N.Y. Tax Law § 697 — General powers of tax commission

§ 697. General powers of tax commission.--(a) General.--The tax\ncommission shall administer and enforce the tax imposed by this article\nand it is authorized to make such rules and regulations, and to require\nsuch facts and information to be reported, as it may deem necessary to\nenforce the provisions of this article. The tax commission may divide\nthe state into districts in each of which a branch office may be\nmaintained by it, but in no case shall a county be divided in forming a\ndistrict.\n (b) Examination of books and witnesses.--(1) The tax commission for\nthe purpose of ascertaining the correctness of any return, or for the\npurpose of making an estimate of taxable income of any person, shall\nhave power to examine or to cause to have examined, by any agent or\nrepresentative designated by it for that purpose, any books, papers,\nrecords or memoranda bearing upon the matters required to be included in\nthe return, and may require the attendance of the person rendering the\nreturn or any officer or employee of such person, or the attendance of\nany other person having knowledge in the premises, and may take\ntestimony and require proof material for its information, with power to\nadminister oaths to such person or persons.\n (2) The tax commission may take any action under paragraph one of this\nsubdivision to inquire into the commission of an offense connected with\nthe administration or enforcement of this article, provided, however,\nthat notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred seventy-four\nof this chapter no such action shall be taken when a referral by the\ndepartment or the tax commission to the attorney general, a district\nattorney or any other prosecutorial agency is in effect. Provided,\nhowever, the tax commission shall have power, during the period when\nsuch referral is in effect, to examine or to cause to have examined, by\nany agent or representative designated by it for that purpose, any\nbooks, papers, records or memoranda bearing upon the matters required to\nbe included in the return, where such books, papers, records or\nmemoranda are in its possession, or where such books, papers, records or\nmemoranda are in the possession of the attorney general, district\nattorney or other prosecutorial agency to which such referral is made.\n (c) Abatement authority.--The tax commission, of its own motion, may\nabate any small unpaid balance of an assessment of income tax, or any\nliability in respect thereof, if the tax commission determines under\nuniform rules prescribed by it that the administration and collection\ncosts involved would not warrant collection of the amount due. It may\nalso abate, of its own motion, the unpaid portion of the assessment of\nany tax or any liability in respect thereof, which is excessive in\namount, or is assessed after the expiration of the period of limitation\nproperly applicable thereto, or is erroneously or illegally assessed. No\nclaim for abatement under this subsection shall be filed by a taxpayer.\n (d) Special refund authority.--Where no questions of fact or law are\ninvolved and it appears from the records of the tax commission that any\nmoneys have been erroneously or illegally collected from any taxpayer or\nother person, or paid by such taxpayer or other person under a mistake\nof facts, pursuant to the provisions of this article, the tax commission\nat any time, without regard to any period of limitations, shall have the\npower, upon making a record of its reasons therefor in writing, to cause\nsuch moneys so paid and being erroneously and illegally held to be\nrefunded and to issue therefor its certificate to the comptroller.\n (e) Secrecy requirement and penalties for violation.--(1) Except in\naccordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law,\nit shall be unlawful for the commissioner, any officer or employee of\nthe department, any person engaged or retained by such department on an\nindependent contract basis, any depositary to which any return may be\ndelivered as provided in subsection (h) or (i) of this section, any\nofficer or employee of such depositary, or any person who, pursuant to\nthis section, is permitted to inspect any report or return or to whom a\ncopy, an abstract or a portion of any report or return is furnished, or\nto whom any information contained in any report or return is furnished,\nto divulge or make known in any manner the amount of income or any\nparticulars set forth or disclosed in any report or return required\nunder this article, under section one hundred seventy-one-a or section\none hundred seventy-one-h of this chapter, or under this article and\narticle eighteen of the labor law.\n (2) The officers charged with the custody of such reports and returns\nshall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything\ncontained in them in any action or proceeding in any court, except on\nbehalf of the commissioner in an action or proceeding under the\nprovisions of this chapter or in any other action or proceeding\ninvolving the collection of a tax due under this chapter to which the\nstate or the commissioner is a party or a claimant, or on behalf of any\nparty to any action or proceeding under the provisions of this article,\nor under the provisions of this article and article eighteen of the\nlabor law, when the reports, returns or facts shown thereby are directly\ninvolved in such action or proceeding, in any of which events the court\nmay require the production of, and may admit in evidence, so much of\nsaid reports, returns or of the facts shown thereby, as are pertinent to\nthe action or proceeding and no more. The commissioner may,\nnevertheless, publish a copy or a summary of any decision rendered after\nthe hearing required under section six hundred eighty-nine of this\narticle.