(A) Every person required to pay any license fee provided by this chapter shall be required to make all books, records, and accounts upon which information required by this chapter is based, available to the administrator, his agents or employees for the purpose of examination, audit or verification, provided however that if any licensee or employer subject to the provisions of this chapter shall voluntarily submit copies of his current income tax returns made to either the state or federal governments, for examination, then in such case no further examination or audit will be required until and unless there is re-examination or audit made by the taxing authority to whom the return was made, and provided further, the administrator may dispense with examination of the books, records, accounts, or tax returns of the licensee in any case where the administrator is furnished with a certificate of a qualified Certified Public Accountant or bookkeeper of the licensee, stating that the amount of tax reported conforms to the state or federal income tax return filed by the licensee for the applicable period.
(B) Nothing herein shall prevent or preclude the administrator from demanding an examination and audit of the books, records, and accounts as herein provided at any time he may have reasonable grounds to believe that the licensee has not correctly reported and paid the license fees due under the provisions of this chapter.
(C) All information obtained by the administrator or any of his agents or employees, or any other official or employee of the city, from any reports, examination or audit of books, records, accounts, income tax returns, or any other source, in the administration of this chapter, shall be treated and considered as confidential and privileged except for official purposes, unless otherwise treated by judicial decree or specific provision of law, and shall not be open to inspection by the public.
(1) Any official, agent or employee of the city who divulges any information obtained under the provisions of this chapter except for the purposes of administering this chapter as herein provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty ($50.00) dollars nor more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars or punished by confinement for not more than thirty (30) days, or both so fined and imprisoned.
(2) It is further provided that the administrator or any city official or employee shall have the right to disclose to the Commissioner of Revenue of the State of Kentucky or his duly authorized agent or employee any of the information protected by this chapter, provided reciprocal right to information concerning any person liable for license fees under the provisions of this chapter is made available to the city by such state authorities, and provided further that the city may publish statistics based upon information obtained in the administration of this chapter so long as such published statistics do not reveal the identity of any licensee.
(Ord. 12-1972, passed 5-15-72; Am. Ord. 14-1986, passed 6-16-86; Am. Ord. 12-2005, passed 6-6-05) Penalty, see § 111.99