NYC Department of Finance (DOF) is responsible for administering the tax revenue laws of the city fairly, efficiently, and transparently to instill public confidence and encourage compliance while providing exceptional customer service.

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate (OTA) is an independent office within the Department of Finance which assists customers who have been unable to resolve their tax issues through normal Department of Finance channels. In addition, the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate makes systemic recommendations to improve DOF policies and procedures. OTA’s base matters consist of NYC property, business, and certain excise tax issues.

The Office of the Parking Summons Advocate is an office within OTA that ensures and promotes fairness in the parking summons dispute resolution process. The office serves members of the public who wish to dispute, or have disputed, their parking summonses. The office acts as an intermediary between unrepresented and underrepresented members of the public, DOF units, and other agencies involved in the parking summons adjudication process; informs the public about parking laws and related Department of Finance policies and procedures; and recommends solutions to systemic problems and issues in the parking summons adjudication process.

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate has an opening for a graduate/law student in supervised internship program. The student should be willing to be in the office at least one full day and commit 14 hours a week if possible.

The student will be asked to sign a Tax Secrecy agreement and should understand the rules that prevent nondisclosure of Department of Finance information. The Office provides both case advocacy and systemic problem resolution on cases involving NYC business and excise taxes and property taxes. The student would work under the supervision of either the Taxpayer Advocate or the Attorney Advisor, both of whom are attorneys. Projects would include:

- Assisting Case Advocate on researching and investigating facts in cases.
- Researching policy implicated by systemic problems.
- Assisting the Taxpayer Advocate in her annual report of the 10 most serious problems facing NYC taxpayers.
- Attending task force or working group meetings on issue or projects that the Taxpayer Advocate is involved in.

The candidate should have very good writing and legal research skills, competent with computer programs Word, Excel and PowerPoint, good at managing times and meeting project deadlines, and excellent interpersonal skills. The office interacts on a regular basis with taxpayers who are frustrated and angry and the students should be able to handle challenging conversations.

Candidates must be currently enrolled in a graduate degree program in an accredited college, university or law school.

SPECIAL SKILLS/AREA OF STUDY: Law, preferred basic tax course completed.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.