\n (3) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the department, its\nofficers or employees from furnishing information to the office of\ntemporary and disability assistance relating to the payment of the\ncredit for certain household and dependent care services necessary for\ngainful employment under subsection (c) of section six hundred six of\nthis article and the earned income credit under subsection (d) of\nsection six hundred six of this article and the enhanced earned income\ncredit under subsection (d-1) of section six hundred six of this\narticle, or pursuant to a local law enacted by a city having a\npopulation of one million or more pursuant to subsection (f) of section\nthirteen hundred ten of this chapter, only to the extent necessary to\ncalculate qualified state expenditures under paragraph seven of\nsubdivision (a) of section four hundred nine of the federal social\nsecurity act or to document the proper expenditure of federal temporary\nassistance for needy families funds under section four hundred three of\nsuch act. The office of temporary and disability assistance may\nredisclose such information to the United States department of health\nand human services only to the extent necessary to calculate such\nqualified state expenditures or to document the proper expenditure of\nsuch federal temporary assistance for needy families funds. Nothing\nherein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery by the commissioner\nto a commissioner of jurors, appointed pursuant to section five hundred\nfour of the judiciary law, or, in counties within cities having a\npopulation of one million or more, to the county clerk of such county,\nor to the clerk of the court or jury administrator of a United States\ndistrict court appointed pursuant to title twenty-eight of the United\nStates Code, section 1836(b)(2), of a mailing list of individuals to\nwhom income tax forms are mailed by the commissioner for the sole\npurpose of compiling a list of prospective jurors as provided in article\nsixteen of the judiciary law or title twenty-eight of the United States\nCode. Provided, however, such delivery shall only be made pursuant to an\norder of the chief administrator of the courts, appointed pursuant to\nsection two hundred ten of the judiciary law or an order of a chief\njudge of any United States district court in New York State. No such\norder may be issued unless such chief administrator or chief judge of\nsuch United States district court is satisfied that such mailing list is\nneeded to compile a proper list of prospective jurors for the county or\nsuch United States district court for which such order is sought and\nthat, in view of the responsibilities imposed by the various laws of the\nstate on the department, it is reasonable to require the commissioner to\nfurnish such list. Such order shall provide that such list shall be used\nfor the sole purpose of compiling a list of prospective jurors and that\nsuch commissioner of jurors, or such county clerk, or clerk of the court\nor jury administrator of such United States district court shall take\nall necessary steps to insure that the list is kept confidential and\nthat there is no unauthorized use or disclosure of such list.\nFurthermore, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery\nto a taxpayer or his or her duly authorized representative of a\ncertified copy of any return or report filed in connection with his or\nher tax or to prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to\nprevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the\nitems thereof, or the inspection by the attorney general or other legal\nrepresentatives of the state of the report or return of any taxpayer or\nof any employer filed under section one hundred seventy-one-h of this\nchapter, where such taxpayer or employer shall bring action to set aside\nor review the tax based thereon, or against whom an action or proceeding\nunder this chapter or under this chapter and article eighteen of the\nlabor law has been recommended by the commissioner, the commissioner of\nlabor with respect to unemployment insurance matters, or the attorney\ngeneral or has been instituted, or the inspection of the reports or\nreturns required under this article by the comptroller or duly\ndesignated officer or employee of the state department of audit and\ncontrol, for purposes of the audit of a refund of any tax paid by a\ntaxpayer under this article, or the furnishing to the state department\nof labor of unemployment insurance information obtained or derived from\nquarterly combined withholding, wage reporting and unemployment\ninsurance returns required to be filed by employers pursuant to\nparagraph four of subsection (a) of section six hundred seventy-four of\nthis article, for purposes of administration of such department's\nunemployment insurance program, employment services program, federal and\nstate employment and training programs, employment statistics and labor\nmarket information programs, worker protection programs, federal\nprograms for which the department has administrative responsibility or\nfor other purposes deemed appropriate by the commissioner of labor\nconsistent with the provisions of the labor law, and redisclosure of\nsuch information in accordance with the provisions of sections five\nhundred thirty-six and five hundred thirty-seven of the labor law or any\nother applicable law, or the furnishing to the state office of temporary\nand disability assistance of information obtained or derived from New\nYork state personal income tax returns as described in paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision two of section one hundred seventy-one-g of this chapter for\nthe purpose of reviewing support orders enforced pursuant to title six-A\nof article three of the social services law to aid in the determination\nof whether such orders should be adjusted, or the furnishing of\ninformation obtained from the reports required to be submitted by\nemployers regarding newly hired or re-hired employees pursuant to\nsection one hundred seventy-one-h of this chapter to the state office of\ntemporary and disability assistance, the state department of health, the\nstate department of labor and the workers' compensation board for\npurposes of administration of the child support enforcement program,\nverification of individuals' eligibility for one or more of the programs\nspecified in subsection (b) of section eleven hundred thirty-seven of\nthe federal social security act and for other public assistance programs\nauthorized by state law, and administration of the state's employment\nsecurity and workers' compensation programs, and to the