of 7 million residents with a struggling economy, exodus of population and loss of identity thrive in the 21st century? Would the residents accept Medicaid cuts, decreases in hospital funding, additional prison closures, management of a massive complex of state facilities and a myriad of other financial problems?
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
ALERT: COURT OF APPEALS STRIKES RETROACTIVE DECERTIFICATION OF EMPIRE ZONE ENTERPRISES
On June 4, 2013,
the New York Court of Appeals issued its decision in Matter of WL, LLC v.
Dep’t of Economic Development, et al., striking down retroactive
decertification of Empire Zone certified business enterprises. The case arises out of the June 2009
decertification by the Commissioner of Economic Development of hundreds of
Empire Zone enterprises. The
Commissioner made such decertifications effective as of January 1, 2008,
thereby attempting to deprive these business enterprises of certain Empire Zone
tax credits for the 2008 tax year. The
Court wrote, “[R]etroactively denying tax credits to plaintiffs did nothing to
spur investment, to create jobs, or to prevent prior shirt-changing. The retroactive application of the 2009
Amendments simply punished the Program participants more harshly for behavior
that already occurred and they could not alter.”
The decision
could have broad ramifications.
Decertified business enterprises that preserved their rights to seek
2008 Empire Zone benefits are likely to use the decision as a basis to claim
those benefits. Business enterprises
that did not challenge their decertification administratively or through
litigation may also seek to use the decision to claim 2008 benefits, provided
affected taxpayers have a procedural method under applicable tax rules to
assert their claims..
It is noteworthy
that the Court has not addressed the validity of the decertifications of the
alleged (and so-called) “shirt-changers” other than to indicate that those
decertifications could not be retroactive to 2008. Numerous pending cases challenge these
decertifications on grounds not addressed in the Court’s decision, and those
cases remain open and will likely continue to be litigated.
For further
information, contact:
Tim Lynn
(315) 701-6426
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
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