Bill Text: NJ S982 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-04 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S982 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S982-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DIANE B. ALLEN
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and amending R.S.54:50-9.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. (1) There is established an Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. The office shall be established in the Executive Branch of the State government and for the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the office shall be allocated in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury. Notwithstanding this allocation, the office shall be independent of any supervision or control by the State Treasurer, or the department or by any division, board, office, or other officer thereof.
(2) The Taxpayer Advocate shall report directly to the Governor.
(3) The Taxpayer Advocate shall submit requests for the budget of the office directly to the Governor who shall review the requests and forward them to the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.
b. (1) The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall be administered by the Taxpayer Advocate. The Taxpayer Advocate shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Taxpayer Advocate shall be a person with a background in customer service as well as State tax law and with experience in representing individual taxpayers. No person shall be appointed Taxpayer Advocate who was an officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury during the two year period ending with such appointment and unless the person agrees not to accept employment with the Department of the Treasury for at least five years after ceasing to be the Taxpayer Advocate.
(2) The Taxpayer Advocate shall serve for a term of four years and until a successor is appointed and has qualified.
(3) The Taxpayer Advocate shall devote full time to the duties and responsibilities of the office and shall receive a salary as shall be provided pursuant to law.
(4) During the term of office, the Taxpayer Advocate may be removed by the Governor only for cause upon notice and opportunity to be heard.
(5) A vacancy in the position of Taxpayer Advocate due to a cause other than the expiration of the term shall be filled for the unexpired term only in the same manner as the original appointment.
c. The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall:
(1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the Division of Taxation or in the making of associated business filings with the Division of Revenue in the Department of the Treasury;
(2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the Division of Taxation or the Division of Revenue in the Department of the Treasury;
(3) to the extent possible, propose changes in the administrative practices of the Division of Taxation or the Division of Revenue in the Department of the Treasury to mitigate problems identified under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
(4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems.
d. The Taxpayer Advocate shall establish the internal organizational structure of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate in a manner appropriate to carrying out the duties and functions, and fulfilling the responsibilities, of the office. The Taxpayer Advocate shall have the power to appoint, employ, promote, and remove such assistants, employees, and personnel as the Taxpayer Advocate deems necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the office. All such assistants, employees and personnel shall be deemed confidential employees for purposes of the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.) and shall serve in the unclassified service of the Civil Service.
e. Not later than December 31 of each calendar year, the Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Legislature, pursuant to pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), on the activities of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate during the fiscal year ending during that calendar year. Any such report shall contain full and substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information, and shall:
(1) identify the initiatives the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate has taken on improving taxpayer services and Division of Taxation and Division of Revenue responsiveness;
(2) contain a summary of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, including a description of the nature of such problems;
(3) contain an inventory of the items described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection for which action has been taken and the result of such action; and an inventory of the items described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection for which action remains to be completed and the period during which each item has remained on such inventory, and an inventory of the items described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection for which no action has been taken, the period during which each item has remained on such inventory, the reasons for the inaction, and identify any Division of Taxation or Division of Revenue official who is responsible for such inaction;
(4) identify any taxpayer assistance order which was not honored by the Division of Taxation or Division of Revenue in a timely manner, as specified under section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(5) contain recommendations for such administrative and legislative action as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered by taxpayers;
(6) identify areas of the tax law or associated business filings that impose significant compliance burdens on taxpayers, the Division of Taxation or the Division of Revenue, including specific recommendations for remedying these problems;
(7) identify the most litigated issues for each category of taxpayers, including recommendations for mitigating such disputes; and
(8) include such other information as the Taxpayer Advocate may deem advisable.
A report required under this subsection shall be provided directly to the Legislature without any prior review or comment from the State Treasurer or any officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury.
f. For the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ), "State tax" and "State tax law" have the meanings provided by R.S.54:48-2.
g. The Taxpayer Advocate shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to effectuate the purposes of this act.
