N.Y. GCM Law § 87 — New York Code / Act GCM / Part 6 / Section 87
General powers of director of finance
Status: in_force

§ 87. General powers of director of finance. 1. General.--The director\nof finance shall administer and enforce the tax imposed by the named\nparts and he is authorized to make such rules and regulations, and to\nrequire such facts and information to be reported, as he may deem\nnecessary to enforce the provisions of this part and of the named parts;\nand he may delegate his powers and functions under all parts of this\ntitle to one of his deputies or to any employee or employees of his\ndepartment.\n  2. Examination of books and witnesses.--The director of finance for\nthe purpose of ascertaining the correctness of any return, or for the\npurpose of making an estimate of tax liability of any corporation, shall\nhave power to examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or\nrepresentative designated by it for that purpose, any books, papers,\nrecords or memoranda bearing upon the matters required to be included in\nthe return, and may require the attendance of the corporation rendering\nthe return through any officer or employee of such corporation, or the\nattendance of any other person having knowledge in the premises, and may\ntake testimony and require proof material for his information, with\npower to administer oaths to such person or persons.\n  3. Abatement authority.--The director of finance, of his own motion,\nmay abate any small unpaid balance of an assessment of tax, or any\nliability in respect thereof, if the director of finance determines\nunder uniform rules prescribed by him that the administration and\ncollection costs involved would not warrant collection of the amount\ndue. He may also abate, of his own motion, the unpaid portion of the\nassessment of any tax or any liability in respect thereof, which is\nexcessive in amount, or is assessed after the expiration of the period\nof limitation properly applicable thereto, or is erroneously or\nillegally assessed. No claim for abatement under this subdivision shall\nbe filed by a taxpayer.\n  4. Special refund authority.--Where no questions of fact or law are\ninvolved and it appears from the records of the director of finance that\nany moneys have been erroneously or illegally collected from any\ntaxpayer or other person, or paid by such taxpayer or other person under\na mistake of facts, pursuant to the provisions of this part or of any of\nthe named parts, the director of finance at any time, without regard to\nany period of limitations, shall have the power, upon making a record of\nhis reasons therefor in writing, to cause such moneys so paid and being\nerroneously and illegally held to be refunded.\n  5. Authority to set interest rates.--The commissioner of finance, by\nregulation, may set the rate of interest to be paid pursuant to sections\nsix and eight of part two, sections seventy-five, seventy-six and\nseventy-nine of this part, and those sections of any local law imposing\na tax such as is imposed by article thirty-two of the tax law which\ncorrespond to sections fourteen hundred sixty-one and fourteen hundred\nsixty-three of the tax law. Such rate shall be the same for each such\nsection and shall be not less than six percent per annum nor more than\nthe rate of interest prescribed by the banking board pursuant to section\nfourteen-a of the banking law, but if the commissioner of finance has\nnot set such rate, interest at six percent per annum shall apply, except\nthat for purposes of subdivision five of section eight of part two\ninterest at the rate of four percent per annum shall apply. Any rate set\nby the commissioner of finance shall go into effect not less than sixty\ndays after the regulation is promulgated, and shall apply only to taxes\ndue or paid for a calendar or fiscal year or other period commencing\nafter the effective date of such regulation.\n  6. Interest required to be paid.--In computing the amount of any\ninterest required to be paid under this part or any of the named parts\nby the commissioner of finance or by the taxpayer, or any other amount\ndetermined by reference to such amount of interest, such interest and\nsuch amount shall be compounded daily. The preceding sentence shall not\napply for purposes of computing the amount of any addition to tax for\nfailure to pay estimated tax under subdivision three of section\nseventy-six of this part.\n  7. Fractional parts of a dollar.--The commissioner of finance may\nprovide by regulation (a) that in any determination, assessment,\ncollection, refund or credit under the named parts, a fractional part of\na dollar may be disregarded unless it amounts to fifty cents or more, in\nwhich case it shall be increased to one dollar, and (b) that any person\nmaking a return, report or other statement required to be filed under\nthe named parts, may elect with respect to any amount required to be\nshown thereon, if such amount is other than a whole dollar amount,\neither to disregard the fractional part of a dollar or to disregard the\nfractional part of a dollar unless it amounts to fifty cents or more, in\nwhich case the amount (determined without regard to the fractional part\nof the dollar) shall be increased by one dollar; provided, however, that\nsuch election shall not be applicable to items which must be taken into\naccount in making the computations necessary to determine the amount\nrequired to be shown on any such return, report or other statement but\nshall be applicable only to the final amount required to be shown\nthereon.\n