§ 994 — Secrecy requirement and penalties for violation

§ 994. Secrecy requirement and penalties for violation. (a) Secrecy\nrequirements. (1) Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as\notherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance, any officer or employee of the department of\ntaxation and finance, any person engaged or retained by such department\non an independent contract basis, or any person who, pursuant to this\nsection, is permitted to inspect any report or return or to whom a copy,\nan abstract or a portion of any report or return is furnished, or to\nwhom any information contained in any report or return is furnished, to\ndivulge or make known in any manner the value of the estate or any\nparticulars set forth or disclosed in any report or return required\nunder this article.\n (2) The officers charged with the custody of such reports and returns\nshall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything\ncontained in them in any action or proceeding in any court, except on\nbehalf of the commissioner of taxation and finance in an action or\nproceeding under the provisions of this chapter, or in any other action\nor proceeding involving the collection of a tax due under this chapter\nto which the state or the commissioner of taxation and finance is a\nparty or claimant, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding\nunder the provisions of this article when the reports, returns or facts\nshown thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding or in\nany proceeding under the surrogate's court procedure act to assist the\nsurrogate to carry out his powers or duties under such act including,\nbut not limited to the determination of the amount of court fees\nrequired to be paid under article twenty-four of such act, in any of\nwhich events the court may require the production of, and may admit in\nevidence, so much of said reports, returns or of the facts shown\nthereby, as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more.\n (3) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a\nsurrogate or to any person liable for the payment of the tax imposed by\nthis article or such liable person's duly authorized representative of a\ncertified copy of any return, correspondence or other data filed in\nconnection with the tax for which such person is liable or a copy of any\nworkpaper, document or other data prepared or developed by the\ndepartment during the processing, audit or investigation of that return\nor the collection of the tax derived therefrom or the delivery of any\nsuch copy to any person interested in the estate, any heir at law, next\nof kin, or beneficiary under the will, of such decedent, or a donee of\nproperty, but only if the commissioner or the surrogate, as the case may\nbe, finds that such person, heir at law, next of kin, beneficiary, or\ndonee has a material interest which will be affected by information\ncontained therein. Further, nothing herein shall be construed to\nprohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the\nidentification of particular reports or returns and the items thereof,\nor the inspection by the attorney general or other legal representatives\nof the state of the return of any person (or any report related to such\nreturn or any copy mentioned in the preceding sentence) who shall bring\naction to set aside or review the tax based thereon, or against whom an\naction or proceeding under this chapter has been recommended by the\ncommissioner or the attorney general or has been instituted, or the\ninspection of the reports or returns required under this article by the\ncomptroller or duly designated officer or employee of the state\ndepartment of audit and control, for purposes of the audit of a refund\nof any tax paid by a taxpayer under this article. Further, nothing\ncontained herein shall be construed to prevent an examination of any\ndocuments concerning an estate that are under the control of the\nsurrogate by a title abstractor, attorney at law or title examiner or to\nprevent a title abstractor, attorney at law or title examiner from\napplying for and obtaining a discharge of lien in accordance with\nsubsection (c) of section nine hundred eighty-two of this article or\nfrom receiving information needed in order to obtain such discharge, for\nthe sole purpose of insuring title to real property or a chattel real\nand/or preparing a title abstract, title search, or title report in\nconnection with real property or chattel real. The commissioner or the\nsurrogate, as the case may be, may require such title abstractor,\nattorney at law or title examiner to certify that the sole purpose of\nsuch examination is for insuring title to real property or a chattel\nreal and/or preparing a title abstract, title search or title report.\nFurthermore, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery\nto a person entitled thereto under the provisions of this article of a\nreceipt or certificate that the tax imposed under this article has been\npaid, in whole or in part.\n (4)(A) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the\nprovisions of this subsection shall be dismissed from office and be\nincapable of holding any public office in this state for a period of\nfive years thereafter.\n (B) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven\nof this chapter.\n (b) Cooperation with the United States and other states.\nNotwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance may permit the secretary of the\ntreasury of the United States or his delegates, or the proper tax\nofficer of any state imposing an estate, inheritance or death tax on the\ntransfer of the estate of a deceased individual or on the transfer by\nwill or the intestate laws of such state from any person dying seized or\npossessed of property in such state, or the authorized representative of\neither such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or\nmay furnish to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract\nof any such return or supply him with information concerning an item\ncontained in any such return, or disclosed by an investigation of tax\nliability under this article, but such permission shall be granted or\nsuch information furnished to such officer or his representative only if\nthe laws of the United States or of such other state, as the case may\nbe, grant substantially similar privileges to the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance or such other officer of this state charged with\nthe administration of the tax imposed by this article and such\ninformation is to be used for tax purposes only; and provided further\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance may furnish to the commissioner\nof internal revenue or his authorized representative such returns filed\nunder this article and other tax information, as he may consider