NEWS

January 21, 2010
A proposed new law which would lift the tax exemption on commissaries with a portion of sales tax going localities

This proposed legislation in NY would create just one more way that local rural communities could benefit from the poor who are kept behind the prison walls. See attached proposed Bill. New Yorkers: contact your legislators and ask them to vote against this Bill.

"AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to charging taxes on sales of commissaries and canteens"

Current law, which exempts these transactions from sales taxation, prevents localities in which correctional institutes are located from receiving their local share of sales tax which would be forthcoming were these sales to occur in non-institutional setting.

These sales are estimated at $23 million statewide, with $13 million subject to the sales. This represents a significant loss of revenue for those localities with prison facilities.

Further it is not appropriate that prisoners are exempted from sales and compensating use tax on goods that are taxable simply because they are bought in prison commissaries.

BACK TO NEWS PAGE