Section 9104. Fire insurance premium tax on foreign and alien insurers

(a)
  Except in the cities of New York and Buffalo, there  shall  be  paid  by
  every  foreign  and  alien  fire  insurance  corporation, association or
  individuals which insure property against loss or damage by fire, except
  foreign mutual fire insurance companies, on or before the first  day  of
  March  the  sum of one dollar and eighty cents upon the hundred dollars,
  and at that rate, upon the amount of all premiums which during the year,
  or part of a year, ending on the  last  preceding  thirty-first  day  of
  December, shall have been received by any such insurer for any insurance
  against  loss  or  damage  by  fire written by it upon property situated
  within each city, village, fire district, or  fire  alarm  district,  or
  fire protection district to:
    (1)  the  treasurer  or  other  fiscal  officer of the fire department
  affording fire protection in such city,  village,  fire  district,  fire
  alarm district, or fire protection district, or
    (2)  if  any  such  fire department does not have a treasurer or other
  fiscal officer then to the fiscal  officer  of  the  authorities  having
  jurisdiction and control of such fire department, or
    (3)  to  such  other  person  or  entity as shall be designated in any
  special law to receive the premium tax, and
    (4) if such payment is made to the treasurer or other  fiscal  officer
  of   a   fire   department  or  fiscal  officer  of  authorities  having
  jurisdiction and control of such  fire  department,  such  treasurer  or
  fiscal  officer  shall  on  or before the fifteenth day of March in each
  year  distribute  the  amount  so  received  to   the   fire   companies
  constituting  the fire department if such fire department is constituted
  of more than one fire company.
    (b) There shall also  be  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Firemen's
  Association  of  the  State  of  New York, on or before the first day of
  March  in  each  year,  by  each  such  insurer,  for  the  support  and
  maintenance of the firemen's home at Hudson, New York, the sum of twenty
  cents upon the hundred dollars, and at that rate, upon the amount of all
  premiums  upon  which  a  fire  insurance  premium  tax  is  payable  as
  aforesaid.
    (c) Each insurer required to pay a tax pursuant to this section shall,
  at the time of paying such tax, file with the person to whom the tax  is
  required  to  be  paid  a  report, subscribed and affirmed by the person
  making it as true under the penalties  of  perjury,  setting  forth  the
  aggregate amount of premiums upon which the tax is payable.
    (d)  Corporations,  associations or individuals required to pay a fire
  insurance premium tax by this section may elect to pay such tax  to  the
  superintendent,  which shall be distributed by him as prescribed in this
  section,  except  that  such  distribution  shall  be  made   with   the
  distribution  required by section nine thousand one hundred five of this
  article  after  adding  any  earnings  and  deducting  the  expenses  as
  specified in such section.
    (e)  Every  agent  for  any  such  insurer  writing  a  policy of fire
  insurance upon property in this state shall report to  the  insurer  the
  name  of the city, village, fire district or fire alarm district or fire
  protection district in which the property insured is situated,  and,  if
  the  property insured is situated in territory not protected by any fire
  department or fire company, that fact shall be reported.
    (f) Except as otherwise provided in any special law, and except as  to
  the  Firemen's  Association  of the State of New York, such tax shall be
  used for the benefit of, as determined by the members thereof:
    (1) the fire company receiving the same, but this shall  not  preclude
  the  payment  by a fire company of all or a part of such tax so received
  to the fire department of which it is a part, or

    (2) the fire department when such tax is not required under  paragraph
  four  of  subsection  (a)  of  this  section  to  be distributed to fire
  companies.
    (g)  The  provisions of this section shall not be changed, modified or
  amended by any charter, local law, ordinance, resolution or regulation.
    (h) Those provisions of subsections (a) and (e) of this section  which
  require  the  determination  of  the  city, village, fire district, fire
  alarm district or fire  protection  district  within  which  an  insured
  property  is  located  shall  not  apply  to policies which insure motor
  vehicles, provided that:
    (1) the insurer allocates the tax to be paid on fire premiums received
  from such policies by city, village, fire district, fire alarm  district
  or  fire  protection  district using a percentage of allocation which is
  based upon the amounts of tax to be paid on all other fire premiums; and
    (2) the insurer has received the approval of the superintendent to use
  this percentage of allocation.