proper,\nfor use in court actions or proceedings under the internal revenue code,\nwhether civil or criminal, where a written request therefor has been\nmade to the commissioner of taxation and finance by the secretary of the\ntreasury of the United States or his delegates, provided the laws of the\nUnited States grant substantially similar powers to the secretary of the\ntreasury of the United States or his delegates. Where the commissioner\nof taxation and finance has so authorized use of returns and other\ninformation in such actions or proceedings, officers and employees of\nthe department of taxation and finance may testify in such actions or\nproceedings in respect to such returns or other information. Nothing\nherein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery of any return or the\nfurnishing of information thereon by the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance to the taxing authorities of another state for the purpose of\ncomplying with the provisions of section nine hundred seventy-one-a of\nthis article relating to additional proceedings in estates of\nnondomiciliary decedents.\n (b-1) Cooperation with investigations by certain committees of the\nUnited States Congress. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection\n(a) of this section, upon written request from the chairperson of the\ncommittee on ways and means of the United States House of\nRepresentatives, the chairperson of the committee on finance of the\nUnited States Senate, or the chairperson of the joint committee on\ntaxation of the United States Congress, the commissioner shall furnish\nsuch committee with any current or prior year reports or returns\nspecified in such request that were filed under this article by the\npresident of the United States, vice-president of the United States,\nmember of the United States Congress representing New York state, or any\nperson who served in or was employed by the executive branch of the\ngovernment of the United States on the executive staff of the president,\nin the executive office of the president, or in an acting or confirmed\ncapacity in a position subject to confirmation by the United States\nsenate; or, in New York state: a statewide elected official, as defined\nin paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section seventy-three-a of the\npublic officers law; a state officer or employee, as defined in\nsubparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of such section\nseventy-three-a; a political party chairperson, as defined in paragraph\n(h) of subdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a local elected\nofficial, as defined in subdivisions one and two of section eight\nhundred ten of the general municipal law; a person appointed, pursuant\nto law, to serve due to vacancy or otherwise in the position of a local\nelected official, as defined in subdivisions one and two of section\neight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a member of the state\nlegislature; or a judge or justice of the unified court system; or filed\nby a partnership, firm, association, corporation, joint-stock company,\ntrust or similar entity directly or indirectly controlled by any\nindividual listed in this paragraph, whether by contract, through\nownership or control of a majority interest in such entity, or\notherwise, or filed by a partnership, firm, association, corporation,\njoint-stock company, trust or similar entity of which any individual\nlisted in this paragraph holds ten percent or more of the voting\nsecurities of such entity; provided however that, prior to furnishing\nany report or return, the commissioner shall redact any copy of a\nfederal return (or portion thereof) attached to, or any information on a\nfederal return that is reflected on, such report or return, and any\nsocial security numbers, account numbers and residential address\ninformation.\n (2) No reports or returns shall be furnished pursuant to this\nsubsection unless the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies\nin writing that such reports or returns have been requested related to,\nand in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress, that the\nrequesting committee has made a written request to the United States\nsecretary of the treasury for related federal reports or returns or\nreport or return information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and\nthat if such requested reports or returns are inspected by and/or\nsubmitted to another committee, to the United States House of\nRepresentatives, or to the United States Senate, then such inspection\nand/or submission shall occur in a manner consistent with federal law as\ninformed by the requirements and procedures established in 26 U.S.C.\nSection 6103(f).\n (c) Procedure and preservation of returns. (1) Reports and returns or\nin lieu thereof, copies or reproductions of such reports and returns,\nshall be preserved for eighteen years and thereafter until the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance orders them to be destroyed.\n (2) Requests for the inspection or disclosure of a report or return\nand such inspection or disclosure shall be made in such manner and at\nsuch time and place as shall be prescribed by the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance.\n (3) (A) A reproduction of a report or return shall, upon written\nrequest, be furnished to any person to whom disclosure or inspection of\nsuch report or return is authorized under this section. A reasonable fee\nmay be prescribed for furnishing each page of such reproduction.\n (B) Any reproduction of any report, return, document, or other matter\nmade in accordance with this subsection shall have the same legal status\nas the original, and any such reproduction shall be admissible in\nevidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding as if it were the\noriginal, whether or not the original is in existence.\n (d) Filing returns and making payment to depository banks.\nNotwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance, in his discretion, may require or\npermit any or all of the estates, executors, beneficiaries and other\npersons liable for any tax imposed by this article to make payments on\naccount of any tax, penalty or interest imposed by this article to\nbanks, banking houses or trust companies designated by the commissioner\nof taxation and finance and to file returns with such banks, banking\nhouses or trust companies as agents of the commissioner of taxation and\nfinance, in lieu of making such payment to, or filing such returns with\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance. However, the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance shall designate only such banks, banking houses or\ntrust companies as are or shall be designated by the comptroller as\ndepositories pursuant to this article.\n