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New York to Expedite Data Sharing for Tax Evasion, Fraud Investigations
By Colby Adams
printNew York City will begin sharing data on municipal taxpayers with investigators as early as March in an effort to crack down on tax evasion, money laundering and fraud. The initiative, patterned after the U.S. Treasury Department's Bank Secrecy Act data-sharing program, will allow investigators from 30-plus city agencies to access information on real estate, vending licenses, business registrations and tax returns via a single database, according to Michael Flowers, director of the city's Financial Crime Task Force. The city, which will initially restrict data-sharing to municipal agencies, could ultimately extend the program to state and federal investigators, said Flowers,...
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