Upon hearing the 12-year-old ordeal of Leslie Selkirk, a divorced mother, who has been fighting abuses of the State Department of Taxation and Finance under a previous administration, Assemblyman Thomas W. Alfano (R-North Valley Stream) has joined Assemblyman Robert Prentiss (R-Colonie) in sponsoring a bill to protect law-abiding taxpayers from the tax liabilities of their divorced spouses' unlawful acts.

Known as "Leslie's Law," Assemblyman Alfano said the tax reform bill (A10077) would "protect people who have suffered through divorce situations from becoming victims of overzealous government tax agencies."

Under current New York State law, the taxpayer has to prove his or her ignorance of the fraud committed by the estranged spouse.

Instead, the proposed bill would shift the burden of proof in these type of tax liability cases from the innocent spouse to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance which has the resources to track down the tax dodger.

"Simply stated, divorced mothers who work and raise the family should not have to go through the ordeal Leslie Selkirk faced. Innocent people shouldn't be victimized - the tax deadbeat should be the target," Alfano said.

Issues similarly related to "Leslie's Law" are currently being debated on the federal level. The just-concluded US Senate Finance Committee hearings on abuses of taxpayers by the Internal Revenue Service resulted in unanimous Senate passage of a tax reform package. In those hearings, many innocent, divorced women testified about enduring the torment of wrongful pursuits by IRS agents for their spouses' tax debts.

Assemblyman Alfano noted that United States Senator Alfonse D'Amato has championed similar legislation to "Leslie's Law" on the federal level.

Here is Leslie Selkirk's story. Her ordeal began in 1983 when her ex-husband forged her signature on a tax return - without her knowledge - prior to the divorce.

For 12 years, Leslie and her family faced threats, harassment and economic ruin at the hands of state tax collectors. Leslie's repeated requests for a hearing and a review of tax documents to prove her innocence were denied. Meantime, she raised her five daughters, underwent surgery for cancer, never went on welfare, and worked hard to become a nurse. Finally, in December of 1995, the Department of Taxation and Finance admitted wrongfully collecting taxes from Leslie and returned the dollars she had to go into debt to pay.

The following are the provisions of "Leslie's Law."

* It places the burden of proof upon the Tax Commission in any case before the Tax Commission where the petitioner is asserting fraud with intent to evade taxes against an estranged spouse or former spouse who fraudulently filed a tax return on behalf of the petitioner.

Alfano concluded by saying "my hope with Leslie's Law is to protect innocent people from going through this financial nightmare - nobody should have to live this way."

Joining Alfano and Prentiss in sponsoring the bill include Nassau County Assemblymembers Maureen O'Connell and Kate Murray.