Albany Times-Union:
…the counsel’s office in the Department of Taxation and Finance took an especially deep cut. It has 42 PEF members — all of whom are attorneys — and 37 were issued pink slips. The employees said this would leave the five lawyers and “a handful” of exempt employees to do legal work at the department. An administration official countered that around 20 would remain in place, and that the office is currently “bloated.” The attorneys perform several tasks. They help draft legislation and changes to the tax code as needed during the state budget process, and issue advisory opinions for taxpayers about how the law should be applied. They also handle cases of taxpayer grievances, litigating on behalf of the state. More than $500 million worth of cases are outstanding, Wells and the other employees said. According to the Division of Tax Appeals’ 2009-10 annual report, $130 million worth of disputes were decided, with the state winning roughly half of them. “That’s money out there where they’re supposed to be fighting to bring it to the state,” Wells said. “Having far fewer people to do that is going to mean less coming in, and our understanding is there’s not a plan in place to replace the work.”
lennyesq 