§ 209. Imposition of tax; exemptions. 1. (a) 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 of maintaining an office in this
state, or of deriving receipts from activity in this state, for all or
any part of each of its fiscal or calendar years, every domestic or
foreign corporation, except corporations specified in subdivision four
of this section, shall annually pay a franchise tax, upon the basis of
its business income base, or upon such other basis as may be applicable
as hereinafter provided, for such fiscal or calendar year or part
thereof, on a report which shall be filed, except as hereinafter
provided, on or before the fifteenth day of March next succeeding the
close of each such year, for taxable years beginning before January
first, two thousand sixteen, and on or before the fifteenth day of April
next succeeding the close of each such year, for taxable years beginning
on or after January first, two thousand sixteen, or, in the case of a
corporation which reports on the basis of a fiscal year, within two and
one-half months after the close of such fiscal year, for taxable years
beginning before January first, two thousand sixteen, and on or before
the fifteenth day of the fourth month after the close of such fiscal
year, for taxable years beginning on or after January first, two
thousand sixteen, and shall be paid as hereinafter provided.

(b) A corporation is deriving receipts from activity in this state if
it has receipts within this state of one million dollars or more in the
taxable year. For purposes of this section, the term "receipts" means
the receipts that are subject to the apportionment rules set forth in
section two hundred ten-A of this article, and the term "receipts within
this state" means the receipts included in the numerator of the
apportionment factor determined under section two hundred ten-A of this
article. For purposes of this paragraph, receipts from processing credit
card transactions for merchants include merchant discount fees received
by the corporation.

(c) A corporation is doing business in this state if (i) it has issued
credit cards to one thousand or more customers who have a mailing
address within this state as of the last day of its taxable year, (ii)
it has merchant customer contracts with merchants and the total number
of locations covered by those contracts equals one thousand or more
locations in this state to whom the corporation remitted payments for
credit card transactions during the taxable year, or (iii) the sum of
the number of customers described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph
plus the number of locations covered by its contracts described in
subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph equals one thousand or more. As used
in this subdivision, the term "credit card" includes bank, credit,
travel and entertainment cards.

(d)(i) A corporation with less than one million dollars but at least
ten thousand dollars of receipts within this state in a taxable year
that is part of a unitary group that meets the ownership test under
section two hundred ten-C of this article is deriving receipts from
activity in this state if the receipts within this state of the members
of the unitary group that have at least ten thousand dollars of receipts
within this state in the aggregate meet the threshold set forth in
paragraph (b) of this subdivision.

(ii) A corporation that does not meet any of the thresholds set forth
in paragraph (c) of this subdivision but has at least ten customers, or
locations, or customers and locations, as described in paragraph (c) of
this subdivision, and is part of a unitary group that meets the
ownership test under section two hundred ten-C of this article is doing
business in this state if the number of customers, locations, or
customers and locations, within this state of the members of the unitary
group that have at least ten customers, locations, or customers and
locations, within this state in the aggregate meets any of the
thresholds set forth in paragraph (c) of this subdivision.

(iii) For purposes of this paragraph, any corporation described in
paragraph (c) of subdivision two of section two hundred ten-C of this
article shall not be considered.

(e) At the end of each year, the commissioner shall review the
cumulative percentage change in the consumer price index. The
commissioner shall adjust the receipt thresholds set forth in this
subdivision if the consumer price index has changed by ten percent or
more since January first, two thousand fifteen, or since the date that
the thresholds were last adjusted under this subdivision. The thresholds
shall be adjusted to reflect that cumulative percentage change in the
consumer price index. The adjusted thresholds shall be rounded to the
nearest one thousand dollars. As used in this paragraph, "consumer price
index" means the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U)
available from the bureau of labor statistics of the United States
department of labor. Any adjustment shall apply to tax periods that
begin after the adjustment is made.

(f) If a partnership is doing business, employing capital, owning or
leasing property in this state, maintaining an office in the state, or
deriving receipts from activity in this state, any corporation that is a
partner in such partnership shall be subject to tax under this article
as described in the regulations of the commissioner.

2. A foreign corporation shall not be deemed to be doing business,
employing capital, owning or leasing property, or maintaining an office
in this state, or deriving receipts from activity in this state, for the
purposes of this article, by reason of (a) the maintenance of cash
balances with banks or trust companies in this state, or (b) the
ownership of shares of stock or securities kept in this state, if kept
in a safe deposit box, safe, vault or other receptacle rented for the
purpose, or if pledged as collateral security, or if deposited with one
or more banks or trust companies, or brokers who are members of a
recognized security exchange, in safekeeping or custody accounts, or (c)
the taking of any action by any such bank or trust company or broker,
which is incidental to the rendering of safekeeping or custodian service
to such corporation, or (d) the maintenance of an office in this state
by one or more officers or directors of the corporation who are not
employees of the corporation if the corporation otherwise is not doing
business in this state, and does not employ capital or own or lease
property in this state, or (e) the keeping of books or records of a
corporation in this state if such books or records are not kept by
employees of such corporation and such corporation does not otherwise do
business, employ capital, own or lease property or maintain an office in
this state, or (f) any combination of the foregoing activities.

