Taxation and Finance Commissioner Retires

Taxation and Finance Commissioner Retires
Roth Steps Down After Four Years at the Helm

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“I’m just looking to do other things,” Roth said. “I accomplished everything I told the governor I’d do. It’s hard to point to any one thing, but because we changed the culture here, and raised the standards in public service, we’ve also been able to partner with state agencies and government at all levels.”

“I think we changed the face of government by doing that,” Roth added.

Roth announced his retirement from public service in an e-mail to his staff on Aug. 20. “I am deeply honored to have had the chance to work with all of you,” Roth stated. “As I move on, I know that I leave behind a legacy of excellence that you will carry on into the future.We have reformed and simplified our regulatory practices, forged stronger and mutually beneficial partnerships with our colleagues in the tax community, in the practitioner community, and in professional organizations.”

Roth joined the department as deputy commissioner for tax operations in 1996 and became commissioner three years later. His last day was Aug. 29.

As commissioner, Roth was noted for instilling responsiveness in his staff, developing 24-hour-a-day and seven-day-a-week access to certain services through the department’s website, and leading his staff in the aftermath of Sept. 11, when 40 colleagues died in the World Trade Center. Members of the New York State Society of CPAs said spoke fondly of Roth’s role as commissioner.

“It was a pleasure working with him. He is one of us. He is a CPA,” said Mark Levin, chair of the NYSSCPA’s New York, Multistate and Local Taxation Committee. Roth is a member of the committee. “Following his lead, the department is doing the right thing. I think it was his guiding force that made the department more accessible to the practitioner community and to the taxpayers as a whole.”

“He’s been a great friend of the Society,” said Stewart Buxbaum, another member and former chair of the committee. Buxbaum also noted Roth’s role in presiding over the department’s technology implementation.

Roth has been a member of the Society since 1967. According to his biography on the tax department’s website, Roth served as an officer in the military from 1962 to 1964. In 1967, he graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s of science degree.

In 1968, Roth founded the Albany-based Roth Nobis & Co. P.C., a firm specializing in high-technology and manufacturing clients; he served as its managing director until 1992. Around that time he also became senior consulting director with Coopers and Lybrand, and in 1996 went on to the tax department.

Roth has also served the NYSSCPA extensively as a member of various committees. He is a former president of the Northeast Chapter, and he sat on the Society’s board of directors from 1983 to 1986.

The Society honored Roth in 1998 with the Outstanding CPA in Government award.

“Arthur Roth is everything a CPA should be,” NYSSCPA Executive Director Lou Grumet said. “That’s true both as a professional and a public servant.”

In his e-mail announcement to the staff, Roth recalled Sept. 11 as his “saddest and yet most precious memory” of the tax department. Roth commended the staff for the way it responded to the tragedy.

“I guess as a human being my biggest accomplishment was to be in the position to help the families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11,” Roth said. “To help ease the pain and the burden, that was a blessing bestowed on me. That was the highlight of my professional career.”

Gov. George Pataki is expected to name an acting commissioner until a formal nomination can be submitted to the state senate for confirmation.