§ 77 — General powers of administrator

§ 77. General powers of administrator.-- (a) General.--The\nadministrator shall administer and enforce the tax imposed by this local\nlaw 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 local law and he may\ndelegate his powers and functions under all parts of this local law to\none of his deputies or to any employee or employees of his department.\n (b) Examination of books and witnesses.-- The administrator for the\npurpose of ascertaining the correctness of any return, or for the\npurpose of making an estimate of taxable income of any person, shall\nhave power to examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or\nrepresentative designated by him 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 person rendering the\nreturn or any officer or employee of such person, or the attendance of\nany other person having knowledge in the premises, and may take\ntestimony and require proof material for his information, with power to\nadminister oaths to such person or persons.\n (c) Abatement authority.-- The administrator, of his own motion, may\nabate any small unpaid balance of an assessment of income tax, or any\nliability in respect thereof, if the administrator determines under\nuniform rules prescribed by him that the administration and collection\ncosts involved would not warrant collection of the amount due. He may\nalso abate, of his own motion, the unpaid portion of the assessment of\nany tax or any liability in respect thereof, which is excessive in\namount, or is assessed after the expiration of the period of limitation\nproperly applicable thereto, or is erroneously or illegally assessed. No\nclaim for abatement under this subdivision shall be filed by a taxpayer.\n (d) Special refund authority.-- Where no questions of fact or law are\ninvolved and it appears from the records of the administrator that any\nmoneys have been erroneously or illegally collected from any taxpayer or\nother person, or paid by such taxpayer or other person under a mistake\nof facts, pursuant to the provisions of this local law, the\nadministrator at any time, without regard to any period of limitations,\nshall have the power, upon making a record of his reasons therefor in\nwriting, to cause such moneys so paid and being erroneously and\nillegally held to be refunded.\n (e) Cooperation with the United States, other states and the state of\nNew York. Notwithstanding the provisions of section seventy-eight, the\nadministrator may permit the secretary of the treasury of the United\nStates or his delegates, or the proper tax officer of this state or of\nany other state imposing an income tax upon the incomes of individuals,\nor the authorized representative of either such officer, to inspect any\nreturn filed under this local law, or may furnish to such officer or his\nauthorized representative an abstract of any such return or supply him\nwith information concerning an item contained in any such return, or\ndisclosed by any investigation of tax liability under this local law,\nbut such permission shall be granted or such information furnished to\nsuch officer or his representative only if the laws of the United States\nor of such state, as the case may be, grant substantially similar\nprivileges to the administrator and such information is to be used for\ntax purposes only; and provided further the administrator may furnish to\nthe commissioner of internal revenue or his authorized representative or\nto the tax commission of the state of New York or its authorized\nrepresentative such returns filed under this local law and other tax\ninformation as he may consider proper for use in court actions or\nproceedings under the internal revenue code or the tax law, whether\ncivil or criminal, where a written request therefor has been made to the\nadministrator by the secretary of the treasury of the United States or\nby such tax commission or by their delegates provided the laws of the\nUnited States or the laws of the state of New York grant substantially\nsimilar powers to the secretary of the treasury of the United States or\nhis delegates or to such tax commission or its delegates. Where the\nadministrator has so authorized use of returns and other information in\nsuch actions or proceedings, officers and employees of the department of\nfinance of the city may testify in such actions or proceedings in\nrespect to such returns or other information.\n