NY Tax L § 1518 (2021)
2021 New York Laws TAX - Tax Article 33 - Franchise Taxes on Insurance Corporations 1518 - Secrecy Required of Officials; Penalty for Violation.

§  1518.  Secrecy  required  of  officials; penalty for violation. (a) Except in accordance with the proper  judicial  order  or  as  otherwise provided  by  law, it shall be unlawful for the commissioner of taxation and finance, the superintendent of financial services,  any  officer  or employee of the department of taxation and finance, or the department of financial  services  or  any  person  who,  pursuant to this section, is permitted to inspect any return, 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  filed pursuant  to  this  article,  to divulge or make known in any manner the amount of income or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any return required under this article. The officers charged with  the  custody  of such 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  state  or  the  commissioner  of  taxation  and finance in any 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 a claimant or on behalf of any party in an action or proceeding under the provisions of this article when the returns or facts shown thereby are directly involved in such  action  or proceeding,  in any of which events the court may require the production of and may admit in evidence so much of said returns or the  fact  shown thereby  as  are  pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. The commissioner of taxation and finance may, nevertheless, publish  a  copy or a summary of any determination or decision rendered after the hearing provided  for  in  section  one  thousand  eighty-nine  of this chapter. Notwithstanding any provisions of  this  section,  the  commissioner  of taxation and finance may permit the superintendent of financial services or  his  authorized representative to inspect the returns filed with the commissioner of taxation and finance under this article, or may  furnish to  such  superintendent or his authorized representative an abstract of any return or supply him with information concerning an  item  contained in  any  return, or disclosed by an investigation of tax liability under this article. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a taxpayer or its duly authorized representative of a certified  copy of  any  return  filed  in  connection  with its tax nor to prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular returns and the items thereof, or the  inspection  by  the attorney-general  or  other  legal  representatives  of the state of the return of any taxpayer which shall bring action to set aside  or  review the  tax  based  thereon, or against which an action or proceeding under this chapter has been recommended by the commissioner  of  taxation  and finance   or  the  attorney-general  or  has  been  instituted;  or  the inspection of the returns of any taxpayer 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  such taxpayer  under  this  article,  or  the  disclosing  to a state agency, pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-f of this  chapter,  of  the amount   of  an  overpayment  and  interest  thereon  certified  to  the comptroller to be credited against a past-due legally  enforceable  debt owed  to  such  agency  and of the name and identification number of the taxpayer  who  made  such  overpayment,  or  the   disclosing   to   the commissioner of finance of the city of New York, pursuant to section one hundred  seventy-one-1  of this chapter, of the amount of an overpayment and interest thereon certified to the comptroller to be credited against a city of New York tax  warrant  judgment  debt  and  of  the  name  and identification  number  of  the  taxpayer who made such overpayment. The  provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit  or  limit the  superintendent of financial services from divulging or making known any information pursuant to the authority of the insurance law.  Returns shall be preserved for three years and thereafter until the commissioner of taxation and finance orders them to be destroyed.  (b)  (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 in this state for a period of five years thereafter.  (2) Cross reference: For criminal penalties, see article  thirty-seven of this chapter.  (c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, the tax commission may  permit  the  secretary  of the treasury of the United States or his delegates, or the proper officer of any other  state  charged  with  tax administration,  or  the  authorized  representative  of  either of such officers, to inspect the  returns  filed  under  this  article,  or  may furnish  to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract of any return or supply him with information concerning an  item  contained in  any  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 commission or 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 secretary of the treasury of the United States  or  his  delegates  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 or his delegates provided the laws of the United States grant  substantially  similar  powers  to  the secretary  of  the  treasury or his delegates. Where the commissioner of taxation  and  finance  has  so  authorized  use  of  returns  or  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 tax information.  (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, the   tax   commission   may   permit   the  officer  charged  with  the administration of a tax on or measured by income imposed by any city  of the state of New York, or the authorized representative of such officer, to  inspect the returns filed under this article, or may furnish to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract of any such  return or  supply  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 local laws of  such  city grant  substantially  similar privileges to the commission or 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 such city officer or his delegates and the legal representative of  such city such returns filed under this article and other tax information, as he  may  consider  proper, for use in court actions or proceedings under such local law, whether civil  or  criminal,  where  a  written  request therefor  has  been  made to the commissioner of taxation and finance by such city officer or his delegates or by such  legal  representative  of  such  city,  provided  the  local  law of such city grants substantially similar powers to the city officer charged with  the  administration  of the city income tax or his delegates. Where the commissioner of taxation and finance has so authorized use of returns or other tax 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 tax information.  (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, the tax commission, in its discretion, may require or permit any or  all persons  liable for any tax imposed by this article, to make payments on account of estimated tax and payment of any  tax,  penalty  or  interest imposed  by  this  article  to  banks, banking houses or trust companies designated by the tax commission and to file declarations  of  estimated tax,  applications for automatic extensions of time to file returns, and returns 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  fifteen  hundred seventeen.  (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, in  the case where a taxpayer which is an attorney-in-fact has claimed a deduction  pursuant  to  subparagraph  fifteen  of  paragraph   (a)   of subdivision  nine  of  section  two  hundred  eight of this chapter, the commissioner   shall   have   the   authority   to   release   to   such attorney-in-fact  any  information with respect to the entire net income or income  allocation  percentage  of  the  interinsurer  or  reciprocal insurer,   or   any  member  of  a  combined  group  that  includes  the interinsurer or reciprocal insurer, which is the basis for the denial in whole or in part of the deduction claimed by such attorney-in-fact.  (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, the commissioner may disclose to a  taxpayer  or  a  taxpayer's  related member,  as  defined in paragraph fourteen of subdivision (b) of section fifteen hundred three of  this  article,  information  relating  to  any royalty paid, incurred or received by such taxpayer or related member to or  from  the  other,  including  the  treatment of such payments by the taxpayer or the related member in any report or  return  transmitted  to the commissioner under this chapter.  (h)  (1)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of subdivision (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 returns filed specified in such request  that  were  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,  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,  and  any  social security numbers, account numbers and residential address information.  (2)  No returns shall be furnished pursuant to this subdivision unless the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies  in  writing  that such  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 returns or return information,  pursuant  to  26  U.S.C. Section  6103(f),  and  that  if such requested 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).