New Taxman Tightens the Screws

NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Bloomberg’s recent appointment of David Frankel as the new commissioner of finance will result in significant changes at the Department of Finance. Frankel’s priority calls for aggressive pursuit of companies and individuals who do not pay the correct amount of taxes or avoid paying taxes altogether. His goal is “to level the playing field” so that tax avoiders lose their competitive advantage over the vast majority of other law abiding taxpayers.

Frankel, a seasoned Wall Street professional, signaled in his first briefing to industry groups this fall, a number of changes he would make at his agency. He announced several key personnel changes and has reorganized the management structure so that only a few of the 24 department heads report directly to him.

He announced plans to hire 29 new auditors and picked a former Assistant US Attorney as his new general counsel. The auditors will use new databases and software tools to look for inconsistencies in tax receipts, income tax filings, data on licenses and permits, and to review the findings of other audits conducted by all levels of government, including State and Federal. “However you feel about your taxes, you’ve got to pay them,” said Frankel.