(A) No present or former employee of any tax district shall intentionally and without authorization inspect or divulge any information acquired by him or her of the affairs of any person, or information regarding the tax schedules, returns, or reports required to be filed with the tax district or other proper officer, or any information produced by a hearing or investigation, insofar as the information may have to do with the affairs of the person's business. This prohibition does not extend to information required in prosecutions for making false reports or returns for taxation, or any other infraction of the tax laws, or in any way made a matter of public record, nor does it preclude furnishing any taxpayer or the taxpayer's properly authorized agent with information respecting his or her own return. Further, this prohibition does not preclude any employee of the tax district from testifying in any court, or from introducing as evidence returns or reports filed with the tax district, in an action for violation of a tax district tax law or in any action challenging a tax district tax law.
(B) The city reserves the right to disclose to the Commissioner of Revenue of the Commonwealth of Kentucky or his or her duly authorized agent all such information and rights to inspect any of the books and records of the city if the Commissioner of Revenue of the Commonwealth of Kentucky grants to the city the reciprocal right to obtain information form the files and records of the Kentucky Department of Revenue and maintains the privileged character of the information so furnished. Provided, further, that the city may publish statistics based on such information in such a manner as not to reveal data respecting net profits or compensation of any person or business entity.
(C) In addition, the city is empowered to execute similar reciprocity agreements as described in division (B) of this section with any other taxing entity, should there be a need for exchange of information in order to effect diligent enforcement of this chapter.
(D) Any person violating the provisions of this section by intentionally inspecting confidential taxpayer information without authorization, shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not longer than six months, or both.
(E) Any person violating the provisions of this section by divulging confidential taxpayer information shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
(Ord. O-27-2004, passed 11-1-04)