Exempts from sales tax the sale of an abstract of title to real property to be used for agricultural purposes to either a prospective purchaser of real property or to an attorney representing a prospective purchaser.

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S4728-2011 Actions

• May 15, 2012: referred to ways and means
• May 15, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• May 15, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• May 14, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• May 9, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• May 8, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.730
• Jan 19, 2012: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
• Jan 12, 2012: PRINT NUMBER 4728A
• Jan 12, 2012: AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO AGRICULTURE
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE
• Jun 24, 2011: COMMITTED TO RULES
• May 17, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• May 16, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• May 11, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.618
• Apr 15, 2011: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S4728-2011 Meetings

Agriculture: May 11, 2011

S4728-2011 Calendars

Floor Calendar: May 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 18, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 25, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 21, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 22, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 24, 2011

S4728-2011 Votes

S4728-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S4728

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the tax law, in relation to providing for a sales tax exemption
for farm abstracts

PURPOSE:
To clarify that sale of abstracts of title to land used for
agricultural purposes are not subject to sales tax.

SUMMARY:
Section 1 amends Paragraph 1 of Subdivision (c) of Section 1105 of the
Tax Law to provide an exclusion from the four percent tax for sale of
an abstract of title to real property used for agricultural purposes.

Section 2 states this act shall take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:
Agriculture is a land intensive business which makes sales tax on
abstract services, property taxes and other land-related tax issues a
substantial business expense. The purchase or sale of land requires
an abstract of title which provides a condensed history of all deeds,
mortgages and other recorded documents pertinent to the land parcel
being transferred to new ownership. Before the sale of land can be
concluded, the abstract of title is reviewed by an attorney or
insurance company to determine if there are any outstanding liens or
mortgages that must be satisfied before the buyer can claim ownership.

Securing the abstract of title for a piece of real property to be
included in a farm operation is a costly business expense for farmers
which was partially defrayed by a state sales tax exemption until
last year. Sale of an abstract of title was not considered sale of a
taxable information service until the NYS Department of Taxation and
Finance rendered an Opinion (TSB-M-10(07)S in 2010 revoking its long
standing policy of exempting the sales of abstracts of title from
state sales tax in an effort to generate additional revenue for the
State. This legislation will protect
valuable working landscapes, open green spaces and farm viability by
statutorily restoring the tax exemption for sales of abstracts of
title to farm land.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S4728-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    4728

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                               April 15, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture

  AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing for  a  sales  tax
    exemption for farm abstracts

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (c) of section 1105 of  the  tax
  law,  as  amended by chapter 373 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read
  as follows:

    (1) The furnishing of information by printed, mimeographed  or  multi-
  graphed  matter or by duplicating written or printed matter in any other
  manner, including the services of  collecting,  compiling  or  analyzing
  information  of  any  kind  or  nature and furnishing reports thereof to
  other persons, but excluding the  furnishing  of  information  which  is
  personal or individual in nature and which is not or may not be substan-
  tially incorporated in reports furnished to other persons, and excluding
  the  services of advertising or other agents, or other persons acting in
  a representative capacity, and information services used by  newspapers,
  radio  broadcasters  and  television  broadcasters in the collection and
  dissemination  of  news,  and  excluding  meteorological  services,  AND
  EXCLUDING  THE  SALE OF AN ABSTRACT OF TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY TO BE USED
  FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES TO EITHER  A  PROSPECTIVE  PURCHASER  OF  REAL
  PROPERTY OR TO AN ATTORNEY REPRESENTING A PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.



   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD10930-01-1