N.Y. General City Model 772/66 § 145: General powers of director of finance

§ 145. General powers of director of finance. (a) General.--The

director of finance shall administer and enforce the tax imposed by this

title and he is authorized to make such rules and regulations, and to

require such facts and information to be reported, as he may deem

necessary to enforce the provisions of this title; and he may delegate

his powers and functions under all parts of this title to one of his

deputies or to any employee or employees of his department.

(b) Examination of books and witnesses.--The director of finance for

the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of any return, or for the

purpose of making an estimate of taxable income of any person, shall

have power to examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or

representative designated by him for that purpose, any books, papers,

records or memoranda bearing upon the matters required to be included in

the return, and may require the attendance of the person rendering the

return or any officer or employee of such person, or the attendance of

any other person having knowledge in the premises, and may take

testimony and require proof material for his information, with power to

administer oaths to such person or persons.

(c) Abatement authority.--The director of finance, of his own motion,

may abate any small unpaid balance of an assessment of tax under this

part, or any liability in respect thereof, if the director of finance

determines under uniform rules prescribed by him that the administration

and collection costs involved would not warrant collection of the amount

due. He may also abate, of his own motion, the unpaid portion of the

assessment of any tax or any liability in respect thereof, which is

excessive in amount, or is assessed after the expiration of the period

of limitation properly applicable thereto, or is erroneously or

illegally assessed. No claim for abatement under this subdivision shall

be filed by a taxpayer.

(d) Special refund authority.--Where no questions of fact or law are

involved and it appears from the records of the director of finance that

any moneys have been erroneously or illegally collected from any

taxpayer or other person, or paid by such taxpayer or other person under

a mistake of facts, pursuant to the provisions of this title, the

director of finance at any time, without regard to any period of

limitations, shall have the power, upon making a record of his reasons

therefor in writing, to cause such moneys so paid and being erroneously

and illegally held to be refunded.

(e) Cooperation with the United States, this state and other

states.--Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred

forty-six, the director of finance may permit the secretary of the

treasury of the United States or his delegates, or the proper officer of

this or any other state imposing an income tax upon the incomes of

individuals, or the authorized representative of any such officer, to

inspect any return filed under this title or may furnish to such officer

or his authorized representative an abstract of any such return or

supply him with information concerning an item contained in any such

return, or disclosed by any investigation of tax liability under this

title, but such permission shall be granted or such information

furnished to such officer or his representative only if the laws of the

United States or of such state, as the case may be, grant substantially

similar privileges to the director of finance and such information is to

be used for tax purposes only; and provided further the director of

finance may furnish to the secretary of the treasury of the United

States or his delegates or to the tax commission of the state of New

York or its delegates such returns filed under this title and other tax

information, as he may consider proper, for use in court actions or

proceedings under the internal revenue code or the tax law of the state

of New York, whether civil or criminal, where a written request therefor

has been made to the director of finance by the secretary of the

treasury or by such tax commission or by their delegates, provided the

laws of the United States or the laws of the state of New York grant

substantially similar powers to the secretary of the treasury or his

delegates or to such tax commission or its delegates. Where the director

of finance has so authorized use of returns or other information in such

actions or proceedings, officers and employees of the department of

finance may testify in such actions or proceedings in respect to such

returns or other information.

(f) Authority to set interest rates.--The commissioner of finance, by

regulation, may set the rate of interest to be paid pursuant to sections

one hundred thirty-two, one hundred thirty-three and one hundred

thirty-six. Such rate shall be the same for each such section and shall

be not less than six percent per annum nor more than the rate of

interest prescribed by the banking board pursuant to section fourteen-a

of the banking law, but if the commissioner of finance has not set such

rate, interest at six percent per annum shall apply. Any rate set by

the commissioner of finance shall go into effect not less than sixty

days after the regulation is promulgated, and shall apply only to taxes

due or paid for taxable years commencing after the effective date of

such regulation.

(g) In computing the amount of any interest required to be paid under

this title by the commissioner of finance or by the taxpayer, or any

other amount determined by reference to such amount of interest, such

interest and such amount shall be compounded daily. The preceding

sentence shall not apply for purposes of computing the amount of any

addition to tax for failure to pay estimated tax under subdivision (c)

of section one hundred thirty-three.

(h) Fractional parts of a dollar. -- The commissioner of finance may

provide by regulation (1) that in any determination, assessment,

collection, refund or credit under this title, a fractional part of a

dollar may be disregarded unless it amounts to fifty cents or more, in

which case it shall be increased to one dollar, and (2) that any person

making a return, report or other statement required to be filed under

this title, may elect with respect to any amount required to be shown

thereon, if such amount is other than a whole dollar amount, either to

disregard the fractional part of a dollar or to disregard the fractional

part of a dollar unless it amounts to fifty cents or more, in which case

the amount (determined without regard to the fractional part of a

dollar) shall be increased by one dollar; provided, however, that such

election shall not be applicable to items which must be taken into

account in making the computations necessary to determine the amount

required to be shown on any such return, report or other statement but

shall be applicable only to the final amount required to be shown

thereon.