Christopher Meislahn is the Taxpayer Rights Advocate for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. In his position, he oversees the Office of Taxpayer Rights Advocate, continuing a mission that began as a formal departmental function in 2009 to help New York State taxpayers by balancing taxpayer assistance with enforcement of NYS tax laws. The office helps promote taxpayer rights and responsibilities and identifies recurring issues that provide opportunities to enhance Department policies and procedures and improve compliance. Mr. Meislahn has been with the Department for 16 years, starting his career in the Audit Division as a tax auditor gaining experience in excise, sales, and many of the miscellaneous taxes. He was promoted in 2012 to work in Audit Management and in May 2018 he was promoted to the Director of the Office of Taxpayers Rights where he supervised the staff and day to day operations. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Sage College of Albany school.

Sara Carlson leads the Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which regulates over 36,000 registered tax return preparers and facilitators. Her office is committed to holding tax preparers to the highest standards of quality service and holding the relatively few tax preparers who don’t meet those standards accountable. She coordinates every aspect of this program including annual registration and continuing educational training, tax preparer complaints, and enforcement. Sara has been with the Department for 13 years and started her career as a Corporation Tax Auditor in the Albany District Office. Ms. Carlson has a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting from Plattsburgh State University.