national\ndirectory of new hires established pursuant to section four hundred\nfifty-three-A of the federal social security act for the purposes\nspecified in such section, or the furnishing to the state office of\ntemporary and disability assistance of the amount of an overpayment of\nincome tax and interest thereon certified to the comptroller to be\ncredited against past-due support pursuant to section one hundred\nseventy-one-c of this chapter and of the name and social security number\nof the taxpayer who made such overpayment, or the disclosing to the\ncommissioner of finance of the city of New York, pursuant to section one\nhundred seventy-one-l of this chapter, of the amount of an overpayment\nand interest thereon certified to the comptroller to be credited against\na city of New York tax warrant judgment debt and of the name and social\nsecurity number of the taxpayer who made such overpayment, or the\nfurnishing to the New York state higher education services corporation\nof the amount of an overpayment of income tax and interest thereon\ncertified to the comptroller to be credited against the amount of a\ndefault in repayment of any education loan debt, including judgments,\nowed to the federal or New York state government that is being collected\nby the New York state higher education services corporation, and of the\nname and social security number of the taxpayer who made such\noverpayment, or the furnishing to the state department of health of the\ninformation required by paragraph (f) of subdivision two and subdivision\ntwo-a of section two thousand five hundred eleven of the public health\nlaw and by subdivision eight of section three hundred sixty-six-a of the\nsocial services law, or the furnishing to the state university of New\nYork or the city university of New York respectively or the attorney\ngeneral on behalf of such state or city university the amount of an\noverpayment of income tax and interest thereon certified to the\ncomptroller to be credited against the amount of a default in repayment\nof a state university loan pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-e\nof this chapter and of the name and social security number of the\ntaxpayer who made such overpayment, or the disclosing to a state agency,\npursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-f of this chapter, of the\namount of an overpayment and interest thereon certified to the\ncomptroller to be credited against a past-due legally enforceable debt\nowed to such agency and of the name and social security number of the\ntaxpayer who made such overpayment, or the furnishing of employee and\nemployer information obtained through the wage reporting system,\npursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-a of this chapter, as added\nby chapter five hundred forty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred\nseventy-eight, to the state office of temporary and disability\nassistance, the department of health or to the state office of the\nmedicaid inspector general for the purpose of verifying eligibility for\nand entitlement to amounts of benefits under the social services law or\nsimilar law of another jurisdiction, locating absent parents or other\npersons legally responsible for the support of applicants for or\nrecipients of public assistance and care under the social services law\nand persons legally responsible for the support of a recipient of\nservices under section one hundred eleven-g of the social services law\nand, in appropriate cases, establishing support obligations pursuant to\nthe social services law and the family court act or similar provision of\nlaw of another jurisdiction for the purpose of evaluating the effect on\nearnings of participation in employment, training or other programs\ndesigned to promote self-sufficiency authorized pursuant to the social\nservices law by current recipients of public assistance and care and by\nformer applicants and recipients of public assistance and care, (except\nthat with regard to former recipients, information which relates to a\nparticular former recipient shall be provided with client identifying\ndata deleted), to the state office of temporary and disability\nassistance for the purpose of determining the eligibility of any child\nin the custody, care and custody or custody and guardianship of a local\nsocial services district or of the office of children and family\nservices for federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance\npursuant to the provisions of title IV-E of the federal social security\nact by providing information with respect to the parents, the\nstepparents, the child and the siblings of the child who were living in\nthe same household as such child during the month that the court\nproceedings leading to the child's removal from the household were\ninitiated, or the written instrument transferring care and custody of\nthe child pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred\nfifty-eight-a or three hundred eighty-four-a of the social services law\nwas signed, provided however that the office of temporary and disability\nassistance shall only use the information obtained pursuant to this\nsubdivision for the purpose of determining the eligibility of such child\nfor federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance pursuant to\nthe provisions of title IV-E of the federal social security act, and to\nthe state department of labor, or other individuals designated by the\ncommissioner of labor, for the purpose of the administration of such\ndepartment's unemployment insurance program, employment services\nprogram, federal and state employment and training programs, employment\nstatistics and labor market information programs, worker protection\nprograms, federal programs for which the department has administrative\nresponsibility or for other purposes deemed appropriate by the\ncommissioner of labor consistent with the provisions of the labor law,\nand redisclosure of such information in accordance with the provisions\nof sections five hundred thirty-six and five hundred thirty-seven of the\nlabor law, or the furnishing of information, which is obtained from the\nwage reporting system operated pursuant to section one hundred\nseventy-one-a of this chapter, as