City Advocate for When the Taxman Cometh

By DAWN ELIGIO

The first Taxpayer Advocate for the Department of Finance in the history of New York City on Thursday made her first appearance before the City Council where she portrayed herself as a champion of low-income taxpayers.

Diana Leyden, who was hired by New York City Commissioner of Finance Jacques Jiha in August, is in charge of developing a new system of resolving taxpayer complaints. She has stated that her role as advocate would be to, “demystify the finance department to bring in a fresh set of ideas.”

Council Finance Committee Chairwoman and Julissa Ferreras-Copeland expressed the need for a taxpayer advocate during a hearing at City Hall, and encouraged Leyden and her staff to heavily promote the services.

“We need to do better,” she said. “People need to feel that this department will help me organize all my concepts for my appeal. Your success is the success of all New Yorkers.”

 

The new office was designed to run independently from the Department of Finance As advocate, Leyden’s responsibilities include resolving client problems after they have initially tried resolving their concerns with the DOF.

“A key value of the office is that it allows me and my staff to identify where the Department of Finance’s processes may have unintended consequences for taxpayers or where systems are not functioning as they should,” said Leyden in her testimony.

Leyden has devoted most of her career representing low-income taxpayers. As a professor of law at the University of Connecticut, she founded a clinic program where she assisted taxpayers for free. She also served as a lawyer in both the Massachusetts and Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.

The City Council was expected to hold a one-year follow up to assess the OTA and Leyden’s performance.