§ 105-259. Secrecy required of officials; penalty for violation.
§ 105‑259. Secrecyrequired of officials; penalty for violation.
(a) Definitions. Thefollowing definitions apply in this section:
(1) Employee or officer. The term includes a former employee, a former officer, and a current orformer member of a State board or commission.
(2) Tax information. Anyinformation from any source concerning the liability of a taxpayer for a tax,as defined in G.S. 105‑228.90. The term includes the following:
a. Informationcontained on a tax return, a tax report, or an application for a license forwhich a tax is imposed.
b. Information obtainedthrough an audit of a taxpayer or by correspondence with a taxpayer.
c. Information onwhether a taxpayer has filed a tax return or a tax report.
d. A list or othercompilation of the names, addresses, social security numbers, or similarinformation concerning taxpayers.
Theterm does not include (i) statistics classified so that information aboutspecific taxpayers cannot be identified, (ii) an annual report required to befiled under G.S. 55‑16‑22 or (iii) the amount of tax refunds paidto a governmental entity listed in G.S. 105‑164.14(c) or to a Stateagency.
(b) DisclosureProhibited. An officer, an employee, or an agent of the State who has accessto tax information in the course of service to or employment by the State maynot disclose the information to any other person except as provided in thissubsection. Standards used or to be used for the selection of returns forexamination and data used or to be used for determining the standards may notbe disclosed for any purpose. All other tax information may be disclosed onlyif the disclosure is made for one of the following purposes:
(1) To comply with acourt order, an administrative law judge's order in a contested tax case, or alaw.
(2) Review by theAttorney General or a representative of the Attorney General.
(3) To exchange thefollowing types of information with a tax official of another jurisdiction ifthe laws of the other jurisdiction allow it to provide similar tax informationto a representative of this State:
a. Information to aidthe jurisdiction in collecting a tax imposed by this State or the otherjurisdiction.
b. Information neededfor statistical reports and revenue estimates.
(4) To provide agovernmental agency or an officer of an organized association of taxpayers witha list of taxpayers who have paid a privilege license tax under Article 2 ofthis Chapter.
(5) To furnish to thechair of a board of county commissioners information on the county sales and usetax.
(5a) Reserved.
(5b) To furnish to thefinance officials of a city a list of the utility taxable gross receipts andpiped natural gas tax revenues attributable to the city under G.S. 105‑116.1and G.S. 105‑187.44 or under former G.S. 105‑116 and G.S. 105‑120.
(5c) To provide thefollowing information to a regional public transportation authority or aregional transportation authority created pursuant to Article 26 or Article 27of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes on an annual basis, when the informationis needed to enable the authority to administer its tax laws:
a. The name, address,and identification number of retailers who collect the tax on leased vehiclesimposed by G.S. 105‑187.5.
b. The name, address,and identification number of a retailer audited by the Department of Revenueregarding the tax on leased vehicles imposed by G.S. 105‑187.5, when theDepartment determines that the audit results may be of interest to theauthority.
(5d) To provide thefollowing information to a county or city on an annual basis, when the countyor city needs the information for the administration of its local prepared foodand beverages tax, room occupancy tax, vehicle rental tax, or heavy equipmentrental tax:
a. The name, address,and identification number of retailers who collect the sales and use taxesimposed under Article 5 of this Chapter and may be engaged in a businesssubject to one or more of these local taxes.
b. The name, address,and identification number of a retailer audited by the Department regarding thesales and use taxes imposed under Article 5 of this Chapter, when theDepartment determines that the audit results may be of interest to the countyor city in the administration of one or more of these local taxes.
(6) To sort, process, ordeliver tax information on behalf of the Department of Revenue.
(6a) To furnish the countyor city official designated under G.S. 105‑164.14(f) a list of claimantsthat have received a refund of the county sales or use tax to the extentauthorized in G.S. 105‑164.14(f).
(7) To exchangeinformation with the Division of the State Highway Patrol of the Department ofCrime Control and Public Safety, the Division of Motor Vehicles of theDepartment of Transportation, the International Fuel Tax Association, Inc., orthe Joint Operations Center for National Fuel Tax Compliance when theinformation is needed to fulfill a duty imposed on the Department of Revenue,the Division of the State Highway Patrol of the Department of Crime Control andPublic Safety, or the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department ofTransportation.
(7a) To furnish the nameand identifying information of motor carriers whose licenses have been revokedto the administrator of a national criminal justice system database that makesthe information available only to criminal justice agencies and public safetyorganizations.
(8) To furnish to theDepartment of State Treasurer, upon request, the name, address, and account andidentification numbers of a taxpayer who may be entitled to property held in theEscheat Fund.
(9) To furnish to theEmployment Security Commission the name, address, and account andidentification numbers of a taxpayer when the information is requested by theCommission in order to fulfill a duty imposed under Article 2 of Chapter 96 ofthe General Statutes.
