NY Tax L § 994 (2021)
2021 New York Laws TAX - Tax Article 26 - Estate Tax Part 4 - Procedure and Administration 994 - Secrecy Requirement and Penalties for Violation.

§  994.  Secrecy  requirement and penalties for violation. (a) Secrecy requirements. (1) Except in accordance with proper judicial order or  as otherwise  provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the commissioner of taxation and finance, any officer  or  employee  of  the  department  of taxation  and finance, any person engaged or retained by such department on an independent contract basis, or any person who,  pursuant  to  this section, is permitted to inspect any report or return or to whom a copy, an  abstract  or  a  portion of any report or return is furnished, or to whom any information contained in any report or return is furnished,  to divulge  or  make  known  in  any  manner the value of the estate or any particulars set forth or disclosed in  any  report  or  return  required under this article.  (2)  The officers charged with the custody of such reports and 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 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 of taxation and finance is a party or claimant, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding under the provisions of this article when the reports, returns or  facts shown  thereby  are directly involved in such action or proceeding or in any proceeding under the surrogate's court procedure act to  assist  the surrogate  to  carry  out his powers or duties under such act including, but not limited to  the  determination  of  the  amount  of  court  fees required  to  be  paid  under article twenty-four of such act, in any of which events the court may require the production of, and may  admit  in evidence,  so  much  of  said  reports,  returns  or  of the facts shown thereby, as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more.  (3) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the  delivery  to  a surrogate  or to any person liable for the payment of the tax imposed by this article or such liable person's duly authorized representative of a certified copy of any return, correspondence  or  other  data  filed  in connection with the tax for which such person is liable or a copy of any workpaper,   document  or  other  data  prepared  or  developed  by  the department during the processing, audit or investigation of that  return or  the  collection  of the tax derived therefrom or the delivery of any such copy to any person interested in the estate, any heir at law,  next of  kin,  or beneficiary under the will, of such decedent, or a donee of property, but only if the commissioner or the surrogate, as the case may be, finds that such person, heir at law, next of  kin,  beneficiary,  or donee  has  a  material  interest  which will be affected by information contained  therein.  Further,  nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to prohibit  the  publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the  items  thereof, or the inspection by the attorney general or other legal representatives of  the state of the return of any person (or any report related to such return or any copy mentioned in the preceding sentence) who 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 reports or returns 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  taxpayer under this article. Further, nothing contained herein shall be construed to prevent  an  examination  of  any documents  concerning  an  estate  that  are  under  the  control of the surrogate by a title abstractor, attorney at law or title examiner or to  prevent a title abstractor, attorney  at  law  or  title  examiner  from applying  for  and  obtaining  a  discharge  of  lien in accordance with subsection (c) of section nine hundred eighty-two  of  this  article  or from receiving information needed in order to obtain such discharge, for the  sole  purpose  of insuring title to real property or a chattel real and/or preparing a title abstract, title  search,  or  title  report  in connection  with  real property or chattel real. The commissioner or the surrogate, as the case  may  be,  may  require  such  title  abstractor, attorney  at  law  or title examiner to certify that the sole purpose of such examination is for insuring title to real  property  or  a  chattel real  and/or  preparing  a title abstract, title search or title report. Furthermore, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the  delivery to  a  person entitled thereto under the provisions of this article of a receipt or certificate that the tax imposed under this article has  been paid, in whole or in part.  (4)(A) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the provisions  of  this  subsection  shall  be dismissed from office and be incapable of holding any public office in this state  for  a  period  of five years thereafter.  (B)  Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven of this chapter.  (b)  Cooperation  with   the   United   States   and   other   states. Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner of taxation and finance may permit  the  secretary  of  the treasury  of  the  United  States  or  his  delegates, or the proper tax officer of any state imposing an estate, inheritance or death tax on the transfer of the estate of a deceased individual or on  the  transfer  by will or the intestate laws of such state from any person dying seized or possessed of property in such state, or the authorized representative of either  such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or may furnish to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract of any such return or supply him with  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  commissioner  of taxation  and  finance  or such other 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 commissioner of internal revenue or his authorized representative 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 of the United States or his delegates, provided the laws of the United States grant substantially similar powers to the secretary of the treasury of the United States or his delegates. Where  the  commissioner of  taxation  and  finance  has  so  authorized use of returns and 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  information.  Nothing herein  shall be construed to prohibit the delivery of any return or the furnishing of information thereon by the commissioner  of  taxation  and finance  to  the  taxing authorities of another state for the purpose of complying with the provisions of section nine hundred  seventy-one-a  of  this   article   relating   to  additional  proceedings  in  estates  of nondomiciliary decedents.  (b-1)  Cooperation  with  investigations  by certain committees of the United States Congress. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (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  reports or 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 report or 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 report or return, and any social  security  numbers,  account  numbers  and  residential   address information.  (2)  No  reports  or  returns  shall  be  furnished  pursuant  to this subsection unless the chairperson of the requesting committee  certifies in  writing that such reports or 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  reports  or  returns  or report or return information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and that  if  such  requested  reports  or  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).  (c)  Procedure and preservation of returns. (1) Reports and returns or in lieu thereof, copies or reproductions of such  reports  and  returns,  shall   be  preserved  for  eighteen  years  and  thereafter  until  the commissioner of taxation and finance orders them to be destroyed.  (2)  Requests  for  the inspection or disclosure of a report or return and such inspection or disclosure shall be made in such  manner  and  at such  time  and  place  as  shall  be  prescribed by the commissioner of taxation and finance.  (3) (A) A reproduction of a  report  or  return  shall,  upon  written request,  be furnished to any person to whom disclosure or inspection of such report or return is authorized under this section. A reasonable fee may be prescribed for furnishing each page of such reproduction.  (B) Any reproduction of any report, return, document, or other  matter made in accordance with this subsection shall have the same legal status as  the  original,  and  any  such  reproduction  shall be admissible in evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding as if it were  the original, whether or not the original is in existence.  (d)   Filing   returns   and   making  payment  to  depository  banks. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of  this  section,  the commissioner  of taxation and finance, in his discretion, may require or permit any or all of the estates,  executors,  beneficiaries  and  other persons  liable  for any tax imposed by this article to make payments on account of any tax, penalty or  interest  imposed  by  this  article  to banks,  banking houses or trust companies designated by the commissioner of taxation and finance and to file returns  with  such  banks,  banking houses  or trust companies as agents of the commissioner of taxation and finance, in lieu of making such payment to, or filing such returns  with the  commissioner  of taxation and finance. However, the commissioner of taxation and finance shall designate only such banks, banking houses  or trust  companies  as  are  or  shall be designated by the comptroller as depositories pursuant to this article.