N.Y. Tax Law § 314: Secrecy

§ 314. Secrecy.--(a) General. Except in accordance with proper

judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for

any tax commissioner, any officer or employee of the department of

taxation and finance, or any person who, pursuant to this section, is

permitted to inspect any return, or to whom any information contained in

any return is furnished, 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 gross receipts or any particulars set forth or disclosed in

any return 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 an 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 is a party

or a claimant, or on behalf of any party to any 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 of the facts shown thereby as are

pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. The commissioner may,

nevertheless, publish a copy or a summary of any determination or

decision rendered after the formal hearing provided for in this chapter.

Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a

petroleum business or its duly authorized representative of a copy of

any return filed by it, nor to prohibit the publication of statistics so

classified as to prevent the identification of particular returns and

the items thereof, or the disclosure of data other than taxpayer

identity information from a return or returns of one or more petroleum

or fossil fuel businesses to the department of environmental

conservation or the New York state energy research and development

authority for the purpose of implementing the New York state climate

change superfund act, the climate leadership and community protection

act, chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand nineteen,

promulgation of regulations thereunder, and achievement of the statewide

greenhouse gas emission limits, as defined and established in article

seventy-five of the environmental conservation law, or the publication

of delinquent lists showing the names of petroleum businesses who have

failed to pay their taxes at the time and in the manner provided by

section three hundred eight of this article together with any relevant

information which in the opinion of the commissioner may assist in the

collection of such delinquent taxes; or the inspection by the attorney

general or other legal representatives of the state of the return of any

petroleum business which shall bring action to set aside or review the

tax based thereon, or against whom an action or proceeding under this

chapter has been recommended by the commissioner or the attorney general

or has been instituted; or the inspection of the returns of any

petroleum business 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 petroleum business under

this article. Provided, further, nothing herein shall be construed to

prohibit the disclosure of taxpayer identity information, including

name, mailing address and taxpayer identifying number (social security

account number, or such other number as has been assigned by the

secretary of the United States treasury or such secretary's delegate, or

by the commissioner of taxation and finance), with respect to persons

who are registered as residual petroleum product or aviation fuel

businesses under this article or as distributors of motor fuel or diesel

motor fuel or kero-jet fuel only for the purpose of article twelve-A of

this chapter or this article, whose registration as a residual petroleum

product business or as such distributor has been cancelled or suspended

pursuant to this article or such article twelve-A or whose application

for registration as a residual petroleum product business or as such

distributor has been refused pursuant to this article or such article

twelve-A. In addition, the commissioner may disclose the fact that a

person is not registered as a residual petroleum business under this

article or as a distributor of motor fuel, diesel motor fuel or kero-jet

fuel only under article twelve-A of this chapter. Information disclosed

pursuant to this subdivision shall not, by itself, be construed as proof

of compliance or noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(b) Penalty for violation.--(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) Exceptions regarding the United States, other states and certain

municipal proceedings.--Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision

(a) 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 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 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 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; and provided further that such commission may furnish any

municipality with such information contained in the returns filed under

this article as it may consider proper for use in any certiorari or

condemnation proceeding.

(d) Exceptions regarding city income taxes.--Notwithstanding the

provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, the tax commission may

permit the officer charged with the administration of an income tax

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 any 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) Exceptions regarding depositories.--Notwithstanding the provisions

of subdivision (a) of this section, the commissioner of taxation and

finance, in such commissioner's discretion, may require or permit any or

all petroleum businesses liable for any tax imposed by this article to

make payment of any tax, penalty or interest imposed by this article to

banks, banking houses or trust companies designated by the commissioner

and to file returns with such banks, banking houses or trust companies

as agents of the commissioner, in lieu of making any such payment

directly to the commissioner. However, the commissioner shall designate

only such banks, banking houses or trust companies as are or shall be

designated by the comptroller as depositories pursuant to section three

hundred twelve of this article.

(f) Disclosure of certain information where more than one person is

subject to penalty. If the commissioner determines that a person is

liable for a penalty under subdivision two of section two hundred

eighty-nine-b of this chapter (as applicable to this article under

section three hundred fifteen of this article) with respect to any

failure, upon request in writing of such person, the commissioner shall

disclose in writing to such person (1) the name of any other person whom

the commissioner has determined to be liable for such penalty with

respect to such failure, and (2) whether the commissioner has attempted

to collect such penalty from such other person, the general nature of

such collection activities, and the amount collected.

(g) Cooperation with investigations by certain committees of the

United States Congress.--(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 specified in such

request that were filed 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).