Virginia Administrative Code › Title 23 - TAXATION › Agency 10 - DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION › Chapter 20 - GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL TAXES ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION › Section 23VAC10-20-10 - Secrecy of information; penalty

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Generally. Except in accordance with
				proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for
				the Tax Commissioner or any agent, clerk, commissioner of the revenue,
				treasurer, or any other state or local tax or revenue officer, employee, or any
				former officer or employee of any of the aforementioned offices to divulge any
				information acquired by him or her in respect to the transactions, property,
				income, or business of any person, firm, or corporation while in the
				performance of his or her public duties. Such prohibition extends to, but is
				not limited to, any copy of a federal return or federal return information
				required by Virginia law to be attached to or included in the Virginia return.
				Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class
				2 misdemeanor.
B. Exceptions.
1. The prohibition does not extend to any
				matter required by law to be entered on any public assessment roll or
				book.
2. The prohibition does not
				extend to any act performed or words spoken or published in the line of duty
				under the law. This includes communications required in the performance of duty
				to any person or persons authorized to receive such information.
3. The prohibition does not extend to
				inquiries and investigations to obtain information as to the process of real
				estate assessments by a duly constituted committee of the General Assembly, or
				when such inquiry or investigation is relevant to its study, provided that any
				such information obtained shall be privileged.
4. The prohibition does not extend to the
				sales price, date of construction, physical dimensions or characteristics of
				real property, or to any information required for building permits.
5. The prohibition does not extend to the
				publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of
				particular reports or returns.
6.
				The prohibition does not extend to the publication of delinquent lists showing
				names of taxpayers who failed to timely pay their taxes, together with any
				relevant information which in the opinion of the Department of Taxation may
				assist in the collection of such delinquent taxes.
7. The prohibition does not extend to a local
				tax official for disclosing whether or not a person, firm or corporation is
				licensed to do business in that locality.
8. The Tax Commissioner is authorized to
				divulge or cause to be divulged tax information to any Commissioner of the
				Revenue, Director of Finance or other similar collector of county, city or town
				taxes who, for the performance of his or her official duties, requests the same
				in writing setting forth the reasons for the request.
9. The Tax Commissioner is authorized to
				enter into written agreements with duly constituted tax officials of other
				states and the United States for the inspection of tax returns, the making of
				audits, and the exchange of information relating to any tax administered by the
				Department of Taxation.
10. The Tax
				Commissioner is authorized to supply the State Department of Social Services
				with all information on hand relative to the location, income and property of
				responsible persons who have abandoned or deserted, or are failing to support,
				children and their caretakers receiving public assistance and in the
				prosecution of welfare fraud.
11.
				The Tax Commissioner is authorized to exchange information with claimant
				agencies participating in the Set-off Debt Collection program under Va. Code
				§ 58.1-533.
12. The Tax
				Commissioner is authorized to comply with a subpoena or other judicial order
				requiring production of confidential tax returns under Va. Code §
				58.1-109.