§ 499-hh. Confidentiality. 1. Except in accordance with a proper
judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for
the commissioner of finance, any officer or employee of the department
of finance, the president or a commissioner or employee of the tax
commission, any person engaged or retained by such department or such
commission on an independent contract basis, or any person who, pursuant
to this title, is permitted to inspect any information submitted by an
applicant to the department of finance pursuant to this title or to whom
a copy, an abstract or a portion of any such information is furnished,
to divulge or make known in any manner any such information to any
person not authorized pursuant to this title to inspect such
information. The officers charged with custody of such information shall
not be required to produce any of it or evidence of anything contained
in it in any action or proceeding in any court except on behalf of the
commissioner of finance in an action or proceeding under the provisions
of this title, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding
under the provisions of this title when such information or facts shown
thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding, in either of
which events the court may require the production of, and may admit in
evidence so much of such information or of the facts shown thereby, as
are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. Nothing herein
shall be construed to prohibit the inspection by the legal
representatives of the department of finance or the tax commission of
such information submitted by any applicant who shall bring an action to
correct an assessment. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the
delivery to an applicant or the applicant's duly authorized
representative of a certified copy of any information submitted by an
applicant to the department of finance pursuant to this title; or to any
agency or any department of any city having a population of one million
or more provided the same is requested for official business; nor to
prohibit the inspection for official business of such information by the
corporation counsel or other legal representatives of a city having a
population of one million or more or by the district attorney of any
county within such city; nor to prohibit the publication of statistics
so classified as to prevent the identification of such information or
particular items thereof. Information submitted by an applicant to the
department of finance pursuant to this title shall not be subject to
disclosure pursuant to article six of the public officers law.

2. Any violation of the provisions of subdivision one of this section
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by
imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the
court, and if the offender be an officer or employee of the department
of finance or of the tax commission, the offender shall be dismissed
from office.