(A) Secrecy of returns. Except when required in an official investigation into the amount of tax due the city or in any proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction to collect or ascertain the amount of such tax, and except as provided in division (B) and (C), hereof no officer, employee or agent of the city shall divulge or make known in any manner the tax return, or any part thereof, of any individual, firm or corporation, or disclose information concerning the personal affairs of any individual or the business of any single firm or corporation, or disclose the amount of income or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any report, declaration or return required to be filed with the city.
(1) Any officer, employee or agent of the city or any former officer, employee or agent of the city who makes unauthorized disclosure of information received from the state tax commissioner pursuant to a reciprocal exchange agreement between this city and state tax commissioner, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both fined and imprisoned.
(2) For the purposes of this section, UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE means the release to any person of any tax information obtained by the city from the state tax commissioner, unless:
(a) The person receiving the information is the authorized counsel of the state or the city and shall be using the information only for the purpose of administering business or occupation tax, liquor sales tax or sales tax or both from a single location business; or
(b) The person who files the return has authorized, in writing, its release, thereby waiving his or her right to secrecy.
(3) Any officer, employee or agent of the city or former officer, former employee or former agent who violates this division, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both fined and imprisoned.
(4) Any person protected by the provisions of this article may, in writing, waive the secrecy provisions of this division for such purpose and such period as he or she shall therein state and the Finance Director, if he or she so determines, may thereupon release to designated recipients such taxpayer’s return or other particulars filed under the provisions of the city’s taxing regulations.
(5) This division shall not be construed to prohibit the publication or release of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular reports and the items thereof.
(B) Reciprocal exchange. The Finance Director may permit the proper officer of the United States, the state, the District of Columbia or any other state, or any political subdivision of the state, or his or her authorized representative to inspect reports, declarations or returns filed with the Finance Director or may furnish to such officer or representative a copy of any such document, provided such other jurisdiction grants substantially similar privileges to the city.
(C) Inspection of business and occupation tax returns by state Tax Commissioner. The Finance Director shall, upon the written request of the state Tax Commissioner or his or her designated agent, allow such commissioner or his or her duly authorized agent to inspect and make copies of the Business and Occupation Tax returns filed by taxpayers of the city, for the purpose of securing information for state tax purposes, provided the state allows the Finance Director the right to inspect or make copies of the Business and Occupation Tax returns of such taxpayer.
(Ord. 1276, passed 6-29-00)