§ 87. General powers of director of finance. 1. General.--The director
of finance shall administer and enforce the tax imposed by the named
parts 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 part and of the named parts;
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.

2. 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 tax liability of any corporation, shall
have power to examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or
representative designated by it 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 corporation rendering
the return through any officer or employee of such corporation, 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.

3. Abatement authority.--The director of finance, of his own motion,
may abate any small unpaid balance of an assessment of tax, 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.

4. 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 part or of any of
the named parts, 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.

5. Authority to set interest rates.--The commissioner of finance, by
regulation, may set the rate of interest to be paid pursuant to sections
six and eight of part two, sections seventy-five, seventy-six and
seventy-nine of this part, and those sections of any local law imposing
a tax such as is imposed by article thirty-two of the tax law which
correspond to sections fourteen hundred sixty-one and fourteen hundred
sixty-three of the tax law. 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, except
that for purposes of subdivision five of section eight of part two
interest at the rate of four 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 a calendar or fiscal year or other period commencing
after the effective date of such regulation.

6. Interest required to be paid.--In computing the amount of any
interest required to be paid under this part or any of the named parts
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 three of section
seventy-six of this part.

7. Fractional parts of a dollar.--The commissioner of finance may
provide by regulation (a) that in any determination, assessment,
collection, refund or credit under the named parts, 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 (b) that any person
making a return, report or other statement required to be filed under
the named parts, 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 the 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.