§ 145. General powers of director of finance. (a) General.--The
director of finance shall administer and enforce the tax imposed by this
title and he is authorized to make such rules and regulations, and to
require such facts and information to be reported, as he may deem
necessary to enforce the provisions of this title; and he may delegate
his powers and functions under all parts of this title to one of his
deputies or to any employee or employees of his department.

(b) Examination of books and witnesses.--The director of finance for
the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of any return, or for the
purpose of making an estimate of taxable income of any person, shall
have power to examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or
representative designated by him for that purpose, any books, papers,
records or memoranda bearing upon the matters required to be included in
the return, and may require the attendance of the person rendering the
return or any officer or employee of such person, or the attendance of
any other person having knowledge in the premises, and may take
testimony and require proof material for his information, with power to
administer oaths to such person or persons.

(c) Abatement authority.--The director of finance, of his own motion,
may abate any small unpaid balance of an assessment of tax under this
part, or any liability in respect thereof, if the director of finance
determines under uniform rules prescribed by him that the administration
and collection costs involved would not warrant collection of the amount
due. He may also abate, of his own motion, the unpaid portion of the
assessment of any tax or any liability in respect thereof, which is
excessive in amount, or is assessed after the expiration of the period
of limitation properly applicable thereto, or is erroneously or
illegally assessed. No claim for abatement under this subdivision shall
be filed by a taxpayer.

(d) Special refund authority.--Where no questions of fact or law are
involved and it appears from the records of the director of finance that
any moneys have been erroneously or illegally collected from any
taxpayer or other person, or paid by such taxpayer or other person under
a mistake of facts, pursuant to the provisions of this title, the
director of finance at any time, without regard to any period of
limitations, shall have the power, upon making a record of his reasons
therefor in writing, to cause such moneys so paid and being erroneously
and illegally held to be refunded.

(e) Cooperation with the United States, this state and other
states.--Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred
forty-six, the director of finance may permit the secretary of the
treasury of the United States or his delegates, or the proper officer of
this or any other state imposing an income tax upon the incomes of
individuals, or the authorized representative of any such officer, to
inspect any return filed under this title or may furnish to such officer
or his authorized representative an abstract of any such return or
supply him with information concerning an item contained in any such
return, or disclosed by any investigation of tax liability under this
title, but such permission shall be granted or such information
furnished to such officer or his representative only if the laws of the
United States or of such state, as the case may be, grant substantially
similar privileges to the director of finance and such information is to
be used for tax purposes only; and provided further the director of
finance may furnish to the secretary of the treasury of the United
States or his delegates or to the tax commission of the state of New
York or its delegates such returns filed under this title and other tax
information, as he may consider proper, for use in court actions or
proceedings under the internal revenue code or the tax law of the state
of New York, whether civil or criminal, where a written request therefor
has been made to the director of finance by the secretary of the
treasury or by such tax commission or by their delegates, provided the
laws of the United States or the laws of the state of New York grant
substantially similar powers to the secretary of the treasury or his
delegates or to such tax commission or its delegates. Where the director
of finance has so authorized use of returns or other information in such
actions or proceedings, officers and employees of the department of
finance may testify in such actions or proceedings in respect to such
returns or other information.

(f) Authority to set interest rates.--The commissioner of finance, by
regulation, may set the rate of interest to be paid pursuant to sections
one hundred thirty-two, one hundred thirty-three and one hundred
thirty-six. Such rate shall be the same for each such section and shall
be not less than six percent per annum nor more than the rate of
interest prescribed by the banking board pursuant to section fourteen-a
of the banking law, but if the commissioner of finance has not set such
rate, interest at six percent per annum shall apply. Any rate set by
the commissioner of finance shall go into effect not less than sixty
days after the regulation is promulgated, and shall apply only to taxes
due or paid for taxable years commencing after the effective date of
such regulation.

(g) In computing the amount of any interest required to be paid under
this title by the commissioner of finance or by the taxpayer, or any
other amount determined by reference to such amount of interest, such
interest and such amount shall be compounded daily. The preceding
sentence shall not apply for purposes of computing the amount of any
addition to tax for failure to pay estimated tax under subdivision (c)
of section one hundred thirty-three.

(h) Fractional parts of a dollar. -- The commissioner of finance may
provide by regulation (1) that in any determination, assessment,
collection, refund or credit under this title, a fractional part of a
dollar may be disregarded unless it amounts to fifty cents or more, in
which case it shall be increased to one dollar, and (2) that any person
making a return, report or other statement required to be filed under
this title, may elect with respect to any amount required to be shown
thereon, if such amount is other than a whole dollar amount, either to
disregard the fractional part of a dollar or to disregard the fractional
part of a dollar unless it amounts to fifty cents or more, in which case
the amount (determined without regard to the fractional part of a
dollar) shall be increased by one dollar; provided, however, that such
election shall not be applicable to items which must be taken into
account in making the computations necessary to determine the amount
required to be shown on any such return, report or other statement but
shall be applicable only to the final amount required to be shown
thereon.