Oppressive TaxPAYER Bill Introduced In Senate
Legislation was introduced this week in the Senate (S.8084,
Johnson) that will cause taxpayers — both individual and business
— to PAY dearly for disputed amounts of tax liability.
S.8084 — a Department of Taxation & Finance departmental
bill — would force taxpayers to defend yet another costly
and timely appeal by the Department of Taxation & Finance
on tax issues already defended multiple times by an aggrieved
taxpayer.
At issue here is whether a taxpayer — who, as determined
by the independent Tax Appeals Tribunal, already correctly
has: one) collected tax; two) paid tax; three) completed and
filed a return; four) maintained correct bookkeeping records
and additional supporting material; five) complied with an
audit conducted by the Department of Taxation & Finance;
six) defended her or his position in proceedings before the
Department's Bureau of Conciliation & Mediation; seven)
defended that position before an Administrative Law Judge;
and, eight) defended that position yet again before the New
York Tax Appeals Tribunal — should be subjected to the
costly expense and loss of time inherently necessary in re-defending
those hard-earned decisions before the Appellate Division because
S.8084 gives the Department of Taxation & Finance the right
to so force the taxpayer. The Department has properly never been
given this potent power — neither with taxpayer victories
in the Tax Appeals Tribunal nor its predecessor, the State
Tax Commission.
S.8084 would work an especially egregious hardship
on the small business and individual taxpayer. A
legal defense charge for representing a taxpayer through
the Appellate Division is very costly and can be ill-afforded
by small businesses and individuals. Actual legal fees
for such representation have been upwards of $45,000.
Moreover, the threat of potentially having to
defend a Tribunal decision on an appeal taken by the Department
to the Appellate Division would significantly and unnecessarily
add to a taxpayer's costs in the Division of Tax Appeals
itself. Currently, a taxpayer can decide
upon entering the tax appeals system that should he or
she lose at the Tribunal level, an appeal would not be
taken. Consequently, the taxpayer need not retain an attorney
(in addition to their accountant) for representation for
the purpose of building an adequate record within the Division
of Tax Appeals for potential review within the court system. Bestowing
a heretofore non-existent right of appeal to the Department
denies the taxpayer that ability of control over judicial
appeal and, in turn, inherently forces the taxpayer to
purchase the costly and redundant representation services
of a tax attorney from day one of the Division of Tax Appeals
process.
Taxpayers and their accountants who disagree with the Department
of Taxation & Finance's bill should contact their respective
Senator, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Owen Johnson, and
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno -- all of whom can be reached
at 518/455-2800 -- and express their views.
Manufacturers
Assistance Program
Staff
Contact: Ken
Pokalsky
Empire State Development is promoting its new Manufacturing
Assistance Program. Under this program, manufacturers can receive
state grants of up to $1 million to support investments in
new equipment or facilities. Eligible businesses are manufacturers
with between 100 and 1,000 employees; and that export at least
30 percent of their output beyond the immediate region, or
supply at least 30 percent of their production to a prime manufacture
that exports beyond the region. Eligible projects must have
investments of at least $2 million directed at improving productivity
and/or competitiveness, such as new equipment, buildings and
infrastructure improvements, improved manufacturing processes,
improved efficiency, and/or pollution prevention. Participants
are required to maintain at least 85 percent of their current
employment for a five-year period.
For more information, please contact Empire State Development
at 800-STATE NY. The program director is Jeffrey Boyce, Assistant
Deputy Commissioner for Manufacturing Services, phone (518)
292-5340.
State
Debt Reform
The Business Council has made debt reform as one of its end-of-session
priorities, and has come out in support of A.11515
and A.11516 (Morelle). This legislation, which largely reflects
the comprehensive reform package proposed earlier this year
by Comptroller Hevesi,
contains the following key provisions:
- it limits the state's debt to 5 percent of personal income,
and - starting immediately - limiting debt issuance to 95
percent of the previous year's level. These caps will apply
to all "state funded debt," which includes all debt for which
the state makes direct or indirect payments.
- it precludes the issuance of state debt for purposes other
than funding capital projects, and precludes issuance of
debt with a maturity period of more than 30 years.
- it requires that a portion of any end-of-fiscal year cash
surplus be devoted to state debt reduction.
The bill has twenty-four co-sponsors, including DeStito, Canestrari,
Weprin, Lavelle, DelMonte, Gianaris, Reilly, Lupardo, Benedetto,
Benjamin, Boyland, Carroza, A. Cohen, Fields, Galef, Hevesi,
Hoyt, Koon, Lavine, Magee, Mayerson, Robinson, Sweeney, and
Zebrowski.
The bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate within
the next several days.
The Business Council's memo in support is attached.
The Business Council urges members to contact their Senate
representatives to urge them to introduce, sponsor, and support
passage of this key reform measure; to contact Assembly sponsors
to congratulate them on their support; and to contact your
Assembly members to urge passage before close of the 2006 session.
