75. Criminal penalties.--(a) Attempt to evade tax.--Any individual, corporation or partnership or any officer or employee of any corporation, or member or employee of any partnership, who, with intent to evade any tax or any requirement of this local law or any lawful requirement of the administrator thereunder, shall fail to pay the tax, or to make, render, sign or certify any return or declaration of estimated income, or to supply any information within the time required by or under the provisions of this local law, or who, with like intent, shall make, render, sign or certify any false or fraudulent return, declaration or statement, or shall supply any false or fraudulent information, or who shall fail to comply with the provisions of subdivision (b) of section fifty-four after the service of a notice by the administrator thereunder, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be fined not to exceed five thousand dollars or be imprisoned not to exceed one year, or both, at the discretion of the court.
(b) Limitations.-- Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred forty-two of the state code of criminal procedure or of any other law of this state, a prosecution for any offense under this section may be commenced at any time not later than three years after the commission of such offense provided that, if such offense is the failure to do an act required by or under any provision of this local law to be done before a certain date, a prosecution for such offense may be commenced not later than three years after such date.
(c) Willful failure to withhold.-- Any individual, corporation or partnership or any officer or employee of any corporation (including a dissolved corporation), or member or employee of any partnership, who willfully fails to collect or pay over any withholding tax as required, shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not to exceed five thousand dollars or imprisoned not to exceed one year, or both.
(d) Two or more charges.-- In the prosecution of offenses under this section, if there are two or more charges against any person or corporation, involving a violation or violations of any provision or provisions of this local law, whether for the same or different taxable years, instead of returning several indictments or filing several informations, all of such charges may be joined in one indictment or information, in separate counts, and if two or more indictments are found, or two or more informations are filed, the court may order them to be consolidated. If a person or corporation shall be convicted of two or more offenses constituting different crimes set forth in different counts of one indictment or information, or in separate indictments or informations consolidated as hereinbefore provided, the court may impose a separate sentence for each offense, and if imprisonment is imposed, the court may order any of such sentences to be served concurrently or consecutively.
(e) Miscellaneous rules.-- Any prosecution under this section may be conducted in any county where the person or corporation to whose tax liability the proceeding relates resides, or has a place of business, or from which such person or corporation received any income, or in any county in which any such crime is committed. The corporation counsel of the city shall have concurrent jurisdiction with any district attorney in the prosecution of any offense under this section. If the provisions of this section conflict with those contained in any other law, this section shall control. The certificate of the administrator to the effect that a tax has not been paid, that a return or declaration of estimated tax has not been filed, or that information has not been supplied, as required by or under the provisions of this local law, shall be prima facie evidence that such tax has not been paid, that such return or declaration has not been filed, or that such information has not been supplied. All fines levied under this section shall be paid to the administrator and deposited in the same manner as revenues collected or received under this local law.
Last modified: February 3, 2019