* § 1202-l. Hotel or motel taxes in Niagara Falls. (1) Notwithstanding
any other provisions of law to the contrary, the city of Niagara Falls
is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend local laws
imposing in such city a tax in addition to any tax authorized and
imposed pursuant to this article such as the legislature has or would
have the power and authority to impose on persons occupying hotel and
motel rooms in such city. The rate of such tax shall be six per centum
(6%) per day of the rent or charge for each room; provided, however,
such tax shall not be applicable to a permanent resident of a hotel. For
the purposes of this section, the term "permanent resident" shall mean a
person occupying any room or rooms in a hotel for at least thirty
consecutive days.

(2) Such tax may be collected and administered by the comptroller of
the city of Niagara Falls by such means and in such manner as other
taxes which are now collected and administered by such officers as
provided by local law.

(3) Such local laws may provide that any tax imposed shall be paid by
the person liable therefor to the owner of the hotel room occupied or to
the person entitled to be paid the rent or charge for the hotel room
occupied for and on account of the city of Niagara Falls imposing the
tax and that such owner or person entitled to be paid the rent or charge
shall be liable for the collection and payment of the tax; and that such
owner or person entitled to be paid the rent or charge shall have the
same right in respect to collecting the tax from the person occupying
the hotel room, or in respect to nonpayment of the tax by the person
occupying the hotel room, as if the tax were a part of the rent or
charge and payable at the same time as the rent or charge; provided,
however, that the city comptroller of the city of Niagara Falls shall be
joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought to collect the tax
by the owner or by the person entitled to be paid the rent or charge.

(4) Such local laws may provide for the filing of returns and the
payment of the tax on a monthly basis or on the basis of any longer or
shorter period of time. Such returns shall be filed within twenty days
from the expiration of the period covered.

(5) This section shall not authorize the imposition of such tax upon
the following:

a. The state of New York, or any public corporation (including a pub-
lic corporation created pursuant to agreement or compact with another
state or the Dominion of Canada), improvement district or other
political subdivision of the state;

b. The United States of America, insofar as it is immune from
taxation;

c. The United Nations or other world-wide international organization
of which the United States is a member; and

d. Any corporation, or association, or trust, or community chest, fund
or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious,
charitable, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to
children or animals, and no part of the net earnings of which inures to
the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and no substantial
part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise
attempting to influence legislation; provided, however, that nothing in
this paragraph shall include an organization operated for the primary
purpose of carrying on a trade or business for profit, whether or not
all of its profits are payable to one or more organizations described in
this paragraph.

(6) Any final determination of the amount of any tax payable hereunder
shall be reviewable for error, illegality or unconstitutionality or any
other reason whatsoever by a proceeding under article seventy-eight of
the civil practice law and rules if application therefor is made to the
supreme court within thirty days after the giving of the notice of such
final determination, provided, however, that any such proceeding under
article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules shall not be
instituted unless (a) the amount of any tax sought to be reviewed, with
such interest and penalties thereon as may be provided for by local law
or regulation, shall be first deposited and there is filed an
undertaking, issued by a surety company authorized to transmit business
in this state and approved by the superintendent of financial services
of this state as to solvency and responsibility, in such amount as a
justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect that if such
proceeding be dismissed or the tax confirmed the petitioner will pay all
costs and charges which may accrue in the prosecution of such proceeding
or (b) at the option of the petitioner such undertaking may be in a sum
sufficient to cover the taxes, interest and penalties stated in such
determination plus the costs and charges which may accrue against it in
the prosecution of the proceedings in which event the petitioner shall
not be required to pay such taxes, interest or penalties as a condition
precedent to the application.

(7) Where any tax imposed hereunder shall have been erroneously,
illegally or unconstitutionally collected and application for the refund
thereof duly made to the proper fiscal officer or officers, and such
officer or officers shall have made a determination denying such refund,
such determination shall be reviewable by a proceeding under article
seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules, provided, however,
that such proceeding is instituted within thirty days after the giving
of the notice of such denial, that a final determination of tax due was
not previously made, and that an undertaking is filed with the proper
fiscal officer or officers in such amount and with such sureties as a
justice of the supreme court shall approve to the effect that if such
proceeding be dismissed or the tax confirmed, the petitioner will pay
all costs and charges which may accrue in the prosecution of such
proceeding.

(8) Except in the case of a wilfully false or fraudulent return with
intent to evade the tax, no assessment of additional tax shall be made
after the expiration of more than three years from the date of the
filing of a return, provided, however, that where no return has been
filed as provided by law the tax may be assessed at any time.

(9) Revenues resulting from the imposition of tax authorized by this
act shall be paid into the treasury of the city of Niagara Falls and
shall be credited to and deposited in the general fund account of such
city and shall be used only for the promotion of convention activities
and tourism as follows: (a) from the first four per centum (4%), eighty
percent of such revenue from this tax shall be allocated and paid to a
not-for-profit corporation under contract with the county for the
promotion of tourism in the county; fifteen percent of such revenue
shall be retained by the city of Niagara Falls for any city purpose; and
the remaining five percent of said first four per centum (4%) of revenue
shall be retained by the city of Niagara Falls for administration and
collection costs; (b) the additional one percentum (1%) of such revenue
from this tax first authorized pursuant to chapter two hundred
forty-seven of the laws of two thousand six shall be dedicated to the
continuation of a trolley service for the purpose of transporting guests
of hotels and motels to area tourism attractions; and (c) an additional
one per centum (1%) of revenue shall be dedicated to the operation of
the Discover Niagara shuttle. The terms "convention activities" and
"tourism" may be defined by a resolution of the city council of the city
of Niagara Falls.

(10) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to
any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder of this
section and the application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

* NB There are 4 § 1202-l's