added by chapter five hundred\nforty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-eight, to the state\noffice of temporary and disability assistance so that it may furnish\nsuch information to public agencies of other jurisdictions with which\nthe state office of temporary and disability assistance has an agreement\npursuant to paragraph (h) or (i) of subdivision three of section twenty\nof the social services law, and to the state office of temporary and\ndisability assistance for the purpose of fulfilling obligations and\nresponsibilities otherwise incumbent upon the state department of labor,\nunder section one hundred twenty-four of the federal family support act\nof nineteen hundred eighty-eight, by giving the federal parent locator\nservice, maintained by the federal department of health and human\nservices, prompt access to such information as required by such act, or\nto the state department of health to verify eligibility under the child\nhealth insurance plan pursuant to subdivisions two and two-a of section\ntwo thousand five hundred eleven of the public health law, to verify\neligibility under the medical assistance and family health plus programs\npursuant to subdivision eight of section three hundred sixty-six-a of\nthe social services law, and to verify eligibility for the program for\nelderly pharmaceutical insurance coverage under title three of article\ntwo of the elder law, or to the office of vocational and educational\nservices for individuals with disabilities of the education department,\nthe commission for the blind and any other state vocational\nrehabilitation agency, for purposes of obtaining reimbursement from the\nfederal social security administration for expenditures made by such\noffice, commission or agency on behalf of disabled individuals who have\nachieved economic self-sufficiency or to the higher education services\ncorporation for the purpose of assisting the corporation in default\nprevention and default collection of education loan debt, including\njudgments, owed to the federal or New York state government; provided,\nhowever, that such information shall be limited to the names, social\nsecurity numbers, home and/or business addresses, and employer names of\ndefaulted or delinquent student loan borrowers, or to the office of the\nstate comptroller for purposes of verifying the income of a retired\nmember of a retirement system or pension plan administered by the state\nor any of its political subdivisions who returns to public employment.\n Provided, however, that with respect to employee information the\noffice of temporary and disability assistance shall only be furnished\nwith the names, social security account numbers and gross wages of those\nemployees who are (A) applicants for or recipients of benefits under the\nsocial services law, or similar provision of law of another jurisdiction\n(pursuant to an agreement under subdivision three of section twenty of\nthe social services law) or, (B) absent parents or other persons legally\nresponsible for the support of applicants for or recipients of public\nassistance and care under the social services law or similar provision\nof law of another jurisdiction (pursuant to an agreement under\nsubdivision three of section twenty of the social services law), or (C)\npersons legally responsible for the support of a recipient of services\nunder section one hundred eleven-g of the social services law or similar\nprovision of law of another jurisdiction (pursuant to an agreement under\nsubdivision three of section twenty of the social services law), or (D)\nemployees about whom wage reporting system information is being\nfurnished to public agencies of other jurisdictions, with which the\nstate office of temporary and disability assistance has an agreement\npursuant to paragraph (h) or (i) of subdivision three of section twenty\nof the social services law, or (E) employees about whom wage reporting\nsystem information is being furnished to the federal parent locator\nservice, maintained by the federal department of health and human\nservices, for the purpose of enabling the state office of temporary and\ndisability assistance to fulfill obligations and responsibilities\notherwise incumbent upon the state department of labor, under section\none hundred twenty-four of the federal family support act of nineteen\nhundred eighty-eight, and, only if, the office of temporary and\ndisability assistance certifies to the commissioner that such persons\nare such applicants, recipients, absent parents or persons legally\nresponsible for support or persons about whom information has been\nrequested by a public agency of another jurisdiction or by the federal\nparent locator service and further certifies that in the case of\ninformation requested under agreements with other jurisdictions entered\ninto pursuant to subdivision three of section twenty of the social\nservices law, that such request is in compliance with any applicable\nfederal law. Provided, further, that where the office of temporary and\ndisability assistance requests employee information for the purpose of\nevaluating the effects on earnings of participation in employment,\ntraining or other programs designed to promote self-sufficiency\nauthorized pursuant to the social services law, the office of temporary\nand disability assistance shall only be furnished with the quarterly\ngross wages (excluding any reference to the name, social security number\nor any other information which could be used to identify any employee or\nthe name or identification number of any employer) paid to employees who\nare former applicants for or recipients of public assistance and care\nand who are so certified to the commissioner by the commissioner of the\noffice of temporary and disability assistance. Provided, further, that\nwith respect to employee information, the department of health shall\nonly be furnished with the information required pursuant to the\nprovisions of paragraph (f) of subdivision two and subdivision two-a of\nsection two thousand five hundred eleven of the public health law and\nsubdivision eight of section three hundred sixty-six-a of the social\nservices law, with respect to those individuals whose eligibility under\nthe child health insurance