2. (New section) a. Upon application filed by a taxpayer with the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate in the form and manner as the Taxpayer Advocate shall prescribe, or upon the initiative of the Taxpayer Advocate, the Taxpayer Advocate may issue a taxpayer assistance order if the Taxpayer Advocate determines a taxpayer is suffering or about to suffer a significant hardship as a result of the manner in which the State tax laws or associated business filings are being administered by the Director of the Division of Taxation or the Director of the Division of Revenue, or upon such other grounds as the Taxpayer Advocate may prescribe by regulation.
b. A "significant hardship" shall include:
(1) an immediate threat of adverse action;
(2) a delay of more than 30 days in resolving taxpayer account problems;
(3) the incurring by the taxpayer of significant costs (including fees for professional representation) if relief is not granted;
(4) irreparable injury to, or a long-term adverse impact on, the taxpayer if relief is not granted;
(5) the taxpayer did not receive a response or resolution of the taxpayer's problem by the date promised;
(6) a system or procedure has failed to operate as intended or has failed to resolve the taxpayer's problem or dispute; or
(7) the manner in which the State tax laws or associated business filing requirements are being administered raises considerations of equity or have impaired or will impair the taxpayer's rights.
"Significant hardship" does not include the mere economic or personal inconvenience of the taxpayer.
c. A Taxpayer Assistance Order may require the Director of the Division of Taxation or the Director of the Division of Revenue to release the property of the taxpayer levied on, cease any action, take any action permitted by law, or refrain from taking any action with respect to the taxpayer until the issue giving rise to the order has been resolved.
d. A taxpayer assistance order issued by the Taxpayer Advocate may be modified or rescinded by the Taxpayer Advocate, or by the State Treasurer if a written explanation of the reasons for the modification or rescission is provided to the Taxpayer Advocate.
e. The running of any period of limitation with respect to any action described in subsection c. of this section shall be suspended from the earlier of the date of a taxpayer's request for a taxpayer assistance order or the date the order is issued, whichever is earlier, until:
(1) the date of the Taxpayer Advocate's decision with respect to the application;
(2) the expiration date of the taxpayer assistance order, as modified if the order is modified; or
(3) the date of the rescission order, if the taxpayer assistance order is rescinded.
3. R.S.54:50-9 is amended to read as follows:
54:50-9. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent:
a. The delivery to a taxpayer or the taxpayer's duly authorized representative of a copy of any report or any other paper filed by the taxpayer pursuant to the provisions of this subtitle or of any such State tax law;
b. The publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of a particular report and the items thereof;
c. The director, in the director's discretion and subject to reasonable conditions imposed by the director, from disclosing the name and address of any licensee under any State tax law, unless expressly prohibited by such State tax law;
d. The inspection by the Attorney General or other legal representative of this State of the reports or files relating to the claim of any taxpayer who shall bring an action to review or set aside any tax imposed under any State tax law or against whom an action or proceeding has been instituted in accordance with the provisions thereof;
e. The examination of said records and files by the Comptroller, State Auditor, Taxpayer Advocate or State Commissioner of Finance, or by their respective duly authorized agents;
f. The furnishing, at the discretion of the director, of any information contained in tax reports or returns or any audit thereof or the report of any investigation made with respect thereto, filed pursuant to the tax laws, to the taxing officials of any other state, the District of Columbia, the United States and the territories thereof, providing said jurisdictions grant like privileges to this State and providing such information is to be used for tax purposes only;
g. The furnishing, at the discretion of the director, of any material information disclosed by the records or files to any law enforcing authority of this State who shall be charged with the investigation or prosecution of any violation of the criminal provisions of this subtitle or of any State tax law;
h. The furnishing by the director to the State agency responsible for administering the Child Support Enforcement program pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, Pub.L.93-647 (42 U.S.C.s.651 et seq.), with the names, home addresses, social security numbers and sources of income and assets of all absent parents who are certified by that agency as being required to pay child support, upon request by the State agency and pursuant to procedures and in a form prescribed by the director;
i. The furnishing by the director to the Board of Public Utilities any information contained in tax information statements, reports or returns or any audit thereof or a report of any investigation made with respect thereto, as may be necessary for the administration of P.L.1991, c.184 (C.54:30A-18.6 et al.) and P.L.1997, c.162 (C.54:10A-5.25 et al.);
j. The furnishing by the director to the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the Department of Law and Public Safety any information contained in tax information statements, reports or returns or any audit thereof or a report of any investigation made with respect thereto, as may be relevant, in the discretion of the director, in any proceeding conducted for the issuance, suspension or revocation of any license authorized pursuant to Title 33 of the Revised Statutes;
