Students in the Legislative & Policy and Federal Tax clinics worked together to advocate for a change in the tax law which they believe disadvantages the poor. It all began with a Tax Clinic client who couldn’t pay his back taxes and had his driver’s license suspended as a penalty, thereby disadvantaging him even further because he needed to drive to work and to provide care to his mother who lives in another state. The Tax Clinic, under the supervision of Professor Elizabeth Maresca, brought a claim in state court and lost at the trial level. They have recently submitted a notice of motion to appeal.
Taking a multifaceted approach, the LPA clinic, under Professor Elizabeth Cooper, worked to amend the tax law to include a financial hardship exception, by piggybacking on a bill introduced by assemblywoman Helene Weinstein. The students succeeded in persuading her to modify her bill to include an exception for financial hardship. They also traveled to Albany twice this semester to advocate and to educate state senators, assembly members, and staffers on the importance of the bill.