§ 994. Secrecy requirement and penalties for violation. (a) Secrecy
requirements. (1) Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as
otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the commissioner of
taxation and finance, any officer or employee of the department of
taxation and finance, any person engaged or retained by such department
on an independent contract basis, or any person who, pursuant to this
section, is permitted to inspect any report or return or to whom a copy,
an abstract or a portion of any report or return is furnished, or to
whom any information contained in any report or return is furnished, to
divulge or make known in any manner the value of the estate or any
particulars set forth or disclosed in any report or return required
under this article.

(2) The officers charged with the custody of such reports and returns
shall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything
contained in them in any action or proceeding in any court, except on
behalf of the commissioner of taxation and finance in an action or
proceeding under the provisions of this chapter, or in any other action
or proceeding involving the collection of a tax due under this chapter
to which the state or the commissioner of taxation and finance is a
party or claimant, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding
under the provisions of this article when the reports, returns or facts
shown thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding or in
any proceeding under the surrogate's court procedure act to assist the
surrogate to carry out his powers or duties under such act including,
but not limited to the determination of the amount of court fees
required to be paid under article twenty-four of such act, in any of
which events the court may require the production of, and may admit in
evidence, so much of said reports, returns or of the facts shown
thereby, as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more.

(3) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a
surrogate or to any person liable for the payment of the tax imposed by
this article or such liable person's duly authorized representative of a
certified copy of any return, correspondence or other data filed in
connection with the tax for which such person is liable or a copy of any
workpaper, document or other data prepared or developed by the
department during the processing, audit or investigation of that return
or the collection of the tax derived therefrom or the delivery of any
such copy to any person interested in the estate, any heir at law, next
of kin, or beneficiary under the will, of such decedent, or a donee of
property, but only if the commissioner or the surrogate, as the case may
be, finds that such person, heir at law, next of kin, beneficiary, or
donee has a material interest which will be affected by information
contained therein. Further, nothing herein shall be construed to
prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the
identification of particular reports or returns and the items thereof,
or the inspection by the attorney general or other legal representatives
of the state of the return of any person (or any report related to such
return or any copy mentioned in the preceding sentence) who shall bring
action to set aside or review the tax based thereon, or against whom an
action or proceeding under this chapter has been recommended by the
commissioner or the attorney general or has been instituted, or the
inspection of the reports or returns required under this article by the
comptroller or duly designated officer or employee of the state
department of audit and control, for purposes of the audit of a refund
of any tax paid by a taxpayer under this article. Further, nothing
contained herein shall be construed to prevent an examination of any
documents concerning an estate that are under the control of the
surrogate by a title abstractor, attorney at law or title examiner or to
prevent a title abstractor, attorney at law or title examiner from
applying for and obtaining a discharge of lien in accordance with
subsection (c) of section nine hundred eighty-two of this article or
from receiving information needed in order to obtain such discharge, for
the sole purpose of insuring title to real property or a chattel real
and/or preparing a title abstract, title search, or title report in
connection with real property or chattel real. The commissioner or the
surrogate, as the case may be, may require such title abstractor,
attorney at law or title examiner to certify that the sole purpose of
such examination is for insuring title to real property or a chattel
real and/or preparing a title abstract, title search or title report.
Furthermore, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery
to a person entitled thereto under the provisions of this article of a
receipt or certificate that the tax imposed under this article has been
paid, in whole or in part.

(4)(A) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the
provisions of this subsection shall be dismissed from office and be
incapable of holding any public office in this state for a period of
five years thereafter.

(B) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven
of this chapter.

(b) Cooperation with the United States and other states.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the
commissioner of taxation and finance may permit the secretary of the
treasury of the United States or his delegates, or the proper tax
officer of any state imposing an estate, inheritance or death tax on the
transfer of the estate of a deceased individual or on the transfer by
will or the intestate laws of such state from any person dying seized or
possessed of property in such state, or the authorized representative of
either such officer, to inspect any return filed under this article, or
may furnish to such officer or his authorized representative an abstract
of any such return or supply him with information concerning an item
contained in any such return, or disclosed by an investigation of tax
liability under this article, but such permission shall be granted or
such information furnished to such officer or his representative only if
the laws of the United States or of such other state, as the case may
be, grant substantially similar privileges to the commissioner of
taxation and finance or such other officer of this state charged with
the administration of the tax imposed by this article and such
information is to be used for tax purposes only; and provided further
the commissioner of taxation and finance may furnish to the commissioner
of internal revenue or his authorized representative such returns filed
under this article and other tax information, as he may consider proper,
for use in court actions or proceedings under the internal revenue code,
whether civil or criminal, where a written request therefor has been
made to the commissioner of taxation and finance by the secretary of the
treasury of the United States or his delegates, provided the laws of the
United States grant substantially similar powers to the secretary of the
treasury of the United States or his delegates. Where the commissioner
of taxation and finance has so authorized use of returns and other
information in such actions or proceedings, officers and employees of
the department of taxation and finance may testify in such actions or
proceedings in respect to such returns or other information. Nothing
herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery of any return or the
furnishing of information thereon by the commissioner of taxation and
finance to the taxing authorities of another state for the purpose of
complying with the provisions of section nine hundred seventy-one-a of
this article relating to additional proceedings in estates of
nondomiciliary decedents.

