S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4619
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES, LUPARDO, WOERNER -- read once and
   referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the tax law, in relation to the imposition of taxes,
   registration and records of  the  sale  of  cannabis;  and  to  repeal
   certain provisions of such law relating thereto

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Subdivision (k) of section 492 of the tax law is REPEALED.
   § 2. Section 493 of the tax law, as added by chapter 92 of the laws of
 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   § 493. Imposition of tax. (a)  [There  is  hereby  imposed  a  tax  on
 adult-use  cannabis products sold by a distributor to a person who sells
 adult-use cannabis products at retail at the following rates:
   (1) cannabis flower at the rate of five-tenths of one cent per  milli-
 gram of the amount of total THC, as reflected on the product label;
   (2)  concentrated cannabis at the rate of eight-tenths of one cent per
 milligram of the amount of total THC, as reflected on the product label;
 and
   (3) cannabis edible product at the rate of three cents  per  milligram
 of  the amount of total THC, as reflected on the product label. This tax
 shall accrue at the time of such sale or transfer. Where  a  person  who
 distributes  adult-use  cannabis is licensed under the cannabis law as a
 microbusiness or registered organization, such person  shall  be  liable
 for the tax, and such tax shall accrue at the time of the retail sale.
   (b)]  In  addition  to  any other tax imposed by this chapter or other
 law, there is hereby imposed a tax of  [nine]  SIXTEEN  percent  of  the
 amount  charged  for the sale or transfer of adult-use cannabis products
 to a retail customer by a person who sells adult-use  cannabis  products
 at  retail. This tax is imposed on the person who sells adult-use canna-
 bis at retail and shall accrue at the time of such sale or transfer.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08127-02-3
 A. 4619                             2
              

 
   [(c)] (B) In addition to the taxes imposed by [subdivisions]  SUBDIVI-
 SION (a) [and (b)] of this section, there is hereby imposed a tax on the
 sale  or transfer of adult-use cannabis products to a retail customer by
 a person who sells adult-use cannabis products at retail at the rate  of
 four  percent  of  the  amount charged by such person for such adult-use
 cannabis product, which tax shall accrue at the time  of  such  sale  or
 transfer. The tax imposed by this subdivision is imposed on a person who
 sells  adult-use  cannabis  products at retail, and shall be paid to the
 commissioner in trust for and on account of a city having  a  population
 of  a  million  or more, and counties (other than counties wholly within
 such a city), towns, villages, and cities with a population of less than
 a million in which a retail dispensary is located.
   [(d)] (C) The taxes imposed by this section shall not apply  to  sales
 of  adult-use  cannabis  to a person holding a cannabis research license
 under section thirty-nine of the cannabis law.
   § 3. Paragraph (i) of subdivision (a) of section 494 of the  tax  law,
 as  added  by  chapter  92  of  the  laws of 2021, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (i) Every [distributor on whom tax is imposed under this  article  and
 every]  person who sells adult-use cannabis products at retail must file
 with the commissioner a properly completed application for a certificate
 of registration before  engaging  in  business.  An  application  for  a
 certificate  of registration must be submitted electronically, on a form
 prescribed by the commissioner, and must be accompanied by a non-refund-
 able application fee of six hundred dollars. A certificate of  registra-
 tion  shall  not  be  assignable  or transferable and shall be destroyed
 immediately upon such person ceasing to do business as specified in such
 certificate, or in the event that such business never commenced.
   § 4. Section 496 of the tax law, as added by chapter 92 of the laws of
 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   § 496. Records to be kept; penalties. (a) Records to  be  kept.  Every
 [distributor on whom tax is imposed under this article and every] person
 who  sells adult-use cannabis products at retail shall maintain complete
 and accurate records in  such  form  as  the  commissioner  may  require
 including,  but  not limited to, [such items as the total THC content of
 the adult-use cannabis products sold to or  produced  by  such  person;]
 complete  records  of  every  retail sale of adult-use cannabis, and any
 other record or information required by the commissioner.  Such  records
 must  be  preserved  for a period of three years after the filing of the
 return to which such records relate and must be provided to the  commis-
 sioner upon request.
   (b) Penalties. In addition to any other penalty provided in this arti-
 cle  or  otherwise  imposed  by  law,  [every distributor on whom tax is
 imposed under this article and] every person who sells adult-use  canna-
 bis  products  at  retail who fails to maintain or make available to the
 commissioner the records required by this section is subject to a penal-
 ty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each month or part thereof for
 which the failure occurs. This penalty may not be imposed more than once
 for failures for the same monthly  period  or  part  thereof.    If  the
 commissioner  determines  that  a  failure to maintain or make available
 records in any month was entirely due to reasonable  cause  and  not  to
 willful neglect, the commissioner must remit the penalty for that month.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.