§ 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.