Broadway Worldwide Inc. v. New York State Department of Economic Development

Determination of respondent, New York State Department of Economic Development (DED), dated February 21, 2014, affirming the decision of an administrative law judge, dated December 31, 2013, which, following a hearing, had denied petitioner production company an additional tax credit under Tax Law § 24, unanimously confirmed, the petition denied, and the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this Court by order of Supreme Court, New York County [Carol E. Huff, J.], entered January 23, 2015), dismissed, without costs.

DED’s determination has a rational basis in the record and is supported by substantial evidence (see 300 Gramatan Ave. Assoc. v State Div. of Human Rights, 45 NY2d 176, 179-182 [1978]). With respect to the five contracts at issue, DED rationally concluded that petitioner, despite ample opportunity, failed to differentiate between payments for services, which qualifies for a tax credit under Tax Law § 24, and payments for intellectual property rights, which does not, and failed to establish that the services referenced in the contracts were actually performed (see Tax Law § 24 [b] [2]).