Michigan Administrative Code › Department - Treasury › Bureau of Tax & Economic Policy › Taxpayers Bill of Rights › Part 3 - DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION › Section R. 205.1003 - Confidentiality of information

Current through Vol. 24-12, July 15, 2024
Rule 3.
( 1)
				  Except as otherwise provided by law, the treasurer, any employee or authorized
				  representative or former employee or former authorized representative, or
				  anyone connected with the department shall not disclose to any person, except
				  the taxpayer or his or her or its authorized representative, any facts or
				  information obtained in connection with the administration of a tax or
				  information or parameters that would enable a person to ascertain the audit
				  selection or processing criteria for a tax administered by the department or
				  collection or assessment parameters or collection information.
( 2) Access to confidential information shall
				  be restricted to department employees who have a need to access the information
				  to perform their duties. A department employee shall not disclose confidential
				  information to another department employee, except as needed to perform duties.
				  For example, if an employee reviews a taxpayer's individual return and
				  discovers a letter concerning the taxpayer's business tax liability, the
				  employee shall refer the correspondence to the business tax division for
				  further action and shall identify the source of the correspondence.
( 3) A department employee shall not disclose
				  confidential information to confirm information made public by another party or
				  source or which is part of any public record. For example, if an unauthorized
				  third party wants to know if a tax lien has been filed against a certain
				  business, a department employee shall not release that information. A tax lien
				  becomes part of the public record upon filing, but still retains its identity
				  as tax return information and may not be released to unauthorized
				  parties.
( 4) An employee or
				  authorized representative of another agency of the federal, state, or local
				  government who handles confidential information pursuant to an agreement or
				  subpoena is subject to the same restrictions as department employees or
				  authorized representatives and shall not disclose the confidential
				  information.
( 5) A department
				  employee shall not disclose confidential information obtained about a taxpayer
				  without proper authorization.
( 6)
				  The department shall keep records of persons who are not department employees
				  or authorized representatives of the department and are granted access to, or
				  given copies of, returns or return information. The records must contain all of
				  the following information:
(a) The name and
				  address of the person who has been granted access to, or given copies of,
				  returns.
(b) The representative
				  capacity of the person specified in subdivision (a) of this subrule if not the
				  taxpayer.
(c) The date of
				  disclosure.
(d) The name of the
				  taxpayer or taxpayers.
(e) The type
				  of returns.
(f) The taxable periods
				  involved.