N.Y. Tax Law § 1518: Secrecy required of officials; penalty for violation

§ 1518. Secrecy required of officials; penalty for violation. (a)

Except in accordance with the proper judicial order or as otherwise

provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the commissioner of taxation

and finance, the superintendent of financial services, any officer or

employee of the department of taxation and finance, or the department of

financial services or any person who, pursuant to this section, is

permitted to inspect any return, or any person engaged or retained by

such department on an independent contract basis, or any person who in

any manner may acquire knowledge of the contents of a return filed

pursuant to this article, to divulge or make known in any manner the

amount of income or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any return

required under this article. The officers charged with the custody of

such returns shall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of

anything contained in them in any action or proceeding in any court,

except on behalf of the state or the commissioner of taxation and

finance in any action or proceeding under the provisions of this chapter

or in any other action or proceeding involving the collection of a tax

due under this chapter to which the state or the commissioner of

taxation and finance is a party or a claimant or on behalf of any party

in an action or proceeding under the provisions of this article when the

returns or facts shown thereby are directly involved in such action or

proceeding, in any of which events the court may require the production

of and may admit in evidence so much of said returns or the fact shown

thereby as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. The

commissioner of taxation and finance may, nevertheless, publish a copy

or a summary of any determination or decision rendered after the hearing

provided for in section one thousand eighty-nine of this chapter.

Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, the commissioner of

taxation and finance may permit the superintendent of financial services

or his authorized representative to inspect the returns filed with the

commissioner of taxation and finance under this article, or may furnish

to such superintendent or his authorized representative an abstract of

any return or supply him with information concerning an item contained

in any return, or disclosed by an investigation of tax liability under

this article. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery

to a taxpayer or its duly authorized representative of a certified copy

of any return filed in connection with its tax nor to prohibit the

publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification

of particular returns and the items thereof, or the inspection by the

attorney-general or other legal representatives of the state of the

return of any taxpayer which shall bring action to set aside or review

the tax based thereon, or against which an action or proceeding under

this chapter has been recommended by the commissioner of taxation and

finance or the attorney-general or has been instituted; or the

inspection of the returns of any taxpayer by the comptroller or duly

designated officer or employee of the state department of audit and

control for purposes of the audit of a refund of any tax paid by such

taxpayer under this article, or the disclosing to a state agency,

pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-f of this chapter, of the

amount of an overpayment and interest thereon certified to the

comptroller to be credited against a past-due legally enforceable debt

owed to such agency and of the name and identification number of the

taxpayer who made such overpayment, or the disclosing to the

commissioner of finance of the city of New York, pursuant to section one

hundred seventy-one-1 of this chapter, of the amount of an overpayment

and interest thereon certified to the comptroller to be credited against

a city of New York tax warrant judgment debt and of the name and

identification number of the taxpayer who made such overpayment. The

provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit or limit

the superintendent of financial services from divulging or making known

any information pursuant to the authority of the insurance law. Returns

shall be preserved for three years and thereafter until the commissioner

of taxation and finance orders them to be destroyed.

(b) (1) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates

the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section shall be dismissed

from office and be incapable of holding any public office in this state

for a period of five years thereafter.

(2) Cross reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven

of this chapter.

(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, the tax commission

may permit the secretary of the treasury of the United States or his

delegates, or the proper officer of any other state charged with tax

administration, or the authorized representative of either of such

officers, to inspect the returns filed under this article, or may

furnish to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract of

any return or supply him with information concerning an item contained

in any return, or disclosed by an investigation of tax liability under

this article but such permission shall be granted or such information

furnished to such officer or his representative only if the laws of the

United States or of such other state, as the case may be, grant

substantially similar privileges to the commission or officer of this

state charged with the administration of the tax imposed by this article

and such information is to be used for tax purposes only; and provided

further the commissioner of taxation and finance may furnish to the

secretary of the treasury of the United States or his delegates such

returns filed under this article and other tax information, as he may

consider proper, for use in court actions or proceedings under the

internal revenue code, whether civil or criminal, where a written

request therefor has been made to the commissioner of taxation and

finance by the secretary of the treasury or his delegates provided the

laws of the United States grant substantially similar powers to the

secretary of the treasury or his delegates. Where the commissioner of

taxation and finance has so authorized use of returns or other

information in such actions or proceedings, officers and employees of

the department of taxation and finance may testify in such actions or

proceedings in respect to such returns or other tax information.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,