plan, medical assistance program, and family\nhealth plus program is to be determined pursuant to such provisions and\nwith respect to those members of any such individual's household whose\nincome affects such individual's eligibility and who are so certified to\nthe commissioner or by the department of health. Provided, further, that\nwage reporting information shall be furnished to the office of\nvocational and educational services for individuals with disabilities of\nthe education department, the commission for the blind and any other\nstate vocational rehabilitation agency only if such office, commission\nor agency, as applicable, certifies to the commissioner that such\ninformation is necessary to obtain reimbursement from the federal social\nsecurity administration for expenditures made on behalf of disabled\nindividuals who have achieved self-sufficiency. Reports and returns\nshall be preserved for three years and thereafter until the commissioner\norders them to be destroyed.\n (3-a) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph one of this\nsubsection, the commissioner may disclose to a taxpayer or a taxpayer's\nrelated member, as defined in subsection (r) of section six hundred\ntwelve of this article, information relating to any royalty paid,\nincurred or received by such taxpayer or related member to or from the\nother, including the treatment of such payments by the taxpayer or the\nrelated member in any report or return transmitted to the commissioner\nunder this chapter.\n (4) (A) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates\nthe provisions of this subsection shall be dismissed from office and be\nincapable of holding any public office in this state for a period of\nfive years thereafter.\n (B) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven\nof this chapter.\n (f) Cooperation with the United States and other states.--\nNotwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e), the tax commission may\npermit the secretary of the treasury of the United States or his\ndelegates, or the proper tax officer of any state imposing an income tax\nupon the incomes of individuals, or the authorized representative of\neither such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or\nmay furnish to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract\nof any such return or supply him with 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 laws of the United States or of such other state, as the case may\nbe, grant substantially similar privileges to the commission or officer\nof this state charged with the administration of the tax imposed by this\narticle and such information is to be used for tax purposes only; and\nprovided further the commissioner of taxation and finance may furnish to\nthe commissioner of internal revenue or his authorized representative\nsuch returns filed under this article and other tax information, as he\nmay consider proper, for use in court actions or proceedings under the\ninternal revenue code, whether civil or criminal, where a written\nrequest therefor has been made to the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance by the secretary of the treasury of the United States or his\ndelegates, provided the laws of the United States grant substantially\nsimilar powers to the secretary of the treasury of the United States or\nhis delegates. Where the commissioner of taxation and finance has so\nauthorized use of returns and other information in such actions or\nproceedings, officers and employees of the department of taxation and\nfinance may testify in such actions or proceedings in respect to such\nreturns or other information.\n (f-1) Cooperation with investigations by certain committees of the\nUnited States Congress.--(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of\nsubsection (e) 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 reports or returns\nspecified in such request that were filed under this article by the\npresident of the United States, vice-president of the United States,\nmember of the United States Congress representing New York state, or any\nperson who served in or was employed by the executive branch of the\ngovernment of the United States on the executive staff of the president,\nin the executive office of the president, or in an acting or confirmed\ncapacity in a position subject to confirmation by the United States\nsenate; or, in New York state: a statewide elected official, as defined\nin paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section seventy-three-a of the\npublic officers law; a state officer or employee, as defined in\nsubparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of such section\nseventy-three-a; a political party chairperson, as defined in paragraph\n(h) of subdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a local elected\nofficial, as defined in subdivisions one and two of section eight\nhundred ten of the general municipal law; a person appointed, pursuant\nto law, to serve due to vacancy or otherwise in the position of a local\nelected official, as defined in subdivisions one and two of section\neight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a member of the state\nlegislature; or a judge or justice of the unified court system; provided\nhowever that, prior to furnishing any report or return, the commissioner\nshall redact any copy of a federal return (or portion thereof) attached\nto, or any information on a federal return that is reflected on, such\nreport or return, and any social security numbers, account numbers and\nresidential address information.\n (2) No reports or returns shall be furnished pursuant to this\nsubsection unless the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies\nin writing that such reports or returns have been requested related to,\nand in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress, that the\nrequesting committee has made a written request to the United States\nsecretary of the treasury for related federal returns or return\ninformation, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and that if such\nrequested reports or returns are inspected by and/or submitted to\nanother committee, to the United States House of Representatives, or to\nthe United States Senate, then such inspection and/or submission shall\noccur in a manner consistent with federal law as informed by the\nrequirements and procedures established in 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f).