N.Y. Tax Law § 1299-F — Secrecy of returns and reports

§ 1299-F. Secrecy of returns and reports. (a) Except in accordance\nwith proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be\nunlawful for the commissioner, any officer or employee of the\ndepartment, any person engaged or retained by the department on an\nindependent contract basis, or any person who in any manner may acquire\nknowledge of the contents of a return or report filed with the\ncommissioner pursuant to this article, to divulge or make known in any\nmanner any particulars set forth or disclosed in any such return or\nreport. The officers charged with the custody of such returns and\nreports shall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of\nanything contained in them in any action or proceeding in any court,\nexcept on behalf of the commissioner in an action or proceeding under\nthe provisions of this chapter, or in any other action or proceeding\ninvolving the collection of a tax due under this chapter to which the\nstate, the commissioner or an agency that is authorized to permit or\nregulate the provision of any relevant transportation is a party or a\nclaimant, or on behalf of any party to any action, proceeding or hearing\nunder the provisions of this article, when the returns or the reports or\nthe facts shown thereby are directly involved in such action, proceeding\nor hearing, in any of which events the court, or in the case of a\nhearing, the division of tax appeals, may require the production of, and\nmay admit in evidence so much of said returns or reports or of the facts\nshown thereby as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more.\nNothing herein shall be construed, however, to prohibit the\ncommissioner, in his or her discretion, from allowing the inspection or\ndelivery of a certified copy of any return or report filed under this\narticle, or from providing any information contained in any such return\nor report, by or to a duly authorized officer or employee of the\ncomptroller; nor to prohibit the inspection or delivery of a certified\ncopy of any return or report filed under this article, or the provision\nof any information contained therein, by or to the attorney general or\nother legal representatives of the state when an action shall have been\nrecommended or commenced pursuant to this chapter in which such returns\nor reports or the facts shown thereby are directly involved; nor to\nprohibit the commissioner from providing or certifying to the division\nof budget or the comptroller the total number of returns or reports\nfiled under this article in any reporting period and the total\ncollections received therefrom; nor to prohibit the delivery to a person\nliable for the surcharge imposed by this article, or a duly authorized\nrepresentative of such, a certified copy of any return or report filed\nby such person pursuant to this article, nor to prohibit the publication\nof statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of\nparticular returns or reports and the items thereof; nor to prohibit the\ndisclosure, in such manner as the commissioner deems appropriate, of the\nnames and other appropriate identifying information of those persons\nrequired to pay the surcharge imposed by this article.\n (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,\nthe commissioner may permit the secretary of the treasury of the United\nStates or such secretary's delegate, or the authorized representative of\neither such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or\nmay furnish to such officer or such officer's authorized representative\nan abstract of any such return or supply such person with information\nconcerning an item contained in any such return, or disclosed by any\ninvestigation of liability under this article, but such permission shall\nbe granted or such information furnished only if the laws of the United\nStates grant substantially similar privileges to the commissioner or\nofficer of this state charged with the administration of the surcharge\nimposed by this article, and only if such information is to be used for\npurposes of tax administration only; and provided further the\ncommissioner may furnish to the commissioner of internal revenue or such\ncommissioner's authorized representative such returns filed under this\narticle and other tax information, as such commissioner may consider\nproper, for use in court actions or proceedings under the internal\nrevenue code, whether civil or criminal, where a written request\ntherefor has been made to the commissioner by the secretary of the\ntreasury of the United States or such secretary's delegate, provided the\nlaws of the United States grant substantially similar powers to the\nsecretary of the treasury of the United States or his or her delegate.\nWhere the commissioner has so authorized use of returns and other\ninformation in such actions or proceedings, officers and employees of\nthe department may testify in such actions or proceedings in respect to\nsuch returns or other information.\n (c) (1) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates\nthe provisions of subdivision (a) of this section shall be dismissed\nfrom office and be incapable of holding any public office for a period\nof five years thereafter.\n (2) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven\nof this chapter.\n (d) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this\nsection, upon written request from the chairperson of the committee on\nways and means of the United States House of Representatives, the\nchairperson of the committee on finance of the United States Senate, or\nthe chairperson of the joint committee on taxation of the United States\nCongress, the commissioner shall furnish such committee with any current\nor prior year returns specified in such request that were filed under\nthis article by the president of the United States, vice-president of\nthe United States, member of the United States Congress representing New\nYork state, or any person who served in or was employed by the executive\nbranch of the government of the United States on the executive staff of\nthe president, in the executive office of the president, or in an acting\nor confirmed capacity in a position subject to confirmation by the\nUnited States senate; or, in New York state: a statewide elected\nofficial, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section\nseventy-three-a of the public officers law; a state officer or employee,\nas defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of\nsuch section seventy-three-a; a political party chairperson, as defined\nin paragraph (h) of subdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a\nlocal elected official, as defined in subdivisions one and two of\nsection eight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a person\nappointed, pursuant to law, to serve due to vacancy or otherwise in the\nposition of a local elected official, as defined in subdivisions one and\ntwo of section eight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a member\nof the state legislature; or a judge or justice of the unified court\nsystem; or filed by a partnership, firm, association, corporation,\njoint-stock company, trust or similar entity directly or indirectly\ncontrolled by any individual listed in this paragraph, whether by\ncontract, through ownership or control of a majority interest in such\nentity, or otherwise, or filed by a partnership, firm, association,\ncorporation, joint-stock company, trust or similar entity of which any\nindividual listed in this paragraph holds ten percent or more of the\nvoting securities of such entity; provided however that, prior to\nfurnishing any return, the commissioner shall redact any copy of a\nfederal return (or portion thereof) attached to, or any information on a\nfederal return that is reflected on, such return, and any social\nsecurity numbers, account numbers and residential address information.\n (2) No returns shall be furnished pursuant to this subdivision unless\nthe chairperson of the requesting committee certifies in writing that\nsuch returns have been requested related to, and in furtherance of, a\nlegitimate task of the Congress, that the requesting committee has made\na written request to the United States secretary of the treasury for\nrelated federal returns or reports or return or report information,\npursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and that if such requested\nreturns are inspected by and/or submitted to another committee, to the\nUnited States House of Representatives, or to the United States Senate,\nthen such inspection and/or submission shall occur in a manner\nconsistent with federal law as informed by the requirements and\nprocedures established in 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f).\n (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,\nthe commissioner may, in his or her discretion, permit the proper\nofficer of the taxi and limousine commission of the city of New York\n(TLC) or the duly authorized representative of such officer, to inspect\nany return filed under this article, or may furnish to such officer or\nsuch officer's authorized representative an abstract of any such return\nor supply such person with information concerning an item contained in\nany such return, or disclosed by any investigation of tax liability\nunder this article; but such permission shall be granted or such\ninformation furnished only if the TLC shall have furnished the\ncommissioner with all information requested by the commissioner pursuant\nto this article and shall have permitted the commissioner or the\ncommissioner's authorized representative to make any inspection of any\nrecords or reports concerning for-hire transportation trips subject to\nthe surcharge imposed by this article, and any persons required to\ncollect such surcharge, filed with or possessed by the TLC that the\ncommissioner may have requested from the TLC. Provided, further, that\nthe commissioner may disclose to the TLC whether or not a person liable\nfor the surcharge imposed by this article has paid all of the surcharges\ndue under this article as of any given date.\n