(9a) To furnishinformation to the Employment Security Commission to the extent required forits NC WORKS study of the working poor pursuant to G.S. 108A‑29(r). TheEmployment Security Commission shall use information furnished to it under thissubdivision only in a nonidentifying form for statistical and analyticalpurposes related to its NC WORKS study. The information that may be furnishedunder this subdivision is the following with respect to individual incometaxpayers, as shown on the North Carolina income tax forms:
a. Name, socialsecurity number, spouse's name, spouse's social security number, and county ofresidence.
b. Filing status andfederal personal exemptions.
c. Federal taxableincome, additions to federal taxable income, and total of federal taxableincome plus additional income.
d. Income while a NorthCarolina resident, total income from North Carolina sources while anonresident, and total income from all sources.
e. Exemption forchildren, nonresidents' and part‑year residents' exemption for children,and credit for children.
f. Expenses for childand dependent care, portion of expenses paid while a resident of NorthCarolina, portion of expenses paid while a resident of North Carolina that wasincurred for dependents who were under the age of seven and dependents who werephysically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves, credit for child anddependent care expenses, other qualifying expenses, credit for other qualifyingexpenses, total credit for child and dependent care expenses.
(10) Review by the StateAuditor to the extent authorized in G.S. 147‑64.7.
(11) To give a spouse whoelects to file a joint tax return a copy of the return or information containedon the return.
(11a) To provide a copy of areturn to the taxpayer who filed the return.
(11b) In the case of areturn filed by a corporation, a partnership, a trust, or an estate, to providea copy of the return or information on the return to a person who has amaterial interest in the return if, under the circumstances, section 6103(e)(1)of the Code would require disclosure to that person of any correspondingfederal return or information.
(11c) In the case of areturn of an individual who is legally incompetent or deceased, to provide acopy of the return to the legal representative of the estate of the incompetentindividual or decedent.
(12) To contract with afinancial institution for the receipt of withheld income tax payments underG.S. 105‑163.6 or for the transmittal of payments by electronic fundstransfer.
(13) To furnish thefollowing to the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly, uponrequest:
a. A sample, suitablein character, composition, and size for statistical analyses, of tax returns orother tax information from which taxpayers' names and identification numbershave been removed.
b. An analysis of thefiscal impact of proposed legislation.
(14) To exchangeinformation concerning a tax imposed by Subchapter V of this Chapter with theStandards Division of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services whenthe information is needed to administer the Gasoline and Oil Inspection Act,Article 3 of Chapter 119 of the General Statutes.
(15) To exchangeinformation concerning a tax imposed by Articles 2A, 2C, or 2D of this Chapterwith one of the following agencies when the information is needed to fulfill aduty imposed on the Department or the agency:
a. The North CarolinaAlcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
b. The Division ofAlcohol Law Enforcement of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.
c. The Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms of the United States Treasury Department.
d. Law enforcementagencies.
e. The Division ofCommunity Corrections of the Department of Correction.
(15a) To furnish to the headof the appropriate State or federal law enforcement agency informationconcerning the commission of an offense under the jurisdiction of that agencydiscovered by the Department during a criminal investigation of the taxpayer.
(16) To furnish to the Departmentof Secretary of State the name, address, tax year end, and account andidentification numbers of a corporation liable for corporate income orfranchise taxes or of a limited liability company liable for a corporate or apartnership tax return to enable the Secretary of State to notify thecorporation or the limited liability company of the annual report filingrequirement or that its articles of incorporation or articles of organizationor its certificate of authority has been suspended.
(16a) To provide the NorthCarolina Self‑Insurance Security Association information on self‑insurers'premiums as determined under G.S. 105‑228.5(b), (b1), and (c) for thepurpose of collecting the assessments authorized in G.S. 97‑133(a).
(17) To inform the BusinessLicense Information Office of the Department of Commerce of the status of anapplication for a license for which a tax is imposed and of any informationneeded to process the application.
(18) To furnish to theOffice of the State Controller the name, address, and account andidentification numbers of a taxpayer upon request to enable the StateController to verify statewide vendor files or track debtors of the State.
(19) To furnish to theNorth Carolina Industrial Commission information concerning workers'compensation reported to the Secretary under G.S. 105‑163.7.
(20) (See note forexpiration date) To furnish to the Environmental Management Commissioninformation concerning whether a person who is requesting certification of adry‑cleaning facility or wholesale distribution facility from theCommission is liable for privilege tax under Article 5D of this Chapter. Thissubdivision is repealed when Part 6 of Article 21A of Chapter 143 of theGeneral Statutes expires.
(21) To exchangeinformation concerning the tax on piped natural gas imposed by Article 5E ofthis Chapter with the North Carolina Utilities Commission or the Public Staffof that Commission.
(22) To provide theSecretary of Administration pursuant to G.S. 143‑59.1 a list of vendorsand their affiliates who meet one or more of the conditions of G.S. 105‑164.8(b)but refuse to collect the use tax levied under Article 5 of this Chapter ontheir sales delivered to North Carolina.
(23) To provide publicaccess to a database containing the names and account numbers of taxpayers whoare not required to pay sales and use taxes under Article 5 of this Chapter toa retailer because of an exemption or because they are authorized to pay thetax directly to the Department of Revenue.
(24) To furnish the Departmentof Commerce and the Employment Security Commission a copy of the qualifyinginformation required in G.S. 105‑129.7(b) or G.S. 105‑129.86(b).
