Suck it, State of New York

The State of New York Department of Taxation can kiss my ass.

Remember the tax levy debacle back in November? When the State of New York decided I owed them $1700 from 2007, and without one letter or word or warning, dipped their hand into my bank account and subtracted most of my emergency fund? (They claim they'd been sending letters to my old address in California for two years; but I hadn't lived in California for two years; and my phone number and email have not changed since I lived in New York; and they had no trouble getting my current bank account information when they wanted it.) I smelled a great big possibly illegal, definitely sloppily handled rat at the time, but I couldn't do anything about it except grind my teeth.

Yesterday they issued another levy on my bank account. AFTER TAKING THE FULL AMOUNT IN NOVEMBER.

Long story short: They fucked up. Badly. They got a bunch of checks in at the same time, applied the wrong check to my account, and then six months later realized they showed a balance due on my account and dipped their hands back in the till for their money.

I called in a screaming panic--let's not forget my husband is unemployed, and we're on starvation rations--only to discover that the check my bank sent and the check they had credited to my account were not even the same check.

Naturally the burden of proof fell to me--I had to get a copy of the bank's check, fax it to them at my own expense (God forbid they be able to receive an email), and call six different times to make sure that a) the levy was on hold, b) the correct check was being credited, c) my account would eventually show a zero balance.

Which leads me to this fairly obvious question: IF THEY THOUGHT I STILL OWED MONEY, WHY DID I NOT RECEIVE A BILL?

They have my correct address. I never received a letter or bill from them. Also, if you issue a levy, and you still show a balance due at the end of the levy, doesn't that clearly signify that someone fucked up somewhere? The whole point of a levy is to collect ALL the money you're owed, by force.

Also, I'm extremely pissed that my meager bank account is now somehow the State of New York's own personal ATM.

Also, I find it suspicious that the first levy was issued over a holiday weekend, when I couldn't do anything about it, and this second levy was issued OVER THE NEXT HOLIDAY WEEKEND. When I couldn't do anything about it.

Really, New York? Really?

Suffice it to say that the State of New York Department of Taxation is never getting one additional penny of my money.