k. The inspection by the Attorney General or other legal representative of this State of the reports or files of any tobacco product manufacturer, as defined in section 2 of P.L.1999, c.148 (C.52:4D-2), for any period in which that tobacco product manufacturer was not or is not in compliance with subsection a. of section 3 of P.L.1999, c.148 (C.52:4D-3), or of any licensed distributor as defined in section 102 of P.L.1948, c.65 (C.54:40A-2), for the purpose of facilitating the administration of the provisions of P.L.1999, c.148 (C.52:4D-1 et seq.);
l. The furnishing, at the discretion of the director, of information as to whether a contractor or subcontractor holds a valid business registration as defined in section 1 of P.L.2001, c.134 (C.52:32-44);
m. The furnishing by the director to a State agency as defined in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.158 (C.54:50-24) the names of licensees subject to suspension for non-payment of State tax indebtedness pursuant to P.L.2004, c.58 (C.54:50-26.1 et al.);
n. The release to the United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Financial Management Service, or its successor of relevant taxpayer information for purposes of implementing a reciprocal collection and offset of indebtedness agreement entered into between the State of New Jersey and the federal government pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2006, c.32 (C.54:49-12.7);
o. The examination of said records and files by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, the Medicaid Inspector General, or their respective duly authorized agents, pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2007, c.217 (C.26:2H-18.60e);
p. The furnishing at the discretion of the director of employer provided wage and tax withholding information contained in tax reports or returns filed pursuant to N.J.S.54A:7-2, 54A:7-4 and 54A:7-7, to the designated municipal officer of a municipality authorized to impose an employer payroll tax pursuant to the provisions of Article 5 (Employer Payroll Tax) of the "Local Tax Authorization Act," P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-14 et seq.), for the limited purpose of verifying the payroll information reported by employers subject to the employer payroll tax.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.294, s.2)
4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided however that section 2 of this act shall remain inoperative until the appointment of the first taxpayer advocate has been confirmed.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, to assist taxpayers when the existing systems and procedures within Treasury's Divisions of Taxation or Revenue fail to resolve problems and disputes.
The bill authorizes the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate to:
· Assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the Division of Taxation or in the making of associated business filings with the Division of Revenue;
· Identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the divisions;
· Propose changes in the administrative practices of the divisions to mitigate the identified problems; and
· identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems.
Under the bill, the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, will appoint a Taxpayer Advocate to a four year term to administer the office. The bill requires that Taxpayer Advocate be a person with a background in customer service as well as State tax law and with experience in representing individual taxpayers. The bill forbids the appointment of a Taxpayer Advocate who was an officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury during the two year period ending with the appointment, and requires the appointee to agree not to accept employment with the Department of the Treasury for at least five years after ceasing to be the Taxpayer advocate.
To further increase the independence of the office, the bill establishes the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury. The Taxpayer Advocate will submit budget requests directly to the Governor, and will independently organize and staff the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.
The bill requires the Taxpayer Advocate to annually report to the Legislature on the activities of the office, and specifies that the report is to be submitted without any prior review or comments from the State Treasurer or any officer or employee of the department. The report must, in addition to containing any other information the Taxpayer Advocate deems advisable:
· identify the initiatives the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate has taken on improving taxpayer services and division responsiveness;
· summarize at the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers;
· inventory the progress of actions taken to implement those initiatives and resolve those taxpayer problems;
· identify any taxpayer assistance order (discussed below) which was not honored in a timely manner;
· contain recommendations for administrative and legislative action;
· identify areas of the tax law or associated business filings that impose significant compliance burdens on taxpayers, or the divisions; and
· identify the most litigated issues for each category of taxpayers, including recommendations for mitigating such disputes.
The bill gives the Taxpayer Advocate the power to issue taxpayer assistance orders to taxpayers who are about to suffer "significant hardship" as defined by the bill. Significant hardship is a serious deprivation resulting from the manner in which the tax laws or associated filings are being administered by the divisions rather than from the State tax laws themselves, and does not include mere personal or economic inconvenience.
A taxpayer assistance order is an instruction (usually involving collection issues) to the Division of Taxation or the Division of Revenue to take a specific action or to refrain from a specific action. The bill allows the advocate to issue orders upon application by a taxpayer or upon the advocate's own initiative, and such an order can only be modified or rescinded by the Taxpayer Advocate, or by the State Treasurer if a written explanation of the reasons for the modification or rescission is provided to the Taxpayer Advocate
