§251-12 Disclosure of returns unlawful; destruction of returns. (a) All tax returns and return information required to be filed under this chapter, and the report of any investigation of the return or of the subject matter of the return, shall be confidential. It shall be unlawful for any person or any officer or employee of the State, including the auditor or the auditor's agent with regard to tax return information obtained pursuant to section 23-5(a), to intentionally make known information imparted by any tax return or return information filed pursuant to this chapter, or any report of any investigation of the return or of the subject matter of the return, or to wilfully permit any tax return, return information, or report so made, or any copy thereof, to be seen or examined by any person; provided that for surcharge tax purposes only the lessor or tour vehicle operator, the lessor's or tour vehicle operator's authorized agent, or persons with a material interest in the return, return information, or report may examine them. Unless otherwise provided by law, persons with a material interest in the return, return information, or report shall include:
Any violation of this subsection shall be a class C felony. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the publication of statistics that are classified to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the items of the reports or returns.
(b) The department may destroy the monthly, quarterly, or semiannual returns filed pursuant to section 251-4, or any of them, upon the expiration of three years after the end of the calendar or fiscal year in which the surcharge taxes so returned accrued. [L 1991, c 263, pt of §1; am L 1997, c 178, §10; am L 2014, c 136, §7]