The law professor’s argument failed to impress a New York state appeals court.
The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Cardozo Law School Professor Edward Zelinsky’s attempt to pay New York income tax only for the time the Connecticut resident spent working in New York state in 1994 and 1995.
Zelinsky said he should have paid New York taxes only for the three days a week and 28 weeks a year he worked in New York City at Cardozo, which is part of Yeshiva University. He said the rest of his time was spent in Connecticut. He lives in New Haven.
New York state tax officials challenged Zelinsky’s tax returns, however. They said the state has a “convenience of employer” clause in its laws that allows New York to tax the entire income of nonresidents if it comes from work in New York.
Zelinsky, who represented himself in the case, countered that the New York Department of Taxation and Finance was violating the commerce clause or the due process clause of the federal Constitution by invoking the “convenience of employer” rule. He said he also had to pay Connecticut taxes on his income, subjecting him to taxation from two different states on the same money.
–Associated Press