Lead Opinion
Petitioner testified that he purchased the Staten Island property, which was much closer to where he worked than his New Jersey home, as a place for his parents to live and as an investment. He stated that his parents lived in the first-floor apartment and that they were dependent upon him for support. He acknowledged that, during the relevant years, he was a registered voter in New York. Significantly, the Tribunal determined that petitioner, in addition to owning the building, maintained a telephone and the utilities in his own name at the apartment, paid those bills as well as all other expenses for the apartment, retained unfettered access to the apartment, occasionally slept at the apartment, failed to establish that he kept the apartment exclusively for his parents, and did not prove that he held the property solely for investment purposes. These factual findings by the Tribunal, some of which were strongly disputed by petitioner, are nonetheless supported by substantial evidence in the record, and such facts are sufficient to support the Tribunal’s determination that petitioner maintained a permanent place of abode in New York as that term has been construed and applied under the applicable statute (see Tax Law § 605 [b] [1] [B]; see e.g. Matter of El-Tersli v Commissioner of Taxation & Fin., 14 AD3d 808, 810 [2005]; Matter of Schibuk v New York State Tax Appeals Trib., 289 AD2d at 719-720; Matter of Evans v Tax Appeals Trib. of State of N.Y., 199 AD2d at 842; Matter of Smith v State Tax Commn., 68 AD2d at 994). Even though a contrary conclusion would have been reasonable based upon the evidence presented, we are constrained to confirm, since our review is limited and the Tribunal’s determination is amply supported by the record (see e.g. Matter ofKornblum v Tax Appeals Trib. of State of N.Y., 194 AD2d at 883).
The remaining arguments have been considered and found unavailing.
Peters, RJ., and Rose, J., concur.
Dissenting Opinion
As stated by the majority, the issue distills to whether petitioner “maintained a permanent place of
Here, the record clearly establishes that petitioner purchased the property located in the Borough of Staten Island as both a place for his parents to live and as an investment. Petitioner’s parents, who live in the first-floor apartment, are 100% dependent upon him for support, and petitioner pays all of the expenses for their apartment. While petitioner occasionally stayed overnight in the apartment, he did so only at the request of his parents when his father needed help due to a medical condition. There was no bed for petitioner when he stayed there, requiring him to sleep on the couch, nor did he leave personal items there. E-Z Pass records support the infrequency of petitioner’s overnight stays in New York. As for the other apartments in the building, documentary evidence establishes that, except for a short period of time, those apartments were rented, and petitioner claimed the rental income on his filed tax returns.
The circumstances herein differ from those cases cited by the majority in that petitioner did not change his residence from New York to elsewhere; rather, petitioner has lived in New Jersey since 1994.
Considering the purpose of the statutory residence provision and mindful that we need not defer to the agency’s determination because the statutory language is neither special nor technical (see Matter of Evans v Tax Appeals Trib. of State of N.Y., 199 AD2d 840, 841 [1993]), we find that petitioner demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that, during the relevant years, he did not live in the dwelling nor did he have any personal residential interest in that Staten Island property (compare id.; Matter of El-Tersli v Commissioner of Taxation & Fin., 14 AD3d at 810; Matter of Schibuk v New York State Tax Appeals Trib., 289 AD2d 718, 719-720 [2001], lv dismissed 98 NY2d 720 [2002]; People ex rel. Mackall v Bates, 278 App Div 724, 725 [1951]). Considering all of the relevant facts, we find that the Tribunal’s determination that petitioner maintained a permanent place of abode within the meaning of Tax Law § 605 to be irrational and unreasonable, and the income tax deficiency assessment was improper. We would therefore annul the determination and grant the petition.
Petitioner filed New Jersey income tax returns for the relevant years.
Concurrence Opinion
Adjudged that the determination is confirmed, without costs, and petition dismissed.
