Section 1555. 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 insurance, any officer or employee of
  the department of taxation and finance, or the insurance  department  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  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 facts 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 insurance or his authorized  representative
  to  inspect the returns filed with such commissioner 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. The provisions of this
  section shall not be construed to prohibit or limit  the  superintendent
  of  insurance from divulging or making known any information pursuant to
  the authority of the  insurance  law  and  shall  not  be  construed  to
  prohibit  the  attorney  general  or  superintendent of insurance or any
  officer or employee of the department of law or the insurance department
  from using information derived independently of any return  filed  under
  this  article  in  any  action  or  proceeding  under 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  commissioner
  of  taxation and finance 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  commissioner  of
  taxation  and  finance  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 commissioner of taxation and finance 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  commissioner
  of  taxation  and  finance  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 commissioner of taxation and finance, in his discretion, may require
  or permit any or all persons liable for any tax imposed by this article,
  to  make payment of any tax, penalty or interest imposed by this article
  to  banks,  banking  houses  or  trust  companies  designated   by   the
  commissioner  of  taxation  and  finance  and  to  file applications for
  extensions of time to file returns, and returns with such banks, banking
  houses or trust companies as agents of the commissioner of taxation  and
  finance, in lieu of making any such payment directly to the commissioner
  of  taxation  and  finance.  However,  the  commissioner of taxation and
  finance 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  fifty-seven  of  this
  article.