Taxation and Finance, Department of

Agency Web Site: http://www.tax.ny.gov/

Mission

The Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) collects tax revenue and provides associated services in support of certain New York State government operations. In fulfilling its responsibilities, the Department collects and accounts for $64 billion in State taxes and about $38 billion in local taxes; administers 37 State and nine local taxes, including New York City and City of Yonkers income taxes, as well as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax; and processes over 40 million returns, registrations, and associated documents. The Department also manages the State Treasury, which provides investment and cash management services to various State agencies and public benefit corporations, and acts on the Tax Commissioner's behalf as joint custodian of the State's General Checking Account. On June 6, 2010, the Department statutorily merged with the former Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) in order to realize significant savings and efficiencies and enhance the State's oversight of local property tax administration by tapping the Department's vast information technology infrastructure and personnel assets.

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget recommends $465.0 million All Funds ($279.3 million General Fund; $185.7 million Other Funds) for the Department of Taxation and Finance. This is a decrease of $3.8 million or 0.8 percent from adjusted 2013-14 levels. The net decrease primarily reflects the elimination of obsolete operating accounts.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 4,368 FTEs for the Department. This represents the same level of workforce as in 2013-14.

Major budget actions include:

• Continuing to effectuate the STAR property tax exemption re-registration initiative to address waste, fraud, and abuse in the STAR program.
• Implementing the NYS Family Tax Relief Credit initiative which provides qualifying families with a $350 tax credit for three consecutive years beginning in 2014. This initiative will provide more than $1 billion in tax relief for Middle Class families.
• Leveraging the operational and technological capabilities of the Department’s print facility to assume the print operations of several agencies to achieve efficiencies and savings.
• Continuing investment in the Department’s successful consolidation of the call center operations of several State agencies to achieve superior customer service and operational efficiencies, which positions the Department to assume a greater role in statewide call center consolidation efforts going forward.
• Continuing to expand and enhance the Department's web filing options to drive efficiencies and improve customer service.
• Continuing to expand and enhance the Department's Business Analytics capabilities in order to drive efficiencies, increase revenue collections, and mitigate fraudulent activities.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/20/2014

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