Senate Bill S4595A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4595--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. FERNANDEZ, CLEARE, RIVERA, SKOUFIS -- read twice and
   ordered  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
   Budget and Revenue -- recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Budget  and
   Revenue  in  accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  -- committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to increasing taxes imposed  on
   alcoholic beverages
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 424 of the tax law, as amended  by
 chapter  433  of  the  laws of 1978, 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 and paragraph (g) as amended by
 section 2 of part J of chapter 59 of the laws of 2020, and paragraph (f)
 as amended by chapter 508 of the laws of 1993, is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  There are hereby levied and imposed on a distributor and a noncom-
 mercial importer excise taxes at the following rates:
   (a) [Fourteen] SIXTEEN AND EIGHT-TENTHS cents per gallon upon beers;
   (b) [Thirty] THIRTY-SIX 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] FOUR and [seventy-nine]
 FIFTY-FIVE hundredths cents per gallon;
   (c) [Thirty] THIRTY-SIX cents per gallon upon artificially  carbonated
 sparkling wines, except artificially carbonated sparkling cider contain-
 ing more than three and two-tenths per centum of alcohol by volume, upon
 which  the  tax  shall  be  [three]  FOUR  and [seventy-nine] FIFTY-FIVE
 hundredths cents per gallon;
   (d) [Thirty] THIRTY-SIX cents per gallon upon natural sparkling wines,
 except natural sparkling cider containing more than three and two-tenths
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09240-02-6
              

 S. 4595--A                          2
 
 per centum of alcohol by volume, upon which the  tax  shall  be  [three]
 FOUR and [seventy-nine] FIFTY-FIVE hundredths cents per gallon;
   (e)  [Sixty-seven] EIGHTY AND FOUR-TENTHS 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; and
   (f) [One dollar] TWO DOLLARS and [seventy] FOUR 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 forc-
 es 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,  directives
 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.
   (g)  For  purposes  of  this  chapter, it is presumed that liquors are
 possessed for the purpose of sale in  this  state  if  the  quantity  of
 liquors  possessed in this state, imported or caused to be imported into
 this state or produced, distilled, manufactured,  compounded,  mixed  or
 fermented  in  this state exceeds ninety liters. Such presumption may be
 rebutted by the introduction of substantial evidence to the contrary. In
 any case where the quantity of alcoholic beverages taxable  pursuant  to
 this  article  is  a  fractional part of one liter (or one gallon in the
 case of beers) or an amount greater than a whole multiple of liters  (or
 gallons  in  the case of beers), the amount of tax levied and imposed on
 such fractional part of one liter (or one gallon in the case of  beers),
 or  fractional part of a liter (or gallon) in excess of a whole multiple
 of liters or gallons shall be such fractional part of the  rate  imposed
 by paragraphs (a) through (f) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   Notwithstanding  any other provision of this article, the commissioner
 may permit the purchase of alcoholic beverages without tax by  a  person
 registered  as  a  distributor  under section four hundred twenty-one of
 this article from another person so registered, in which event the alco-
 holic beverage so purchased shall be subject to  the  taxes  imposed  by
 this article in the hands of the purchaser in the same manner and to the
 same  extent  as if such purchaser had imported or caused the same to be
 imported into this  state  or  had  produced,  distilled,  manufactured,
 brewed, compounded, mixed or fermented the same within this state.
 S. 4595--A                          3
 
   (H)  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF  THIS  ARTICLE, TWENTY
 PERCENT OF ALL TAXES, INTEREST, PENALTIES AND FEES COLLECTED OR RECEIVED
 BY THE COMMISSIONER UNDER PARAGRAPHS (A) THROUGH (F) OF THIS SUBDIVISION
 SHALL BE ALLOCATED TO THE NEW  YORK  STATE  DRUG  TREATMENT  AND  PUBLIC
 EDUCATION  FUND  ESTABLISHED  PURSUANT  TO SECTION NINETY-NINE-JJ OF THE
 STATE FINANCE LAW.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.