New York Tax Law Section 5 - Obtaining and furnishing taxpayer identification information.

5. Obtaining and furnishing taxpayer identification information. 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall mean:

(a) "License" shall include the whole or part of any covered agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter or similar form of permission to engage in a profession, trade, business or occupation and any notification required to be made to any covered agency that a profession, trade, business or occupation is being engaged in or is expected to be commenced. However, such term shall not include any original charter or certificate of incorporation granted by any covered agency.

(b) "Person" shall mean an individual, partnership, limited liability company, society, association, joint stock company, corporation, estate, receiver, trustee, assignee, referee, or any other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, whether appointed by a court or otherwise, or any combination of the foregoing. However, such term shall not include any public corporation, corporation formed other than for profit or unincorporated not-for-profit entity, except such term shall include an education corporation of the type dealt with in section two hundred twenty-one of the education law, an education corporation subject to article one hundred one of the education law and a cooperative corporation.

* (c) "State agency" shall mean the state of New York, any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council or agency thereof, a public authority or a public benefit corporation.

* NB Effective until enactment by New Jersey

* (c) "Covered agency" shall mean the state of New York, any county of the state of New York, any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council or agency of the state or any such county, a public authority, a public benefit corporation, the port authority of New York and New Jersey or the waterfront commission of New York harbor. When a county is wholly included within a city, then the term "county" shall be read to include the city.

* NB Effective upon enactment by New Jersey

2. Requiring information. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every covered agency shall, as part of the procedure for granting, renewing, amending, supplementing or restating the license of any person or at the time the covered agency contracts to purchase or purchases goods or services or leases real or personal property from any person, require that each such person provide to the covered agency such person's federal social security account number or federal employer identification number, or both such numbers when such person has both such numbers, or, where such person does not have such number or numbers, the reason or reasons why such person does not have such number or numbers. Such numbers or reasons shall be obtained by such covered agency as part of the administration of the taxes administered by the commissioner for the purpose of establishing the identification of persons affected by such taxes.

3. Furnishing information to commissioner. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a covered agency shall, upon request of the commissioner, furnish to the commissioner the following information with respect to each person covered by subdivision two of this section:

(1) business name or the name under which the applicant for a license or licensee will be licensed or is licensed;

(2) business address or whatever type of address the covered agency requires the applicant for a license or the licensee to furnish to it; and

(3) federal social security account number or federal employer identification number, or both such numbers where such person has both such numbers, or the reason or reasons, furnished by such person, why such person does not have such number or numbers.

(b) The reports required under paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be submitted on a compatible magnetic tape file or in some other form which is mutually acceptable to the covered agency and the commissioner.

4. Report not open to public inspection. Notwithstanding article six of the public officers law or any other provision of law, the report to be furnished by the covered agency to the commissioner pursuant to subdivision three of this section shall not be open to the public for inspection.


Last modified: February 3, 2019