\n (g) Cooperation with the cities of the state of New York.\nNotwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e), the tax commission may\npermit the proper city officer of any city of the state of New York\nimposing a personal income tax upon the incomes of residents, or an\nunincorporated business income tax, or an earnings tax on nonresidents,\nor the authorized representative of any such officer, to inspect any\nreturn filed under this article, or article twenty-three (as such\narticle was in effect on or before December thirtieth, nineteen hundred\neighty-two), or may furnish to such officer or his authorized\nrepresentative an abstract of any such return or supply him with\ninformation concerning an item contained in any such return, or\ndisclosed by any investigation of tax liability under this article or\narticle twenty-three (as such article was in effect on or before\nDecember thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two), but such permission\nshall be granted or such information furnished to such officer or his\nrepresentative only if the local laws of such city grant substantially\nsimilar privileges to the commission or officer of this state charged\nwith the administration of the tax imposed by this article and such\ninformation is to be used for tax purposes only; and provided further\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance may furnish to such city\nofficer or the legal representative of such city such returns filed\nunder this article or article twenty-three (as such article was in\neffect on or before December thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two) and\nother 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 delegate, provided the\nlocal law of such city grants substantially similar powers to such city\nofficer or his delegate. Where the commissioner of taxation and finance\nhas so authorized use of returns and other information in such actions\nor proceedings, officers and employees of the department of taxation and\nfinance may testify in such actions or proceedings in respect to such\nreturns or other information.\n (h) Withholding returns.--Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection\n(e) of this section the tax commission in its discretion, when making\ndeposits, pursuant to section six hundred ninety-eight, of taxes\nwithheld by employers, may deliver to the depositary the withholding\nreturns filed by such employers as provided in section six hundred\nseventy-four, for the purpose of insuring that all money so deposited\nshall be correctly credited to taxpayers' accounts.\n (i) Filing returns and making payments to depository banks.--\nNotwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, the\ntax commission, in its discretion, may require or permit any or all\nindividuals, estates or trusts liable for any tax imposed by this\narticle, to make payments on account of estimated tax and payment of any\ntax, penalty or interest imposed by this article to banks, banking\nhouses or trust companies designated by the tax commission and to file\nreports and returns which such banks, banking houses or trust companies\nas agents of the tax commission, in lieu of making any such payment to\nthe tax commission. However, the tax commission shall designate only\nsuch banks, banking houses or trust companies as are or shall be\ndesignated by the comptroller as depositories pursuant to section six\nhundred ninety-eight.\n (j) Authority to set interest rates.--(1) The commissioner shall set\nthe overpayment and underpayment rates of interest to be paid pursuant\nto sections six hundred eighty-four, six hundred eighty-five and six\nhundred eighty-eight of this part, but if no such rates of interest are\nset, such overpayment rate shall be deemed to be set at six percent per\nannum and such underpayment rate shall be deemed to be set at seven and\none-half percent per annum. Such rates shall be the rates prescribed in\nparagraphs two and four of this subsection, but the underpayment rate\nshall not be less than seven and one-half percent per annum. Any such\nrates set by the commissioner shall apply to taxes, or any portion\nthereof, which remain or become due or overpaid on or after the date on\nwhich such rates become effective and shall apply only with respect to\ninterest computed or computable for periods or portions of periods\noccurring in the period during which such rates are in effect.\n (2) Rates of interest. (A) Overpayment rate. The overpayment rate of\ninterest set under this subsection shall be the sum of (i) the federal\nshort-term rate as provided under paragraph three of this subsection,\nplus (ii) two percentage points.\n (B) Underpayment rate. The underpayment rate of interest set under\nthis subsection shall be the sum of (i) the federal short-term rate as\nprovided under paragraph three of this subsection, plus (ii) five and\none-half percentage points.\n (3) Federal short-term rate. For purposes of this subsection:\n (A) The federal short-term rate for any month shall be the federal\nshort-term rate determined by the United States secretary of the\ntreasury during such month in accordance with subsection (d) of section\ntwelve hundred seventy-four of the internal revenue code for use in\nconnection with section six thousand six hundred twenty-one of the\ninternal revenue code. Any such rate shall be rounded to the nearest\nfull percent (or, if a multiple of one-half of one percent, such rate\nshall be increased to the next highest full percent).\n (B) Period during which rate applies.\n (i) In general. Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii) of this\nsubparagraph, the federal short-term rate for the first month in each\ncalendar quarter shall apply during the first calendar quarter beginning\nafter such month.\n (ii) Special rule for individual estimated tax. In determining the\naddition to tax under subsection (c) of section six hundred eighty-five\nfor failure to pay estimated tax for any taxable year, the federal\nshort-term rate which applies during the third month following the\ntaxable year shall also apply during the first fifteen days of the\nfourth month following such taxable year.