By ALLISSA KLINE
Business First

Buffalo tax attorney Jack Trachtenberg is leaving the courtroom to work with the community.

The Binghamton-area native resigned from his job as a senior associate at Hodgson Russ LLP to become New York state's first-ever advocate for taxpayers' rights. As an employee of the state Department of Taxation and Finance, Trachtenberg will work as an ombudsman between taxpayers and the Tax Department.

"My job is to identify systemic problems in the Tax Department with respect to policies or procedures or laws or regulations," Trachtenberg said. "Having practiced in the private sector and represented as many taxpayers as I have, I sort of know where the process breaks down, when it breaks down and why it breaks down. I get a real understanding of how laws and policies impact taxpayers, whether it means they want to leave the state or move their business."

Trachtenberg started his new Albany-based job Monday.

The creation of a taxpayer-rights-advocate position is part of the state Tax Department's new initiatives to review its accessibility and responsiveness to taxpayers. The department also plans to conduct a review of its current practices and policies, leading to "potential changes within the Tax Department to improve relations" and possible legislative changes as well, Commissioner Jamie Woodward said in a statement.

Trachtenberg said his job will focus on three areas: acting as an ombudsman, getting involved in taxpayer cases where the dispute-resolution process has broken down and giving yearly recommendations on policy changes to the commissioner.

"I think there's a way we can have a win-win situation, where the Tax Department can continue to enforce its laws and raise the revenue it needs to raise while at the same time fixing some imbalances in the system," Trachtenberg said.

One area that needs improvement is the enforcement of tax policies, which make it tough to live and do business in New York state, Trachtenberg said. He said he wants to focus on "the manner in which tax laws are enforced, the aggressiveness in which they're enforced and the tone in which they're enforced," all of which can make resolutions difficult to obtain.

A University at Buffalo Law School graduate, Trachtenberg spent seven years at Hodgson Russ. He plans to continue being an adjunct professor at UB and the University at Albany.

Trachtenberg said he'll miss practicing law, which gave him the opportunity to help people.

"But one of the things that interested me about this position (was) an opportunity to make changes and assist the public," he said. "As a lawyer, you can sometimes effectuate change through the courts and I think that has its usefulness, but I'm looking forward to using this new role to bring about changes and help taxpayers in different ways."