the tax commission may permit the officer charged with the

administration of a tax on or measured by income imposed by any city of

the state of New York, or the authorized representative of such officer,

to inspect the returns filed under this article, or may furnish to such

officer or his authorized representative an abstract of any such return

or supply information concerning an item contained in any such return,

or disclosed by an investigation of tax liability under this article,

but such permission shall be granted or such information furnished to

such officer or his representative only if the local laws of such city

grant substantially similar privileges to the commission or officer of

this state charged with the administration of the tax imposed by this

article and such information is to be used for tax purposes only; and

provided further the commissioner of taxation and finance may furnish to

such city officer or his delegates and the legal representative of such

city such returns filed under this article and other tax information, as

he may consider proper, for use in court actions or proceedings under

such local law, whether civil or criminal, where a written request

therefor has been made to the commissioner of taxation and finance by

such city officer or his delegates or by such legal representative of

such city, provided the local law of such city grants substantially

similar powers to the city officer charged with the administration of

the city income tax or his delegates. Where the commissioner of taxation

and finance has so authorized use of returns or other tax information in

such actions or proceedings, officers and employees of the department of

taxation and finance may testify in such actions or proceedings in

respect to such returns or other tax information.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,

the tax commission, in its discretion, may require or permit any or all

persons liable for any tax imposed by this article, to make payments on

account of estimated tax and payment of any tax, penalty or interest

imposed by this article to banks, banking houses or trust companies

designated by the tax commission and to file declarations of estimated

tax, applications for automatic extensions of time to file returns, and

returns with such banks, banking houses or trust companies as agents of

the tax commission, in lieu of making any such payment directly to the

tax commission. However, the tax commission shall designate only such

banks, banking houses or trust companies as are or shall be designated

by the comptroller as depositories pursuant to section fifteen hundred

seventeen.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,

in the case where a taxpayer which is an attorney-in-fact has claimed a

deduction pursuant to subparagraph fifteen of paragraph (a) of

subdivision nine of section two hundred eight of this chapter, the

commissioner shall have the authority to release to such

attorney-in-fact any information with respect to the entire net income

or income allocation percentage of the interinsurer or reciprocal

insurer, or any member of a combined group that includes the

interinsurer or reciprocal insurer, which is the basis for the denial in

whole or in part of the deduction claimed by such attorney-in-fact.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,

the commissioner may disclose to a taxpayer or a taxpayer's related

member, as defined in paragraph fourteen of subdivision (b) of section

fifteen hundred three of this article, information relating to any

royalty paid, incurred or received by such taxpayer or related member to

or from the other, including the treatment of such payments by the

taxpayer or the related member in any report or return transmitted to

the commissioner under this chapter.

(h) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this

section, upon written request from the chairperson of the committee on

ways and means of the United States House of Representatives, the

chairperson of the committee on finance of the United States Senate, or

the chairperson of the joint committee on taxation of the United States

Congress, the commissioner shall furnish such committee with any current

or prior year returns filed specified in such request that were under

this article by the president of the United States, vice-president of

the United States, member of the United States Congress representing New

York state, or any person who served in or was employed by the executive

branch of the government of the United States on the executive staff of

the president, in the executive office of the president, or in an acting

or confirmed capacity in a position subject to confirmation by the

United States senate; or, in New York state: a statewide elected

official, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section

seventy-three-a of the public officers law; a state officer or employee,

as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of

such section seventy-three-a; a political party chairperson, as defined

in paragraph (h) of subdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a

local elected official, as defined in subdivisions one and two of

section eight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a person

appointed, pursuant to law, to serve due to vacancy or otherwise in the

position of a local elected official, as defined in subdivisions one and

two of section eight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a member

of the state legislature; or a judge or justice of the unified court

system, or filed by a partnership, firm, association, corporation,

joint-stock company, trust or similar entity directly or indirectly

controlled by any individual listed in this paragraph, whether by

contract, through ownership or control of a majority interest in such

entity, or otherwise, or filed by a partnership, firm, association,

corporation, joint-stock company, trust or similar entity of which any

individual listed in this paragraph holds ten percent or more of the

voting securities of such entity; provided however that, prior to

furnishing any return, the commissioner shall redact any copy of a

federal return (or portion thereof) attached to, or any information on a

federal return that is reflected on, such return, and any social

security numbers, account numbers and residential address information.

(2) No returns shall be furnished pursuant to this subdivision unless

the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies in writing that

such returns have been requested related to, and in furtherance of, a

legitimate task of the Congress, that the requesting committee has made

a written request to the United States secretary of the treasury for

related federal returns or return information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C.

Section 6103(f), and that if such requested returns are inspected by

and/or submitted to another committee, to the United States House of

Representatives, or to the United States Senate, then such inspection

and/or submission shall occur in a manner consistent with federal law as

informed by the requirements and procedures established in 26 U.S.C.

Section 6103(f).