N.Y. Tax Law § 314 — Secrecy

§ 314. Secrecy.--(a) General. Except in accordance with proper\njudicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for\nany tax commissioner, any officer or employee of the department of\ntaxation and finance, or any person who, pursuant to this section, is\npermitted to inspect any return, or to whom any information contained in\nany return is furnished, or any person engaged or retained by such\ndepartment on an independent contract basis, or any person who in any\nmanner may acquire knowledge of the contents of a return filed pursuant\nto this article, to divulge or make known in any manner the amount of\nincome or gross receipts or any particulars set forth or disclosed in\nany return under this article. The officers charged with the custody of\nsuch returns 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 state or the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance in an action or proceeding under the provisions of this chapter\nor in any other action or proceeding involving the collection of a tax\ndue under this chapter to which the state or the commissioner is a party\nor a claimant, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding\nunder the provisions of this article when the returns or facts shown\nthereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding, in any of\nwhich events the court may require the production of, and may admit in\nevidence, so much of said returns or of the facts shown thereby as are\npertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. The commissioner may,\nnevertheless, publish a copy or a summary of any determination or\ndecision rendered after the formal hearing provided for in this chapter.\nNothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a\npetroleum business or its duly authorized representative of a copy of\nany return filed by it, nor to prohibit the publication of statistics so\nclassified as to prevent the identification of particular returns and\nthe items thereof, or the disclosure of data other than taxpayer\nidentity information from a return or returns of one or more petroleum\nor fossil fuel businesses to the department of environmental\nconservation or the New York state energy research and development\nauthority for the purpose of implementing the New York state climate\nchange superfund act, the climate leadership and community protection\nact, chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand nineteen,\npromulgation of regulations thereunder, and achievement of the statewide\ngreenhouse gas emission limits, as defined and established in article\nseventy-five of the environmental conservation law, or the publication\nof delinquent lists showing the names of petroleum businesses who have\nfailed to pay their taxes at the time and in the manner provided by\nsection three hundred eight of this article together with any relevant\ninformation which in the opinion of the commissioner may assist in the\ncollection of such delinquent taxes; or the inspection by the attorney\ngeneral or other legal representatives of the state of the return of any\npetroleum business which shall bring action to set aside or review the\ntax based thereon, or against whom an action or proceeding under this\nchapter has been recommended by the commissioner or the attorney general\nor has been instituted; or the inspection of the returns of any\npetroleum business by the comptroller or duly designated officer or\nemployee of the state department of audit and control, for purposes of\nthe audit of a refund of any tax paid by such petroleum business under\nthis article. Provided, further, nothing herein shall be construed to\nprohibit the disclosure of taxpayer identity information, including\nname, mailing address and taxpayer identifying number (social security\naccount number, or such other number as has been assigned by the\nsecretary of the United States treasury or such secretary's delegate, or\nby the commissioner of taxation and finance), with respect to persons\nwho are registered as residual petroleum product or aviation fuel\nbusinesses under this article or as distributors of motor fuel or diesel\nmotor fuel or kero-jet fuel only for the purpose of article twelve-A of\nthis chapter or this article, whose registration as a residual petroleum\nproduct business or as such distributor has been cancelled or suspended\npursuant to this article or such article twelve-A or whose application\nfor registration as a residual petroleum product business or as such\ndistributor has been refused pursuant to this article or such article\ntwelve-A. In addition, the commissioner may disclose the fact that a\nperson is not registered as a residual petroleum business under this\narticle or as a distributor of motor fuel, diesel motor fuel or kero-jet\nfuel only under article twelve-A of this chapter. Information disclosed\npursuant to this subdivision shall not, by itself, be construed as proof\nof compliance or noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter.\n (b) Penalty for violation.--(1) Any officer or employee of the state\nwho willfully violates the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section\nshall be dismissed from office and be incapable of holding any public\noffice in this state for a period of five years thereafter.\n (2) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven\nof this chapter.\n (c) Exceptions regarding the United States, other states and certain\nmunicipal proceedings.--Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision\n(a) of this section, the tax commission may permit the secretary of the\ntreasury of the United States or his delegates, or the proper officer of\nany other state charged with tax administration, or the authorized\nrepresentative of either such officer, to inspect the returns filed\nunder this article, or may furnish to such officer or his authorized\nrepresentative an abstract of any such return or supply information\nconcerning an item contained in any such return, or disclosed by an\ninvestigation of tax liability under this article, but such permission\nshall be granted or such information furnished to such officer or his\nrepresentative only if the laws of the United States or of such other\nstate, as the case may be, grant substantially similar privileges to the\ncommission or officer of this state charged with the administration of\nthe tax imposed by this article and such information is to be used for\ntax purposes only; and provided further the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance may furnish to the secretary of the treasury of the United\nStates or his delegates such returns filed under this article and other\ntax information, as he may consider proper, for use in court actions or\nproceedings under the internal revenue code whether civil or criminal,\nwhere a written request therefor has been made to the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance by the secretary of the treasury or his delegates\nprovided the laws of the United States grant substantially similar\npowers to the secretary of the treasury or his delegates. Where the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance has so authorized use of returns or\nother tax information in such actions or proceedings, officers and\nemployees of the department of taxation and finance may testify in such\nactions or proceedings in respect to such returns or other tax\ninformation; and provided further that such commission may furnish any\nmunicipality with such information contained in the returns filed under\nthis article as it may consider proper for use in any certiorari or\ncondemnation proceeding.