\n (iii) Special rule for the month of September, nineteen hundred\neighty-nine. The federal short-term rate for the month of April,\nnineteen hundred eighty-nine shall apply with respect to setting the\nrate of interest for the month of September, nineteen hundred\neighty-nine.\n (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph two of this subsection\nto the contrary, in the case of interest payable by an employer with\nrespect to income taxes required to be withheld and paid over by him\npursuant to the provisions of part five of this article and with respect\nto interest payable to an employer pursuant to subsection (c) of section\nsix hundred eighty-six, the rates of interest prescribed by this section\nshall be the overpayment and underpayment rates of interest prescribed\nin paragraph two of subsection (e) of section one thousand ninety-six of\nthis chapter.\n (5) In computing the amount of any interest required to be paid under\nthis article by the commissioner of taxation and finance or by the\ntaxpayer, or any other amount determined by reference to such amount of\ninterest, such interest and such amount shall be compounded daily. The\npreceding sentence shall not apply for purposes of computing the amount\nof any addition to tax for failure to pay estimated tax under subsection\n(c) of section six hundred eighty-five.\n (6) Publication of interest rates. The commissioner of taxation and\nfinance shall publish the interest rates set under this subsection on\nthe website of the department of taxation and finance. Immediately\nfollowing such publication, the commissioner shall cause such interest\nrates to be published in the section for miscellaneous notices in the\nstate register and give other appropriate general notice of such\ninterest rates. The setting and publication of such interest rates shall\nnot be included within paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section one\nhundred two of the state administrative procedure act relating to the\ndefinition of a rule.\n (7) Cross-reference. For provisions relating to the power of the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance to abate small amounts of interest,\nsee subsection (c) of this section.\n (k) (1) For school aid payable in the school years nineteen hundred\neighty-five--eighty-six through nineteen hundred\nninety-three--ninety-four, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection\n(e) of this section, the department or authorized vendor contracted by\nthe department shall furnish, as required pursuant to subdivision\ntwenty-fifth of section one hundred seventy-one of this chapter, to the\ncommissioner of education and school district superintendents of\nidentified school districts and district superintendents appointed\npursuant to section nineteen hundred fifty of the education law, having\nan identified school district within their supervisory district, an\nordered listing, for such identified school districts participating in\nthe temporary school district address review validation and correction\nprocess, of the permanent resident address of each taxpayer who has\nfiled a personal income tax return with the department with a school\ndistrict code which indicates that the taxpayer is a resident of such\nschool district at the close of the taxable year for which the return\nwas filed.\n (2) For school aid payable in school years nineteen hundred\neighty-eight--eighty-nine through nineteen hundred\nninety-three--ninety-four, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection\n(e) of this section, a receiver school district may review the ordered\nlisting wherein an identified school district that participated in the\ntemporary school district address review validation and correction\nprocess identified personal income tax returns as belonging to such\nreceiver district. The information provided to a receiving district\npursuant to this subdivision and subdivision twenty-fifth of section one\nhundred seventy-one of this chapter shall be used solely for the purpose\nof verifying the legal residence and school district of a taxpayer whose\nreturn was identified as belonging to a receiver school district by an\nidentified school district.\n (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e) of this section,\nthe department or an authorized vendor contracted by the department\nshall furnish, as required pursuant to subdivision twenty-fifth of\nsection one hundred seventy-one of this chapter, to the superintendents\nof schools of identified school districts and district superintendents\nof schools appointed pursuant to section nineteen hundred fifty of the\neducation law, having an identified school district within their\nsupervisory district, an ordered listing, for such identified school\ndistricts electing to participate in the appeals process for a limited\nschool district address review validation and correction process.\n (5) The information provided pursuant to this section and subdivision\ntwenty-fifth of section one hundred seventy-one of this chapter shall be\nused solely for the purpose of verifying the legal residence and school\ndistrict of a taxpayer in determining the distribution of state aid for\neducation and such information may only be disclosed by such\ncommissioner, superintendents and authorized vendor contracted by the\ndepartment for such purposes to employees of the state education\ndepartment, and to employees under the control of such superintendents.\nIn addition, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e) of this\nsection, the department may furnish to an authorized vendor contracted\nby the department the permanent resident address and school code data\nnecessary for the implementation of the temporary school district\naddress review validation and correction process, the pilot computerized\naddress match and income verification project, or the permanent\ncomputerized statewide school district address match and income\nverification system pursuant to subdivision twenty-fifth of section one\nhundred seventy-one of this chapter. Any violation of the provisions of\nthis section shall be punishable in the manner provided for in\nsubsection (e) of this section. Any information obtained by any agency\nor person pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be deemed\na "record", as defined in subdivision four of section eighty-six of the\npublic officers law.