9104. Fire insurance premium tax on foreign and alien insurers. (a) Except in the cities of New York and Buffalo, there shall be paid by every foreign and alien fire insurance corporation, association or individuals which insure property against loss or damage by fire, except foreign mutual fire insurance companies, on or before the first day of March the sum of one dollar and eighty cents upon the hundred dollars, and at that rate, upon the amount of all premiums which during the year, or part of a year, ending on the last preceding thirty-first day of December, shall have been received by any such insurer for any insurance against loss or damage by fire written by it upon property situated within each city, village, fire district, or fire alarm district, or fire protection district to:
(1) the treasurer or other fiscal officer of the fire department affording fire protection in such city, village, fire district, fire alarm district, or fire protection district, or
(2) if any such fire department does not have a treasurer or other fiscal officer then to the fiscal officer of the authorities having jurisdiction and control of such fire department, or
(3) to such other person or entity as shall be designated in any special law to receive the premium tax, and
(4) if such payment is made to the treasurer or other fiscal officer of a fire department or fiscal officer of authorities having jurisdiction and control of such fire department, such treasurer or fiscal officer shall on or before the fifteenth day of March in each year distribute the amount so received to the fire companies constituting the fire department if such fire department is constituted of more than one fire company.
(b) There shall also be paid to the treasurer of the Firemen's Association of the State of New York, on or before the first day of March in each year, by each such insurer, for the support and maintenance of the firemen's home at Hudson, New York, the sum of twenty cents upon the hundred dollars, and at that rate, upon the amount of all premiums upon which a fire insurance premium tax is payable as aforesaid.
(c) Each insurer required to pay a tax pursuant to this section shall, at the time of paying such tax, file with the person to whom the tax is required to be paid a report, subscribed and affirmed by the person making it as true under the penalties of perjury, setting forth the aggregate amount of premiums upon which the tax is payable.
(d) Corporations, associations or individuals required to pay a fire insurance premium tax by this section may elect to pay such tax to the superintendent, which shall be distributed by him as prescribed in this section, except that such distribution shall be made with the distribution required by section nine thousand one hundred five of this article after adding any earnings and deducting the expenses as specified in such section.
(e) Every agent for any such insurer writing a policy of fire insurance upon property in this state shall report to the insurer the name of the city, village, fire district or fire alarm district or fire protection district in which the property insured is situated, and, if the property insured is situated in territory not protected by any fire department or fire company, that fact shall be reported.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in any special law, and except as to the Firemen's Association of the State of New York, such tax shall be used for the benefit of, as determined by the members thereof:
(1) the fire company receiving the same, but this shall not preclude the payment by a fire company of all or a part of such tax so received to the fire department of which it is a part, or
(2) the fire department when such tax is not required under paragraph four of subsection (a) of this section to be distributed to fire companies.
(g) The provisions of this section shall not be changed, modified or amended by any charter, local law, ordinance, resolution or regulation.
(h) Those provisions of subsections (a) and (e) of this section which require the determination of the city, village, fire district, fire alarm district or fire protection district within which an insured property is located shall not apply to policies which insure motor vehicles, provided that:
(1) the insurer allocates the tax to be paid on fire premiums received from such policies by city, village, fire district, fire alarm district or fire protection district using a percentage of allocation which is based upon the amounts of tax to be paid on all other fire premiums; and
(2) the insurer has received the approval of the superintendent to use this percentage of allocation.
Last modified: February 3, 2019