2019 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).