\n (l) Exchange of information within the state department of labor. (1)\nNotwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the state\ndepartment of labor shall furnish to the department information required\nfrom employers pursuant to article eighteen of the labor law, and the\ndepartment shall furnish to the state department of labor, or other\nindividuals designated by the commissioner of labor who are engaged in\npurposes deemed appropriate by the commissioner of labor consistent with\nthe provisions of the labor law, withholding tax information obtained or\nderived pursuant to part V of this article, or pursuant to equivalent\nprovisions enacted under the authority of article thirty, thirty-A or\nthirty-B of this chapter, and taxpayer identification information\nacquired under any of the provisions of this chapter, for tax\nadministration and employment security program purposes.\n (2)(A) For purposes of this subsection, the term "tax administration\npurposes" means and includes:\n (i) the administration, management, conduct, direction, and\nsupervision of the execution and application of any tax, special\nassessment, fee or other imposition administered by the commissioner,\n (ii) the development and formulation of state policy relating to\nexisting or proposed tax laws and related statutes, and\n (iii) the assessment, collection, enforcement, litigation, publication\nand statistical gathering functions under such laws or statutes.\n (B) For purposes of this subsection, the term "employment security and\npublic assistance work program purposes" means the unemployment\ninsurance programs administered by the commissioner of labor pursuant to\nthe labor law and those employment and training programs with respect to\nwhich the department of labor has administrative, reporting, monitoring,\nor evaluating responsibilities.\n (3) Information obtained by the department from the state department\nof labor pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be\nconfidential, and shall not be disclosed or redisclosed except for tax\nadministration and employment security and public assistance program\npurposes.\n (4) The commissioner shall enter into an agreement with the\ncommissioner of the state department of labor in order to ensure the\nconfidentiality of tax and unemployment insurance information and that\nsuch information is disclosed only for authorized purposes in connection\nwith the implementation of the provisions of this subsection and those\nprovisions of subsection (e) of this section relating to unemployment\ninsurance information obtained or derived by the department from\nquarterly combined withholding, wage reporting and unemployment\ninsurance returns required to be filed pursuant to paragraph four of\nsubsection (a) of section six hundred seventy-four of this article.\n (m) Disclosure of collection activities with respect to joint\nreturn.--Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e) of this\nsection, if any deficiency of tax with respect to a joint return is\nassessed and the individuals filing such return are no longer married or\nno longer reside in the same household, upon request in writing by\neither of such individuals, the commissioner shall disclose in writing\nto the individual making the request whether the commissioner has\nattempted to collect such deficiency from such other individual, the\ngeneral nature of such collection activities, and the amount collected.\nThe preceding sentence shall not apply to any deficiency which may not\nbe collected by reason of the expiration of time within which to issue a\nwarrant under subsection (c) of section six hundred ninety-two of this\narticle or within which to collect such tax by execution and levy or by\ncourt proceeding.\n (n) 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 subsection (g) of section six hundred\neighty-five of this article with respect to any failure, upon request in\nwriting of such person, the commissioner shall disclose in writing to\nsuch person (1) the name of any other person whom the commissioner has\ndetermined to be liable for such penalty with respect to such failure,\nand (2) whether the commissioner has attempted to collect such penalty\nfrom such other person, the general nature of such collection\nactivities, and the amount collected.\n (o) Exchange of information with the office of temporary and\ndisability assistance.--Notwithstanding any provision of law to the\ncontrary, the department shall furnish to the office of temporary and\ndisability assistance, or as designated by the commissioner of the\noffice of children and family services, to employees of a local social\nservices district who are engaged in the process of determining the\neligibility of children in the custody, care and custody or custody and\nguardianship of a local social services district for federal payments\nfor foster care and adoption assistance pursuant to the provisions of\ntitle IV-E of the federal social security act, the name, social security\nnumber and wages of the parents, the stepparents, the child and the\nsiblings of the child who were living in the same household as a child\nwho is in the custody, care and custody or custody and guardianship of a\nlocal social services district or of the office of children and family\nservices during the month that the court proceedings leading to the\nchild's removal from the household were initiated, or the written\ninstrument transferring care and custody of the child pursuant to the\nprovisions of section three hundred fifty-eight-a or three hundred\neighty-four-a of the social services law was signed; provided however,\nthat the office of temporary and disability assistance or such social\nservices district shall only use the information obtained pursuant to\nthis subsection for the purpose of determining the eligibility of such\nchild for federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance\npursuant to the provisions of title IV-E of the federal social security\nact.\n