Tax checkoff option slow to help charities

ALBANY — Money donated by New Yorkers through checkoff boxes on their tax returns isn’t getting to charities fast enough, a new report Thursday claimed.

State Controller Thomas DiNapoli’s report found that of the $59 million collected through checkoff boxes since they were first added to tax forms in 1982, more than $15.7 million remained in state accounts as of March 31 of last year.

One account, the Breast Cancer Research fund, had more than $8.2 million, DiNapoli reported.

Five other funds created in the past four years — Homeless Veterans Assistance, Veteran’s Remembrance and Cemetery Maintenance and Operation, Women’s Cancers Education and Prevention, Mental Illness Anti-Stigma, and NYS Teen Health Education — each had more than $1 million in their accounts.

“Each year, thousands of New Yorkers support important causes through personal income tax checkoff programs,” DiNapoli said. “As check-off options expand, it’s essential that state agencies ensure that contributions are used effectively and expeditiously.”

Cuomo administration officials did not respond to a request for comment.

New York’s first check-off program, Return a Gift to Wildlife, was created in 1982. Since then, 15 additional checkoffs were created for a variety of programs.

DiNapoli reported that donations to checkoff funds has been relatively constant over the last 20 years, averaging $1.7 million annually.