NY Tax L § 514 (2021)
2021 New York Laws TAX - Tax Article 21 - Highway Use Tax 514 - Secrecy of Returns.

§  514.  Secrecy  of  returns.  1.  Except  in  accordance with proper judicial order or as in this section or otherwise provided  by  law,  it shall  be  unlawful  for  the  tax commission, any tax commissioner, any officer or employee of the department of taxation and  finance,  or  any officer or person who, pursuant to this section, is permitted to inspect any  return or report or to whom a copy, an abstract or a portion of any return or report is furnished, or to whom any information  contained  in any  return or report 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 or report filed pursuant to this article, to divulge or make known in  any  manner the  contents  or  any  other  information relating to the business of a carrier or other person contained in any return or report required under this article. The officers charged with the custody of such  returns  or 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 state, the department of taxation and finance, the department of transportation or the tax commission in an  action  or proceeding under the provisions of this chapter, the vehicle and traffic law  or  the  transportation  law,  or on behalf of the state or the tax commission in any other action or proceeding involving the collection of a tax due under this chapter to which the state or the tax commission is a party or a claimant or on  behalf  of  any  party  to  any  action  or proceeding  under  the  provisions  of  this  article or the vehicle and traffic law or the transportation law when the returns or the reports or the facts  shown  thereby  are  directly  involved  in  such  action  or proceeding, or on behalf of officers to whom information shall have been supplied as provided in subdivision two of this section, in any of which events  the  court  may  require  the  production  of,  and may admit in evidence so much of said returns  or  reports  or  of  the  facts  shown thereby  as  are  pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. The tax commission may, nevertheless, publish a copy or  a  summary  of  any decision  rendered after the formal hearing provided for in section five hundred ten of this  chapter.  Nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to prohibit  the  tax  commission,  in  its  discretion,  from allowing the inspection or delivery of a certified copy of any return or report filed under this article or of any information contained in any such return or report by or to a duly authorized officer or employee of the  department of  transportation,  or  by  or  to  the attorney general or other legal representatives of the state when an action shall have been  recommended or commenced pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the vehicle and traffic  law  or the transportation law in which such returns or reports or the facts shown thereby are directly involved; 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 any person under this article; nor to prohibit the delivery to  any  person, or  a  duly authorized representative of such person of a certified copy of any return or report filed by such person pursuant to  this  article, nor  to  prohibit  the  publication  of  statistics  so classified as to prevent the identification of particular  returns  or  reports  and  the items  thereof;  nor  to  prohibit  the  publication of delinquent lists showing the names of taxpayers who have failed to pay their taxes at the time and in the manner provided by section  five  hundred  six  of  this chapter,  together with any relevant information which in the opinion of the tax commission may assist  in  the  collection  of  such  delinquent taxes.  Returns  and  reports  shall  be  preserved  for four years, and thereafter until the tax commission orders them to be destroyed.    2. The tax commission, in its discretion and pursuant  to  such  rules and regulations as it may adopt, may permit the commissioner of internal revenue  of  the United States, or the appropriate officers of any other state which imposes a similar highway use tax, or  the  duly  authorized representatives of such commissioner or of any such officers, to inspect returns or reports made pursuant to this article, or may furnish to such commissioner  or  other  officers, or duly authorized representatives, a copy of any such return or report or  an  abstract  of  the  information therein   contained,   or  any  portion  thereof,  or  may  supply  such commissioner  or  any  such  officers  or  such   representatives   with information  relating  to  the  business of any person making returns or reports hereunder. The tax commission may refuse to  supply  information pursuant  to this subdivision to the commissioner of internal revenue of the United States or to the officers of any other state if the  statutes of  the  United States, or of the state represented by such officers, do not grant substantially similar privileges to the tax commission of this state, but such refusal shall not be mandatory. Information shall not be supplied to the commissioner of internal revenue of the United States or the appropriate officers of any other  state  which  imposes  a  similar highway  use  tax,  or  the  duly  authorized  representatives  of  such commissioner or of any  of  such  officers,  unless  such  commissioner, officer  or  other  representatives  shall  agree not to divulge or make known in any manner the information so supplied, but such  officers  may transmit  such  information  to their employees or legal representatives when necessary, who in turn shall be subject to the same restrictions as those  hereby  imposed  upon  such  commissioner,   officer   or   other representatives.   3. (a) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the provisions  of subdivision one or two of this section shall be dismissed from office and be barred from 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.   4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this  section, the  tax commission, in its discretion, may require or permit any or all persons or carriers liable for any tax or fee imposed by  this  article, to  make  payment of any tax, fee, penalty or interest to banks, banking houses or trust companies designated by the tax commission and  to  file returns  and  reports with such banks, banking houses or trust companies as agents of the tax commission, in lieu  of  making  any  such  payment directly  to  the  tax  commission.  However,  the  tax commission shall designate only such banks, banking houses or trust companies as  are  or shall  be  designated  by  the  comptroller  as depositories pursuant to section five hundred fifteen.   5. Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  this  section:  (a)  Upon agreement  with  the  heads  of  the  department  of motor vehicles, the department  of   transportation,   the   department   of   environmental conservation,  the  division of state police, the thruway authority, the United States  department  of  transportation,  and  the  United  States department  of  homeland security (or any other federal agency which may assume the duties of either or  both  of  such  federal  agencies),  the commissioner  may  disclose to such agencies the name, address, employer identification number, vehicle identification number, application status information,  and  other   appropriate   identifying   and   application information,  of  persons  holding  a  certification  of registration or license under this article, persons whose certificate of registration or license under this article has been revoked, suspended  or  surrendered, and  persons  whose  application  for  a  certificate of registration or  license under  this  article  has  been  denied,  for  the  purposes  of improving  the  safety  and  security  oversight  of  the  motor carrier industry and coordinating and streamlining the credentialing process for such industry administered by such agencies.  (b)   Any  information  disclosed  by  the  commissioner  pursuant  to paragraph (a) of this subdivision may, pursuant to  such  agreement,  be re-disclosed  by  and  among  the heads of such agencies and may also be re-disclosed to the heads of comparable agencies of any other state, the District  of  Columbia  or  any  province  or  territory  of  Canada  in furtherance of the purposes specified in this subdivision.   6.  (a)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  subdivision one 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 or reports 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 or report, 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  or  report, and any social security numbers, account numbers and residential address information.  (b) No  returns  or  reports  shall  be  furnished  pursuant  to  this subdivision unless the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies in  writing that such returns or reports 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  reports  or return or report information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and that  if  such  requested  returns  or  reports  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).