1287 - Secrecy of returns and reports.

§  1287. Secrecy of returns and reports. (a) Except in accordance with  proper judicial order or as otherwise  provided  by  law,  it  shall  be  unlawful   for   the  commissioner,  any  officer  or  employee  of  the  department, any person engaged or  retained  by  the  department  on  an  independent  contract basis, or any person who in any manner may acquire  knowledge of  the  contents  of  a  return  or  report  filed  with  the  commissioner  pursuant  to this article, to divulge or make known in any  manner any particulars set forth or disclosed  in  any  such  return  or  report.  The  officers  charged  with  the  custody  of such returns and  reports 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 commissioner 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, proceeding or hearing under the provisions of  this  article  when  the  returns, reports or facts shown thereby are directly  involved in such action, proceeding or hearing, in any of  which  events  the  court, or in the case of a hearing, the division of tax appeals may  require the production of, and may admit into evidence, so much of  said  returns,  reports or of the facts shown thereby, as are pertinent to the  action, proceeding or hearing and  no  more.  The  commissioner  or  the  division  of  tax appeals may, nevertheless, publish a copy or a summary  of any decision rendered after  a  hearing  required  by  this  article.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a  person  who  has  filed  a  return  or  report  or to such person's duly  authorized representative of a certified copy of any  return  or  report  filed  in  connection with such person's tax. Nor shall anything in this  section be construed  to  prohibit  the  publication  of  statistics  so  classified  as  to  prevent  the identification of particular returns or  reports and the items thereof, or the inspection by the attorney general  or other legal representatives of the state of the return or  report  of  any  person required to pay the tax who shall bring action to 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 or reports  required under this  article  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 a  person  required  to  pay  the  tax under this article. Provided, further, nothing in this  section shall be construed to prohibit the disclosure, in such manner as  the commissioner deems appropriate, of the names and  other  appropriate  identifying  information of those persons required to pay tax under this  article.    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,  the commissioner may, in  his  or  her  discretion,  permit  the  proper  officer  of  the  city  or  the  duly  authorized representative of such  officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or may  furnish  to  such officer or such officer's authorized representative an abstract  of any such return or supply such person with 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  only if the city or the TLC shall have  furnished  the  commissioner  with  all  information  requested  by  the  commissioner  pursuant  to  this  article  and  shall have permitted the  commissioner or the commissioner's authorized representative to make any  inspection of  any  records  or  reports  concerning  taxicabs,  taxicab  owners, and agents filed with or possessed by such city or the TLC whichthe  commissioner  may  have  requested  from  such  city  or  the  TLC.  Provided, further, that the commissioner may disclose to the city or the  TLC whether or not a person liable for the tax imposed by  this  article  has paid all of the tax due under this article as of any given date.    (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,  the commissioner, in his or her discretion, may require or permit any or  all  persons liable for any tax imposed by this article, to make payment  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  paying  any  such  tax  directly to the commissioner. However, the commissioner shall  designate only such banks, banking houses  or  trust  companies  as  are  already  designated  by  the  comptroller  as  depositories  pursuant to  section twelve hundred eighty-eight of this article.    (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,  the commissioner may permit the secretary of the treasury of the  United  States or such secretary's delegate, or the authorized representative of  either  such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or  may furnish to such officer or such officer's authorized  representative  an  abstract  of  any such return or supply such person with 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 only if the laws  of  the  United States grant substantially similar privileges to the commissioner  or  officer  of  this  state  charged with the administration of the tax  imposed by this article, and only if such information is to be used  for  tax  purposes only; and provided further the commissioner may furnish to  the commissioner of internal revenue or such  commissioner's  authorized  representative  such  returns  filed  under  this  article and other tax  information, as such commissioner 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 by the secretary of the treasury of the  United  States  or  such  secretary's delegate, provided the laws of the United States grant  substantially similar powers to the secretary of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  or  his  or  her delegate. Where the commissioner has so  authorized use of returns and  other  information  in  such  actions  or  proceedings,  officers  and  employees  of the department may testify in  such actions  or  proceedings  in  respect  to  such  returns  or  other  information.    (e)  Returns  and  reports filed under this article shall be preserved  for three years and thereafter until the commissioner orders them to  be  destroyed.    (f)  (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 for a period  of five years thereafter.    (2) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article  thirty-seven  of this chapter.