N.Y. TAX Law § 1296 — New York Code / Act TAX / Article 29-B / Section 1296
Secrecy of returns and reports
Status: in_force

§ 1296. Secrecy of returns and reports. (a) Except in accordance with\nproper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be\nunlawful for the commissioner, any officer or employee of the\ndepartment, any person engaged or retained by the department on an\nindependent contract basis, or any person who in any manner may acquire\nknowledge of the contents of a return or report filed with the\ncommissioner pursuant to this article, to divulge or make known in any\nmanner any particulars set forth or disclosed in any such return or\nreport. The officers charged with the custody of such returns and\nreports shall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of\nanything contained in them in any action or proceeding in any court,\nexcept on behalf of the commissioner in an action or proceeding under\nthe provisions of this chapter or in any other action or proceeding\ninvolving the collection of a state assessment fee due under this\narticle to which the state or the commissioner is a party or a claimant,\nor on behalf of any party to any action, proceeding or hearing under the\nprovisions of this article when the returns, reports or facts shown\nthereby are directly involved in such action, proceeding or hearing, in\nany of which events the court, or in the case of a hearing, the division\nof tax appeals may require the production of, and may admit into\nevidence, so much of said returns, reports or of the facts shown\nthereby, as are pertinent to the action, proceeding or hearing and no\nmore. The commissioner or the division of tax appeals may, nevertheless,\npublish a copy or a summary of any decision rendered after a hearing\nrequired by this article. Nothing in this section shall be construed to\nprohibit the delivery to a person who has filed a return or report or to\nsuch person's duly authorized representative of a certified copy of any\nreturn or report filed in connection with such person's state assessment\nfee. Nor shall anything in this section be construed to prohibit the\npublication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification\nof particular returns or reports and the items thereof, or the\ninspection by the attorney general or other legal representatives of the\nstate of the return or report of any person required to pay the state\nassessment fee who shall bring action to review the state assessment fee\nbased thereon, or against whom an action or proceeding under this\nchapter has been recommended by the commissioner or the attorney general\nor has been instituted, or the inspection of the returns or reports\nrequired under this article by the comptroller or duly designated\nofficer or employee of the state department of audit and control, for\npurposes of the audit of a refund of any state assessment fee paid by a\nperson required to pay the state assessment fee under this article.\nProvided, further, nothing in this section shall be construed to\nprohibit the disclosure, in such manner as the commissioner deems\nappropriate, of the names and other appropriate identifying information\nof those persons required to pay state assessment fee under this\narticle.\n  (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,\nthe commissioner, in his or her discretion, may require or permit any or\nall persons liable for any state assessment fee imposed by this article,\nto make payment to banks, banking houses or trust companies designated\nby the commissioner and to file returns with such banks, banking houses\nor trust companies as agents of the commissioner, in lieu of paying any\nsuch state assessment fee directly to the commissioner. However, the\ncommissioner shall designate only such banks, banking houses or trust\ncompanies as are already designated by the comptroller as depositories\npursuant to section twelve hundred eighty-eight of this chapter.\n  (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,\nthe commissioner may permit the secretary of the treasury of the United\nStates or such secretary's delegate, or the authorized representative of\neither such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or\nmay furnish to such officer or such officer's authorized representative\nan abstract of any such return or supply such person with information\nconcerning an item contained in any such return, or disclosed by any\ninvestigation of liability under this article, but such permission shall\nbe granted or such information furnished only if the laws of the United\nStates grant substantially similar privileges to the commissioner or\nofficer of this state charged with the administration of the state\nassessment fee imposed by this article, and only if such information is\nto be used for purposes of tax administration only; and provided further\nthe commissioner may furnish to the commissioner of internal revenue or\nsuch commissioner's authorized representative such returns filed under\nthis article and other tax information, as such commissioner may\nconsider 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 by the secretary of\nthe treasury of the United States or such secretary's delegate, provided\nthe laws of the United States grant substantially similar powers to the\nsecretary of the treasury of the United States or his or her delegate.\nWhere the commissioner has so authorized use of returns and other\ninformation in such actions or proceedings, officers and employees of\nthe department may testify in such actions or proceedings in respect to\nsuch returns or other information.\n  (d) Returns and reports filed under this article shall be preserved\nfor three years and thereafter until the commissioner orders them to be\ndestroyed.\n  (e) (1) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates\nthe provisions of subdivision (a) of this section shall be dismissed\nfrom office and be incapable of holding any public office for a period\nof five years thereafter.\n  (2) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven\nof this chapter.\n  (f) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this\nsection, upon written request from the chairperson of the committee on\nways and means of the United States House of Representatives, the\nchairperson of the committee on finance of the United States Senate, or\nthe chairperson of the joint committee on taxation of the United States\nCongress, the commissioner shall furnish such committee with any current\nor prior year returns or reports specified in such request that were\nfiled under this article by the president of the United States,\nvice-president of the United States, member of the United States\nCongress representing New York state, or any person who served in or was\nemployed by the executive branch of the government of the United States\non the executive staff of the president, in the executive office of the\npresident, or in an acting or confirmed capacity in a position subject\nto confirmation by the United States senate; or, in New York state: a\nstatewide elected official, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision\none of section seventy-three-a of the public officers law; a state\nofficer or employee, as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of\nsubdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a political party\nchairperson, as defined in paragraph (h) of subdivision one of such\nsection seventy-three-a; a local elected official, as defined in\nsubdivisions one and two of section eight hundred ten of the general\nmunicipal law; a person appointed, pursuant to law, to serve due to\nvacancy or otherwise in the position of a local elected official, as\ndefined in subdivisions one and two of section eight hundred ten of the\ngeneral municipal law; a member of the state legislature; or a judge or\njustice of the unified court system; or filed by a partnership, firm,\nassociation, corporation, joint-stock company, trust or similar entity\ndirectly or indirectly controlled by any individual listed in this\nparagraph, whether by contract, through ownership or control of a\nmajority interest in such entity, or otherwise, or filed by a\npartnership, firm, association, corporation, joint-stock company, trust\nor similar entity of which any individual listed in this paragraph holds\nten percent or more of the voting securities of such entity; provided\nhowever that, prior to furnishing any return or report, 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\nreturn or report, and any social security numbers, account numbers and\nresidential address information.\n  (2) No returns or reports shall be furnished pursuant to this\nsubdivision unless the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies\nin writing that such returns or reports 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 reports or\nreturn or report information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and\nthat if such requested returns or reports are inspected by and/or\nsubmitted to another committee, to the United States House of\nRepresentatives, or to the United States Senate, then such inspection\nand/or submission shall occur in a manner consistent with federal law as\ninformed by the requirements and procedures established in 26 U.S.C.\nSection 6103(f).\n