FIBER OPTIC CABLES ARE NOT TAXABLE REAL PROPERTY UNDER REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW (RPTL) 102.
The Third Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Peters, reversing Supreme Court, determined that fiber-optic cables are not taxable real property under Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) 102. However, petitioner telecommunications company was not entitled to a refund of taxes paid because no protest was made at the time of payment:
We … address petitioner’s application for a judgment declaring that its fiber optic installations are not taxable real property under the RPTL. Resolution of this issue turns upon the construction of RPTL 102 (12) (f), which provides that real property shall include, among other things, “equipment for the distribution of heat, light, power, gases and liquids.” The parties agree that the fiber optic cables at issue consist of filaments of glass through which light beams are used to transport information and data from one point to another. Yet they sharply disagree as to whether this constitutes the “distribution” of light within the meaning of RPTL 102 (12) (f). …[W]e hold that it does not. Matter of Level 3 Communications, LLC v Clinton County, 2016 NY Slip Op 06930, 3rd Dept 10-20-16
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