This provision applies to information the disclosure of which would constitute an invasion of an individual's constitutional or common law right of privacy. An individual does not waive his privacy interest in information merely because he has disclosed it to a governmental body. The United States Supreme Court has not ruled that personal financial information is within a constitutionally protected zone of privacy, but it has indicated that unrestricted public disclosure of such information would raise serious constitutional questions. In an earlier case, the Court upheld certain regulations requiring record keeping and reporting by banks of personal financial information. In their full reach, the reports apparently authorized by the openended language of the Act touch upon intimate areas of an individual's personal affairs.
Financial transactions can reveal much about a person's activities, associations, and beliefs.
At some point, government intrusion upon these areas would implicate legitimate expectations of privacy. . . . California Bankers Assn. The Supreme Court of Texas has expressed the view that federal tax returns are protected by a right of privacy. Subjecting federal income tax returns of our citizens to discovery is sustainable only because the pursuit of justice between litigants outweighs protection of their privacy. But sacrifice of the latter should be kept to the minimum, and this requires scrupulous limitation of discovery to information furthering justice between the parties which, in turn, can only be information of relevancy and materiality to the matters in controversy.