During the September 11 attacks, the department had offices on the 86th and 87th floors of the World Trade Center's South Tower. On the 86th floor, five of eight employees in the revenue crimes bureau died. On the 87th floor, the mediation services bureau lost six of seven employees. Of the estimated 20 people on the 87th floor, nine were lost, including two of three senior staff.[2]
The tax department was formally created on January 1, 1927, but the first signs of the department date to 1859. The original intent was to find a way (a mathematical formula) to distribute tax revenue to individual counties in New York State.
^Tax Law § 170. "1. The existing department of taxation and finance and its present functions are continued. The head of the department of taxation and finance shall be the commissioner of taxation and finance [...]" [clarification needed]