Senate Bill S4139

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4139
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue
 
 AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to increasing the tax on  alco-
   hol
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of subdivision 1
 of section 424 of the tax law, paragraphs  (a),  (b),  (c)  and  (d)  as
 amended  by  section  1  of  part X-1 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2009,
 paragraph (e) as amended by section 1 of part J of  chapter  59  of  the
 laws  of 2020 and paragraph (f) as amended by chapter 508 of the laws of
 1993, are amended and a new paragraph (h) is added to read as follows:
   (a) [Fourteen cents] TWENTY-FOUR CENTS per gallon upon beers;
   (b) [Thirty cents] FIFTY-ONE CENTS per gallon upon still wines, except
 cider containing more than three and two-tenths per centum of alcohol by
 volume, upon which the  tax  shall  be  [three  and  seventy-nine]  FOUR
 hundredths cents per gallon;
   (c) [Thirty cents] FIFTY-ONE CENTS per gallon upon artificially carbo-
 nated  sparkling  wines,  except artificially carbonated sparkling cider
 containing more than three and  two-tenths  per  centum  of  alcohol  by
 volume,  upon  which  the  tax  shall  be  [three and seventy-nine] FOUR
 hundredths cents per gallon;
   (d) [Thirty cents] FIFTY-ONE CENTS per gallon upon  natural  sparkling
 wines,  except  natural  sparkling  cider containing more than three and
 two-tenths per centum of alcohol by volume, upon which the tax shall  be
 [three and seventy-nine] FOUR hundredths cents per gallon;
   (e)  [Sixty-seven]  ONE  DOLLAR  AND TWENTY-THREE cents per liter upon
 liquors containing not more than twenty-four per centum  of  alcohol  by
 volume except liquors containing not more than two per centum of alcohol
 by volume, upon which the tax shall be [zero] TWO CENTS PER LITER; [and]
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07707-01-5
 S. 4139                             2
              

 
   (f)  [One dollar] TWO DOLLARS and [seventy] TWENTY-SIX cents per liter
 upon all other liquors; when sold or used within this state, except when
 sold or used under such circumstances that this state is  without  power
 to  impose  such  tax or when sold to the United States and except beers
 when  sold to or by a voluntary unincorporated organization of the armed
 forces of the United States operating a place  for  the  sale  of  goods
 pursuant  to regulations promulgated by the appropriate executive agency
 of the United States, to the extent provided in such regulations, direc-
 tives and policy statements of such an agency applicable to such  sales,
 and  except  when  sold to professional foreign consuls-general, consuls
 and vice-consuls who are nationals of the state appointing them and  who
 are assigned to foreign consulates in this state, provided that American
 consular  officers  of  equal rank who are citizens of the United States
 and who exercise their official functions at American consulates in such
 foreign country are granted reciprocal  exemptions;  provided,  however,
 that  the  commissioner  may permit the sale of alcohol without tax to a
 holder of any industrial  alcohol  permit,  alcohol  permit  or  alcohol
 distributor's  permit,  issued by the state liquor authority, and by the
 holder of an alcohol distributor's  permit,  class  A,  issued  by  such
 authority  to  a  holder  of a distiller's license, class B, or a winery
 license, issued by such authority and may also permit the use of alcohol
 for any purpose other than the production of alcoholic beverages by such
 holders without tax; provided also that the commissioner may permit  the
 sale  of  cider  without  tax  by a holder of a cider producer's license
 issued by the state liquor authority to a holder of a  cider  producer's
 license or a cider wholesaler's license issued by such authority[.]; AND
   (H)  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTICLE, ONE HUNDRED
 PERCENT OF TAXES, INTEREST, PENALTIES AND FEES COLLECTED OR RECEIVED  BY
 THE  COMMISSIONER  UNDER  PARAGRAPHS (A) THROUGH (F) OF THIS SUBDIVISION
 SHALL BE ALLOCATED TO THE GENERAL FUND.
   § 2. Section 424 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivision
 7 to read as follows:
   7. THE TAX IMPOSED  BY  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE
 ADJUSTED  EFFECTIVE  JULY  FIRST OF EACH YEAR BY APPLYING TO SUCH TAX AN
 UPWARD OR DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENT, AS THE CASE MAY BE, USING AS  THE  FACTOR
 FOR SUCH ADJUSTMENT THE PERCENTAGE AMOUNT BY WHICH THE ALL ITEMS CONSUM-
 ER PRICE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS (CPI-U) AS PREPARED BY THE UNITED
 STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF LABOR FOR THE FIRST CALENDAR QUARTER OF SUCH YEAR
 EXCEEDS OR IS LESS THAN SUCH INDEX FOR THE FIRST CALENDAR QUARTER OF THE
 PROCEEDING YEAR. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS  SPECIFY-
 ING  THE  METHODOLOGY TO BE USED TO DETERMINE THE GOODS AND INVENTORY TO
 WHICH THE INCREASE SHALL APPLY EFFECTIVE EACH JULY FIRST,  EXCEPT  THAT,
 FOR  AN  INCREASE  IN  THE  TAX PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION, SUCH REGU-
 LATIONS SHALL APPLY ONLY IF SUCH INCREASE IS GREATER THAN TEN PERCENT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect April 1, 2027.  Effective immediately,
 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
 sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.