2-a. An alien corporation shall not be deemed to be doing business,
employing capital, owning or leasing property, maintaining an office in
this state, or deriving receipts from activity in this state, for the
purposes of this article, if its activities in this state are limited
solely to (a) investing or trading in stocks and securities for its own
account within the meaning of clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section eight hundred sixty-four of
the internal revenue code or (b) investing or trading in commodities for
its own account within the meaning of clause (ii) of subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section eight hundred sixty-four of
the internal revenue code or (c) any combination of activities described
in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision. An alien corporation that
under any provision of the internal revenue code is not treated as a
"domestic corporation" as defined in section seven thousand seven
hundred one of such code and has no effectively connected income for the
taxable year pursuant to clause (iv) of the opening paragraph of
subdivision nine of section two hundred eight of this article shall not
be subject to tax under this article for that taxable year. For purposes
of this article, an alien corporation is a corporation organized under
the laws of a country, or any political subdivision thereof, other than
the United States, or organized under the laws of a possession,
territory or commonwealth of the United States.

3. Any receiver, referee, trustee, assignee or other fiduciary, or any
officer or agent appointed by any court, who conducts the business of
any corporation, shall be subject to the tax imposed by this article in
the same manner and to the same extent as if the business were conducted
by the agents or officers of such corporation. A dissolved corporation
which continues to conduct business shall also be subject to the tax
imposed by this article.

4. Corporations liable to tax under sections one hundred eighty-three
to one hundred eighty-four-a, inclusive, corporations taxable under
article thirty-three of this chapter, any trust company organized under
a law of this state all of the stock of which is owned by not less than
twenty savings banks organized under a law of this state, a captive REIT
or a captive RIC filing a combined return under subdivision (f) of
section fifteen hundred fifteen of this chapter, and housing companies
organized and operating pursuant to the provisions of article two or
article five of the private housing finance law and housing development
fund companies organized pursuant to the provisions of article eleven of
the private housing finance law shall not be subject to tax under this
article.

5. For any taxable year of a real estate investment trust as defined
in section eight hundred fifty-six of the internal revenue code in which
such trust is subject to federal income taxation under section eight
hundred fifty-seven of such code, such trust shall be subject to a tax
computed under either paragraph (a) or (d) of subdivision one of section
two hundred ten of this chapter, whichever is greater, and shall not be
subject to any tax under article thirty-three of this chapter except for
a captive REIT required to file a combined return under subdivision (f)
of section fifteen hundred fifteen of this chapter. In the case of such
a real estate investment trust, including a captive REIT as defined in
section two of this chapter, the term "entire net income" means "real
estate investment trust taxable income" as defined in paragraph two of
subdivision (b) of section eight hundred fifty-seven (as modified by
section eight hundred fifty-eight) of the internal revenue code, subject
to the modifications required by subdivision nine of section two hundred
eight of this article.

6. For any taxable year of a DISC, not exempt from tax under paragraph
(i) of subdivision nine of section two hundred eight of this article,
the taxes imposed by subdivision one of this section shall be computed
only under either paragraph (b) or (d) of subdivision one of section two
hundred ten of this chapter, whichever is greater.

7. For any taxable year, beginning on or after January first, nineteen
hundred eighty of a regulated investment company, as defined in section
eight hundred fifty-one of the internal revenue code, in which such
company is subject to federal income taxation under section eight
hundred fifty-two of such code, such company shall be subject to a tax
computed under either paragraph (a) or (d) of subdivision one of section
two hundred ten of this chapter, whichever is greater, and shall not be
subject to any tax under article thirty-three of this chapter except for
a captive RIC required to file a combined return under subdivision (f)
of section fifteen hundred fifteen of this chapter. In the case of such
a regulated investment company, including a captive RIC as defined in
section two of this chapter, the term "entire net income" means
"investment company taxable income" as defined in paragraph two of
subdivision (b) of section eight hundred fifty-two, as modified by
section eight hundred fifty-five, of the internal revenue code plus the
amount taxable under paragraph three of subdivision (b) of section eight
hundred fifty-two of such code subject to the modifications required by
subdivision nine of section two hundred eight of this chapter.

8. For any taxable year beginning on or after January first, two
thousand six, a corporation that is no longer doing business, employing
capital, or owning or leasing property, or deriving receipts from
activity in this state in a corporate or organized capacity that has
filed a final tax return with the department for the last tax year it
was doing business and has no outstanding tax liability for such final
tax return or any tax return for prior tax years shall be exempt from
all taxes imposed by paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section two
hundred ten of this article for tax years following the last year such
corporation was doing business.

9. For any taxable year beginning on or after January first, nineteen
hundred eighty-seven, an organization described in paragraph two or
twenty-five of subdivision (c) of section five hundred one of the
internal revenue code of nineteen hundred eighty-six shall be exempt
from all taxes imposed by this article.

10. QSSS. For exemption from tax of a qualified subchapter S
subsidiary, see paragraph (k) of subdivision nine of section two hundred
eight of this article.

11. Except as provided in subparagraph eighteen of paragraph (a) of
subdivision nine of section two hundred eight of this article, a
corporation that is a qualified entity of a New York state innovation
hot spot shall be subject only to the fixed dollar minimum tax under
paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section two hundred ten of this
article, as provided in section thirty-eight of this chapter.

12. All farmers', fruit growers' and other like agricultural
corporations organized and operated on a co-operative basis for the
purposes expressed in and as provided under the co-operative
corporations law of the state of New York, whether or not such
corporations have capital stock, shall be exempt from taxation under the
provisions of this article.