(A) Any information gained by the Commissioners, Commission, or any other official or agent or employee of the Metro Government as a result of any returns, investigations, hearings or verifications required or authorized by this chapter shall be confidential, except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law.
(B) No present or former employee of the Commission 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 Commission 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 Commission from testifying in any court, or from introducing as evidence returns or reports filed with the Commission, in an action for violation of the occupational license tax ordinances or in any action challenging the occupational license tax laws.
(C) The Commission reserves the right to disclose to the State Commissioner of Revenue, or his or her duly authorized agent, all such information and rights to inspect any of the books and records of the Commission, if the Commissioner of Revenue grants to the Commission the reciprocal right to obtain information from the files and records of the Kentucky Department of Revenue, and maintains the privileged character of the information so furnished. Provided, further, that the Commission 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.
(D) In addition, the Commission is empowered to execute similar reciprocity agreements, as described in subsection (C) of this section, with any other taxing entity, (including but not limited to the Internal Revenue Service) should there be a need for exchange of information in order to effect diligent enforcement of this chapter. All such agreements shall require the parties to keep the exchanged information confidential.
(E) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (B) of this subsection 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.
(F) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (B) 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.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 110-2008, approved 6-30-2008)