Comptroller of Maryland's Ombudsman's Office

Building upon his commitment to stellar customer service, Comptroller Peter Franchot has created a new agency unit dedicated to providing taxpayers with a high-level contact for tax issues that haven't been resolved adequately. The newly appointed Ombudsman is James Arnie, a 40-year agency veteran and former head of the Revenue Administration Division. He and his staff are dedicated to helping taxpayers navigate government channels and come to a swift resolution of their problems.

Ombudsman

If you have a problem with the Comptroller's Office that you are unable to resolve through routine channels, the Comptroller's ombudsman may be able to help.

The ombudsman can:

• Respond to your inquiries about unresolved tax matters including mistakes made, undue delays, poor or misleading information or staff behavior;
• Ensure that the appropriate staff person reviews your complaints;
• Provide you with a written response about the Department's decision, if needed;
• Inform you of what action, if any, you should take to resolve the issue, and
• Assist you in understanding your rights and responsibilities under the Maryland Tax Statute.

The ombudsman cannot:

• Review complaints relating to tax policy or legislation
• Review matter that are before the courts
• Automatically stop legal action being taken by the Comptroller's Office to collect a liability
• Review complaints that other statutory bodies would deal with

Contact Information

Comptroller's Ombudsman: James Arnie, former director of agency's Revenue Administration Division.

Telephone number: 410-260-4020

E-mail: ombudsman@comp.state.md.us

Address: 80 Calvert Street, PO Box 466, Annapolis, MD 21404-0466

Helpful links

• Taxpayer Service
• Check the status of a refund
• Taxpayer Bill of Rights and Consumer Guide
• General collections information
• Internal Revenue Service
• Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
• Department of Assessments and Taxation