Peter Faber wrote this bylined article on whether New York’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights gives real protections to taxpayers. Mr. Faber called the Bill “quixotic in that it imposes obligations on the Department of Taxation and Finance and yet often provides that the department’s failure to meet those obligations may have little or no consequence. Nevertheless, such a failure may give some leverage to taxpayers in negotiations, as may the existence of the rules in the first place.”