Michael Hyman was appointed Acting Commissioner of Finance on May 4, 2009. He has held several senior positions during a 21-year-career at Finance, including Senior Analyst and Director of Research in the Office of Tax Policy and Assistant Commissioner for Tax Policy. Most recently, Hyman served as the Deputy Commissioner for Tax Audit, Policy and Enforcement, overseeing a staff of more than 300 auditors, tax enforcement investigators and policy analysts. In his distinguished career, Hyman has played an increasingly critical role in shaping the City’s tax policies and improving the agency’s ability to efficiently and fairly administer the various business, excise and other taxes that support the City’s vital services.

Acting Commissioner Hyman received his PhD in History from the City University of New York Graduate Center, performed a one-year post-doctorate fellowship at the Library of Congress, and published a book on public policy in the South in the 19th century. As a highly regarded expert on tax administration, he has been asked to work with several important groups to advance tax policy initiatives, including the Federation of Tax Administrators, the National League of Cities, the New York State and New York City Bar Associations, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the New York City Partnership Tax Committee, and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Hyman has done numerous presentations on tax policy issues and participated on national panels on tax policy and tax administration.

In his new role, Acting Commissioner Hyman is committed to building on the agency’s success in improving efficiency and customer service in an effort to help people pay the right amount on time. Finance’s 2300-person staff collects and safeguards $23 billion in annual tax revenue, protects records for more than one million properties, conducts tax audits to promote compliance, and provides fair, efficient hearings on more than one million parking tickets each year.

Acting Commissioner Hyman grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and now lives in Morningside Heights.