\n (d) Exceptions regarding city income taxes.--Notwithstanding the\nprovisions of subdivision (a) of this section, the tax commission may\npermit the officer charged with the administration of an income tax\nimposed by any city of the state of New York, or the authorized\nrepresentative of such officer, to inspect the returns filed under this\narticle, or may furnish to such officer or his authorized representative\nan abstract of any such return or supply information concerning an item\ncontained in any such return, or disclosed by any investigation of tax\nliability under this article, but such permission shall be granted or\nsuch information furnished to such officer or his representative only if\nthe local laws of such city grant substantially similar privileges to\nthe commission or officer of this state charged with the administration\nof the tax imposed by this article and such information is to be used\nfor tax purposes only; and provided further the commissioner of taxation\nand finance may furnish to such city officer or his delegates and the\nlegal representative of such city such returns filed under this article\nand other tax information, as he may consider proper, for use in court\nactions or proceedings under such local law, whether civil or criminal,\nwhere a written request therefor has been made to the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance by such city officer or his delegates or by such\nlegal representative of such city, provided the local law of such city\ngrants substantially similar powers to the city officer charged with the\nadministration of the city income tax or his delegates. Where the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance has so authorized use of returns or\nother tax information in such actions or proceedings, officers and\nemployees of the department of taxation and finance may testify in such\nactions or proceedings in respect to such returns or other tax\ninformation.\n (e) Exceptions regarding depositories.--Notwithstanding the provisions\nof subdivision (a) of this section, the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance, in such commissioner's discretion, may require or permit any or\nall petroleum businesses liable for any tax imposed by this article to\nmake payment of any tax, penalty or interest imposed by this article to\nbanks, banking houses or trust companies designated by the commissioner\nand to file returns with such banks, banking houses or trust companies\nas agents of the commissioner, in lieu of making any such payment\ndirectly to the commissioner. However, the commissioner shall designate\nonly such banks, banking houses or trust companies as are or shall be\ndesignated by the comptroller as depositories pursuant to section three\nhundred twelve of this article.\n (f) Disclosure of certain information where more than one person is\nsubject to penalty. If the commissioner determines that a person is\nliable for a penalty under subdivision two of section two hundred\neighty-nine-b of this chapter (as applicable to this article under\nsection three hundred fifteen of this article) with respect to any\nfailure, upon request in writing of such person, the commissioner shall\ndisclose in writing to such person (1) the name of any other person whom\nthe commissioner has determined to be liable for such penalty with\nrespect to such failure, and (2) whether the commissioner has attempted\nto collect such penalty from such other person, the general nature of\nsuch collection activities, and the amount collected.\n (g) Cooperation with investigations by certain committees of the\nUnited States Congress.--(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of\nsubdivision (a) of this section, upon written request from the\nchairperson of the committee on ways and means of the United States\nHouse of Representatives, the chairperson of the committee on finance of\nthe United States Senate, or the chairperson of the joint committee on\ntaxation of the United States Congress, the commissioner shall furnish\nsuch committee with any current or prior year returns specified in such\nrequest that were filed under this article by the president of the\nUnited States, vice-president of the United States, member of the United\nStates Congress representing New York state, or any person who served in\nor was employed by the executive branch of the government of the United\nStates on the executive staff of the president, in the executive office\nof the president, or in an acting or confirmed capacity in a position\nsubject to confirmation by the United States senate; or, in New York\nstate: a statewide elected official, as defined in paragraph (a) of\nsubdivision one of section seventy-three-a of the public officers law; a\nstate officer or employee, as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph\n(c) of subdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a political\nparty chairperson, as defined in paragraph (h) of subdivision one of\nsuch section seventy-three-a; a local elected official, as defined in\nsubdivisions one and two of section eight hundred ten of the general\nmunicipal law; a person appointed, pursuant to law, to serve due to\nvacancy or otherwise in the position of a local elected official, as\ndefined in subdivisions one and two of section eight hundred ten of the\ngeneral municipal law; a member of the state legislature; or a judge or\njustice of the unified court system, or filed by a partnership, firm,\nassociation, corporation, joint-stock company, trust or similar entity\ndirectly or indirectly controlled by any individual listed in this\nparagraph, whether by contract, through ownership or control of a\nmajority interest in such entity, or otherwise, or filed by a\npartnership, firm, association, corporation, joint-stock company, trust\nor similar entity of which any individual listed in this paragraph holds\nten percent or more of the voting securities of such entity; provided\nhowever that, prior to furnishing any return, the commissioner shall\nredact any copy of a federal return (or portion thereof) attached to, or\nany information on a federal return that is reflected on, such return,\nand any social security numbers, account numbers and residential address\ninformation.\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 return information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C.\nSection 6103(f), and that if such requested returns are inspected by\nand/or submitted to another committee, to the United States House of\nRepresentatives, or to the United States Senate, then such inspection\nand/or submission shall occur in a manner consistent with federal law as\ninformed by the requirements and procedures established in 26 U.S.C.\nSection 6103(f).\n