N.Y. Tax Law § 487 — Secrecy requirement

§ 487. Secrecy requirement. (a) Except in accordance with proper\njudicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for\nthe tax commission, any tax commissioner, any officer or employee of the\ndepartment of taxation and finance, any person engaged or retained by\nsuch department on an independent contract basis, or any person, who,\npursuant to this section, is permitted to inspect any costs or to whom a\ncopy, an abstract or a portion thereof is furnished, or to whom any such\ninformation is furnished or any person who in any manner may acquire\nknowledge of such costs, to divulge or make known in any manner any of\nthe costs of doing business of a retail dealer, or of an agent or\nwholesale dealer which have been filed with the tax commission pursuant\nto paragraph one, two or three of subdivision (b) of section four\nhundred eighty-three of this article, or to divulge the name of any\nperson who has provided information to the tax commission concerning any\nalleged violation of this article.\n (b) The officers and employees charged with the custody of such\ninformation shall not be required to divulge any of such information in\nany action or proceeding in any court, except on behalf of the tax\ncommission in an action or proceeding under the provisions of this\nchapter or in any other action or proceeding involving the collection of\na tax due under this chapter to which the state or the tax commission is\na party or a claimant, or on behalf of any party to any action or\nproceeding under the provisions of this article when such information is\ndirectly involved in such action or proceeding, in any of which events\nthe court may require the production of, and may admit in evidence, so\nmuch of such information as is pertinent to the action or proceeding,\nand no more.\n (c) This provision shall not be construed to prohibit the disclosure\nof such information to a retail dealer or to an agent or wholesale\ndealer, or to its duly authorized representative, in connection with its\nestablishment of a cost of doing business, or to prohibit the\npublication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification\nof particular information concerning the cost of doing business of any\nretail dealer, agent or wholesale dealer, or the disclosure of the\nidentity of persons licensed as agents or wholesale dealers or\nregistered as chain stores, franchisees, cooperative members or large\nvolume outlets, or the disclosure to the attorney general or other legal\nrepresentatives of the state in connection with any action or proceeding\nunder this article brought by or against the retail dealer, agent or\nwholesale dealer, or against whom an action or proceeding under this\nchapter has been recommended by the commissioner of taxation and finance\nor by the attorney general.\n (d) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the\nprovisions of this section shall be dismissed from office and be\nincapable of holding any public office in this state for a period of\nfive years thereafter.\n (e) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven\nof this chapter.\n