What's happening
This bill imposes a sales tax on digital advertising services and uses the revenue to fund zero-interest undergraduate student loan refinancing for New York residents.
Why it matters
Targets Large Digital Advertisers. By taxing digital advertising services (including web, app, and search ads), the bill primarily impacts large tech companies and advertisers, potentially shifting industry practices or costs, and signaling a policy move to regulate digital commerce more aggressively.
Creates Dedicated, Protected Funding. The revenue from this tax is placed in a special fund that cannot be diverted for other state uses, ensuring that the money directly supports student loan refinancing and cannot be used to fill unrelated budget gaps.
Expands Access to Affordable Student Debt Relief. The program is open to New York residents with undergraduate student loans (federal or private), allowing those who meet residency and payment-status requirements to refinance up to $100,000 at zero interest—a substantial financial benefit that could reduce monthly payments and the total burden of student debt.
Links Economic Policy to Educational Opportunity. By connecting a tax on digital advertising to student loan refinancing, the bill ties technology-driven economic growth to broader social mobility and attempts to address the student debt crisis without raising general taxes or cutting other services.
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Who cares
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Tax Digital Ads, Fund Student Loans
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to ways and means
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Tax Digital Ads, Fund Loans
In Senate Committee · Budget And Revenue · Sponsor Kevin Thomas
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
10321
IN ASSEMBLY
April 22, 2020
Introduced by M. of A. D. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law and the state finance law, in relation to sales tax on digital advertising; to amend the education law, in relation to zero interest undergraduate loan refinancing; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (c) of section 1105 of the tax law is amended by adding a new paragraph 1-a to read as follows:
(1-a) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of this subdivision, the receipts from every sale, except for resale, of digital advertising services. For purposes of this paragraph:
(i) "Digital advertising services" means advertisement services on a digital interface, including advertisements in the form of banner advertising, search engine advertising, interstitial advertising, and other comparable advertising services which markets or promotes a particular good, service, or political candidate or message.
(ii) "Digital interface" means any type of software, including a website, part of a website, or application, that a user is able to access.
(iii) "User" means an individual or any other person who accesses a digital interface with a device.
All revenue received from the imposition of this tax shall be deposited into the digital advertising services tax revenue fund established pursuant to section seventy-eight-c of the state finance law.
§ 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 78-c to read as follows:
§ 78-c. Digital advertising services tax revenue fund. 1. There is hereby created and established in the sole custody of the state comptroller a special fund to be known as the digital advertising services tax revenue fund which shall be for the exclusive benefit of providing zero interest refinancing of eligible education loans by the higher
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15664-02-0
A. 10321 2
education services corporation under section six hundred eighty-three-c of the education law.
2. Amounts held in this fund shall not be, or be deemed, funds of the state or funds under the management of the state or the higher education services corporation. The obligations of the fund shall not be, or be deemed, the debts or obligations of the state and the state shall not be, or be deemed, in any way obligated to any holder of any such education loan.
3. Such fund shall consist of all moneys received by the department of taxation and finance pursuant to paragraph one-a of subdivision (c) of section eleven hundred five of the tax law. Moneys in the fund shall be segregated from all other funds kept by the state comptroller and shall not be used for any other purpose beyond those set forth in section six hundred eighty-three-c of the education law or in this section.
4. The state comptroller shall make payments from the fund in amounts and at times required by the higher education services corporation pursuant section six hundred eighty-three-c of the education law.
§ 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 683-c to read as follows:
§ 683-c. Refinance of undergraduate student loans. 1. An eligible borrower, as defined in this section, may apply to have their federal and private undergraduate education loans refinanced by the corporation. The maximum amount allowed to be refinanced under this section shall be one hundred thousand dollars. The minimum amount to be refinanced shall be three thousand dollars.
2. An eligible borrower shall include an individual who: (a) has been a New York state resident for at least twenty-four consecutive months prior to application for refinancing; (b) owes less than one hundred thousand dollars in federal and private undergraduate education loans; and (c) is current on their loan payments.
3. Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-two, the corporation shall offer zero percent interest rate refinancing based on availability of funds in the digital advertising services tax revenue fund established in section seventy-eight-c of the state finance law.
4. (a) A borrower may be granted deferment or forbearance up to two times during the repayment period upon a showing of economic hardship.
(b) The corporation shall establish terms for repayment of loans on the basis of the income of the borrower. There shall be no penalty for prepayment.
(c) Loans refinanced under this section shall be eligible for loan forgiveness programs available to public service employees.
5. Rules and regulations. The corporation is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this section.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to sales made and uses occurring on and after such date although made, occurring or rendered under a prior contract; provided that this act shall expire and be deemed repealed 5 years after such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.