(25) To provide publicaccess to a database containing the names of retailers who are registered tocollect sales and use taxes under Article 5 of this Chapter.
(26) To contract for thecollection of tax debts pursuant to G.S. 105‑243.1.
(27) To provide a reportrequired under this Chapter.
(28) To exchangeinformation concerning a tax credit claimed under Article 3E of this Chapterwith the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
(29) To provide to theEconomic Investment Committee established pursuant to G.S. 143B‑437.48information necessary to implement Part 2F of Article 10 of Chapter 143B of theGeneral Statutes.
(30) To prove that abusiness does not meet the definition of "small business" underArticle 3F of this Chapter because the annual receipts of the business,combined with the annual receipts of all related persons, exceeds theapplicable amount.
(31) (Repealed forbusiness activities occurring in taxable years beginning on or after January 1,2020) To verify with a related entity or strategic partner informationrelating to that entity provided by a taxpayer claiming a credit under Article3G of this Chapter.
(32) Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑162, s. 4(c), as amended by Session Laws 2007‑527, s. 24,effective July 24, 2006.
(33) To provide to theNorth Carolina State Lottery Commission the information required under G.S. 18C‑141.
(34) To exchange informationconcerning a tax credit claimed under G.S. 105‑130.47 or G.S. 105‑151.29with the North Carolina Film Office of the Department of Commerce and with theregional film commissions.
(35) To furnish to ataxpayer claiming a credit under Article 3G of this Chapter information from arelated entity or strategic partner to the extent that information was used bythe Secretary to adjust the amount of tax credit claimed by the taxpayer.
(36) To furnish to ataxpayer claiming a credit under G.S. 105‑130.47 or G.S. 105‑151.29information used by the Secretary to adjust the amount of the credit claimed bythe taxpayer.
(37) To furnish theDepartment of Commerce with the information needed to complete the studiesrequired under G.S. 105‑129.2A and G.S. 105‑129.82.
(38) (Effective fortaxable years beginning before January 1, 2008) To verify with a nonprofitorganization information relating to eligibility for a credit under G.S. 105‑129.16H.
(38) (Effective fortaxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008) To verify with anonprofit organization or a unit of State or local government informationrelating to eligibility for a credit under G.S. 105‑129.16H.
(39) To furnish theDepartment of State Treasurer with information it requests about whether a unitof local government has timely filed a withholding report, has been charged apenalty, or has paid a penalty, as such information may be helpful in auditinglocal government accounts pursuant to G.S. 159‑34 and determiningcompliance with the Local Government Finance Act.
(c) Punishment. Aperson who violates this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. If theperson committing the violation is an officer or employee, that person shall bedismissed from public office or public employment and may not hold any publicoffice or public employment in this State for five years after the violation. (1939, c. 158, s. 928; 1951,c. 190, s. 2; 1973, c. 476, s. 193; c. 903, s. 4; c. 1287, s. 13; 1975, c. 19,s. 29; c. 275, s. 7; 1977, c. 657, s. 6; 1979, c. 495; 1983, c. 7; 1983 (Reg.Sess., 1984), c. 1004, s. 3; c. 1034, s. 125; 1987, c. 440, s. 4; 1989, c. 628;c. 728, s. 1.47; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 945, s. 15; 1993, c. 485, s. 31;c. 539, s. 712; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 14, s. 51; c. 24, s. 14(c); 1993 (Reg. Sess.,1994), c. 679, s. 8.4; 1995, c. 17, s. 11; c. 21, s. 2; 1997‑118, s. 6;1997‑261, s. 14; 1997‑340, s. 2; 1997‑392, s. 4.1; 1997‑475,s. 6.11; 1998‑22, ss. 10, 11; 1998‑98, ss. 13.1(b), 20; 1998‑139,s. 1; 1998‑212, s. 12.27A(o); 1999‑219, s. 7.1; 1999‑340, s.8; 1999‑341, s. 8; 1999‑360, s. 2.1; 1999‑438, s. 18; 1999‑452,s. 28.1; 2000‑120, s. 8; 2000‑173, s. 11; 2001‑205, s. 1;2001‑380, s. 5; 2001‑476, s. 8(b); 2001‑487, ss. 47(d), 123;2002‑87, s. 7; 2002‑106, s. 5; 2002‑172, s. 2.3; 2003‑349,s. 4; 2003‑416, s. 2; 2004‑124, s. 32D.3; 2004‑170, s. 23;2004‑204, 1st Ex. Sess., s.4; 2005‑276, ss. 31.1(cc), 39.1(c), 7.27(b); 2005‑400, s. 20; 2005‑429,s. 2.13; 2005‑435, ss. 32(b), 32(c), 37, 48; 2006‑162, s. 4(c);2006‑196, s. 11; 2006‑252, s. 2.21; 2007‑397, s. 13(d); 2007‑491,s. 38; 2007‑527, ss. 24, 33, 34, 35, 36; 2008‑107, s. 28.25(d);2008‑144, s. 4; 2009‑283, s. 1; 2009‑445, s. 39; 2009‑483,ss. 5, 10.)