The Libertarian Party of New York is urging the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to align with the Internal Revenue Service’s approach in ceasing surprise and unannounced visits.
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced a significant reduction in unannounced visits to residences and businesses, citing officer safety concerns and the potential for scammers posing as agency representatives. Effective immediately, these visits will be limited to rare circumstances, such as asset seizures or the execution of summonses and subpoenas. Out of the tens of thousands of unannounced visits conducted annually, only a few hundred fall under these specific criteria.
In this updated approach, taxpayers will now receive letters giving them the option to schedule a meeting with an officer.
The Libertarian Party of New York is urging the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to adopt a similar policy, thereby putting an end to frivolous and often unnecessary home visits. Duane Whitmer, LPNY 1st Vice-Chair and Media Relations Chair, emphasizes, “Unannounced home visits amount to nothing more than a display of force and coercion. These visits are employed to pressure taxpayers into paying balances that may not even be owed or to intimidate them into settling erroneous fines and penalties.”
The Libertarian Party of New York dispatched a formal letter to Amanda Hiller, the acting tax commissioner and general counsel of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, in addition to being shared with every state assembly member and state senator in New York.
The full text of the letter can be found on the LPNY website.
CALL TO ACTION
We have prepared a guide for New Yorkers to use to contact their legislators to take action and end the surprise visits. Go to it on our website here. We also have a form on that page where you can tell us who you reached out to and what kind of response you received.