Suffolk asks state to look into $5M tax mistake

Suffolk Comptroller Joseph Sawicki has asked state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to audit the state Department of Taxation and Finance to find out how it mistakenly paid the county $5 million for sales tax that was never collected.

"It is extremely disturbing that the NYS Tax Department actually paid Suffolk County this erroneous amount before detecting such a material error," Sawicki said in a letter sent Friday. "If an error of this magnitude occurred, what assurances do we have that the system is accurate and working properly?"

Dennis Tompkins, a DiNapoli spokesman, said their office had received Sawicki's letter and is considering his request. "We'll take a good close look to determine if an audit is warranted," he said. "Our goal is to make things more efficient to protect the tax dollar."

Sawicki's letter came after Suffolk officials last week disclosed that the Taxation and Finance Department issued a $5-million payment to the county earlier this year based on one state income tax return that erroneously reported that $10 million in sales tax was owed for out-of-state online purchases.

A taxpayer would have had to buy $116 million in goods to owe that much. State officials say the taxpayer had intended to put down that he owed $1,000 in sales tax.

The state last week reduced a Suffolk June sales tax check to correct for the mistake. In doing so, it deflated county officials who had hoped the burst of extra revenue was a sign that the economy was recovering faster than expected.