(b-1) Cooperation with investigations by certain committees of the
United States Congress. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection
(a) of this section, upon written request from the chairperson of the
committee on ways and means of the United States House of
Representatives, the chairperson of the committee on finance of the
United States Senate, or the chairperson of the joint committee on
taxation of the United States Congress, the commissioner shall furnish
such committee with any current or prior year reports or returns
specified in such request that were filed under this article by the
president of the United States, vice-president of the United States,
member of the United States Congress representing New York state, or any
person who served in or was employed by the executive branch of the
government of the United States on the executive staff of the president,
in the executive office of the president, or in an acting or confirmed
capacity in a position subject to confirmation by the United States
senate; or, in New York state: a statewide elected official, as defined
in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section seventy-three-a of the
public officers law; a state officer or employee, as defined in
subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of such section
seventy-three-a; a political party chairperson, as defined in paragraph
(h) of subdivision one of such section seventy-three-a; a local elected
official, as defined in subdivisions one and two of section eight
hundred ten of the general municipal law; a person appointed, pursuant
to law, to serve due to vacancy or otherwise in the position of a local
elected official, as defined in subdivisions one and two of section
eight hundred ten of the general municipal law; a member of the state
legislature; or a judge or justice of the unified court system; or filed
by a partnership, firm, association, corporation, joint-stock company,
trust or similar entity directly or indirectly controlled by any
individual listed in this paragraph, whether by contract, through
ownership or control of a majority interest in such entity, or
otherwise, or filed by a partnership, firm, association, corporation,
joint-stock company, trust or similar entity of which any individual
listed in this paragraph holds ten percent or more of the voting
securities of such entity; provided however that, prior to furnishing
any report or return, the commissioner shall redact any copy of a
federal return (or portion thereof) attached to, or any information on a
federal return that is reflected on, such report or return, and any
social security numbers, account numbers and residential address
information.

(2) No reports or returns shall be furnished pursuant to this
subsection unless the chairperson of the requesting committee certifies
in writing that such reports or returns have been requested related to,
and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress, that the
requesting committee has made a written request to the United States
secretary of the treasury for related federal reports or returns or
report or return information, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103(f), and
that if such requested reports or returns are inspected by and/or
submitted to another committee, to the United States House of
Representatives, or to the United States Senate, then such inspection
and/or submission shall occur in a manner consistent with federal law as
informed by the requirements and procedures established in 26 U.S.C.
Section 6103(f).

(c) Procedure and preservation of returns. (1) Reports and returns or
in lieu thereof, copies or reproductions of such reports and returns,
shall be preserved for eighteen years and thereafter until the
commissioner of taxation and finance orders them to be destroyed.

(2) Requests for the inspection or disclosure of a report or return
and such inspection or disclosure shall be made in such manner and at
such time and place as shall be prescribed by the commissioner of
taxation and finance.

(3) (A) A reproduction of a report or return shall, upon written
request, be furnished to any person to whom disclosure or inspection of
such report or return is authorized under this section. A reasonable fee
may be prescribed for furnishing each page of such reproduction.

(B) Any reproduction of any report, return, document, or other matter
made in accordance with this subsection shall have the same legal status
as the original, and any such reproduction shall be admissible in
evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding as if it were the
original, whether or not the original is in existence.

(d) Filing returns and making payment to depository banks.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the
commissioner of taxation and finance, in his discretion, may require or
permit any or all of the estates, executors, beneficiaries and other
persons liable for any tax imposed by this article to make payments on
account of any tax, penalty or interest imposed by this article to
banks, banking houses or trust companies designated by the commissioner
of taxation and finance and to file returns with such banks, banking
houses or trust companies as agents of the commissioner of taxation and
finance, in lieu of making such payment to, or filing such returns with
the commissioner of taxation and finance. However, the commissioner of
taxation and finance shall designate only such banks, banking houses or
trust companies as are or shall be designated by the comptroller as
depositories pursuant to this article.