Yaphet J. Aryee: Taxes and
Taxis
Yaphet J. Aryee was the person everyone went to for
advice. "He was born in Ghana so he was the expert on
that," said Ely Yulman, who worked with Mr. Aryee as an
auditor with the State Division of Taxation and Finance,
on the 86th floor of 2 World Trade Center. "He made his
furniture when he got married, so people asked him how to
fix the stairs in their house, or how to fix the engine
in their car. But first of all, he was the smartest
corporate tax auditor in the department. Millions and
millions he brought in."
Like many other new immigrants, Mr. Aryee, 49, drove a
cab when he first arrived in New York as a young man;
hacking paid for bachelor's and master's degrees in
business administration from Adelphi University. He and
his wife, Maria, moved to Rockland County to raise their
four children.
But Mr. Aryee never forgot his taxi, and in August he
bought his own cab so he could begin driving again. "Only
on weekends," Mr. Yulman said. "It was his hobby."
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