Chapter 321
AN ACT
SB 173
Relating to disclosure of tax information; amending ORS 314.840.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1.
ORS 314.840 is amended to read:
314.840. (1) The
Department of Revenue may:
(a) Furnish any
taxpayer, representative authorized to represent the taxpayer under ORS 305.230
or person designated by the taxpayer under ORS 305.193, upon request of the
taxpayer, representative or designee, with a copy of the taxpayer’s income tax
return filed with the department for any year, or with a copy of any report
filed by the taxpayer in connection with the return, or with any other
information the department considers necessary.
(b) Publish lists of
taxpayers who are entitled to unclaimed tax refunds.
(c) Publish statistics
so classified as to prevent the identification of income or any particulars
contained in any report or return.
(d) Disclose a taxpayer’s
name, address, telephone number, refund amount, amount due, Social Security
number, employer identification number or other taxpayer identification number
to the extent necessary in connection with collection activities or the
processing and mailing of correspondence or of forms for any report, return or
claim required in the administration of ORS 310.630 to 310.706, any local tax
under ORS 305.620, or any law imposing a tax upon or measured by net income.
(2) The department also
may disclose and give access to information described in ORS 314.835 to:
(a) The Governor of the
State of
(A) With respect to an
individual who is designated as being under consideration for appointment or
reappointment to an office or for employment in the office of the Governor. The
information disclosed shall be confined to whether the individual:
(i) Has filed returns
with respect to the taxes imposed by ORS chapter 316 for those of not more than
the three immediately preceding years for which the individual was required to
file an
(ii) Has failed to pay
any tax within 30 days from the date of mailing of a deficiency notice or
otherwise respond to a deficiency notice within 30 days of its mailing.
(iii) Has been assessed
any penalty under the
(iv) Has been or is
under investigation for possible criminal offenses under the
(B) For use by an
officer or employee of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services duly
authorized or employed to prepare revenue estimates, or a person contracting
with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to prepare revenue
estimates, in the preparation of revenue estimates required for the Governor’s
budget under ORS 291.201 to 291.226, or required for submission to the Emergency
Board, or if the Legislative Assembly is in session, to the Joint Committee on
Ways and Means, and to the Legislative Revenue Officer under ORS 291.342,
291.348 and 291.445. The Department of Revenue shall disclose and give access
to the information described in ORS 314.835 for the purposes of this
subparagraph only if:
(i) The request for
information is made in writing, specifies the purposes for which the request is
made and is signed by an authorized representative of the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services. The form for request for information shall be
prescribed by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services and approved by
the Director of the Department of Revenue.
(ii) The officer,
employee or person receiving the information does not remove from the premises
of the Department of Revenue any materials that would reveal the identity of a
personal or corporate taxpayer.
(b) The Commissioner of
Internal Revenue or authorized representative, for tax administration and
compliance purposes only.
(c) [The proper officer of any state or the
District of Columbia, or their authorized representatives, for tax purposes
only, if such state or district] For tax administration and compliance
purposes, the proper officer or authorized representative of any of the
following entities that has or is governed by a provision of law [which] that meets the
requirements of any applicable provision of the Internal Revenue Code as to
confidentiality:
(A) A state;
(B) A city, county or
other political subdivision of a state;
(C) The
(D) An association
established exclusively to provide services to federal, state or local taxing
authorities.
(d) The Multistate Tax
Commission or its authorized representatives, for tax administration and
compliance purposes only. [However,]
The Multistate Tax Commission may make [such]
the information available to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or the
proper officer [of any state or the
District of Columbia, or their authorized representatives, for tax purposes
only, if the state or district has a provision of law which meets the
requirements of any applicable provision of the Internal Revenue Code as to
confidentiality] or authorized representative of any governmental entity
described in and meeting the qualifications of paragraph (c) of this subsection.
(e) The Attorney
General, assistants and employees in the Department of Justice, or other legal
representative of the State of
(f) Employees of the
State of Oregon, other than of the Department of Revenue or Department of
Justice, to the extent the department deems disclosure or access necessary for
such employees to perform their duties under contracts or agreements between
the department and any other department, agency or subdivision of the State of
Oregon, in the department’s administration of the tax laws.
(g) Other persons,
partnerships, corporations and other legal entities, and their employees, to
the extent the department deems disclosure or access necessary for the
performance of such others’ duties under contracts or agreements between the
department and such legal entities, in the department’s administration of the
tax laws.
(h) The Legislative
Revenue Officer or authorized representatives upon compliance with ORS 173.850.
Such officer or representative shall not remove from the premises of the
department any materials that would reveal the identity of any taxpayer or any
other person.
(i) The Department of
Consumer and Business Services, to the extent the department requires such
information to determine whether it is appropriate to adjust those workers’
compensation benefits the amount of which is based pursuant to ORS chapter 656
on the amount of wages or earned income received by an individual.
(j) Any agency of the
State of Oregon, or any person, or any officer or employee of such agency or
person to whom disclosure or access is given by state law and not otherwise
referred to in this section, including but not limited to the Secretary of
State as Auditor of Public Accounts under section 2, Article VI of the Oregon Constitution;
the Department of Human Services pursuant to ORS 314.860 and 418.135; the
Division of Child Support of the Department of Justice and district attorney
regarding cases for which they are providing support enforcement services under
ORS 25.080; the State Board of Tax Practitioners, pursuant to ORS 673.710; and
the Oregon Board of Accountancy, pursuant to ORS 673.415.
(k) The Director of the
Department of Consumer and Business Services to determine that a person
complies with ORS chapter 656 and the Director of the Employment Department to
determine that a person complies with ORS chapter 657, the following employer
information:
(A) Identification
numbers.
(B) Names and addresses.
(C) Inception date as
employer.
(D) Nature of business.
(E) Entity changes.
(F) Date of last
payroll.
(L) The Director of
Human Services to determine that a person has the ability to pay for care that
includes services provided by the state institutions as described in ORS
179.321 or the Department of Human Services or to collect any unpaid cost of
care as provided by ORS chapter 179.
(m) Employees of the
Employment Department to the extent the Department of Revenue deems disclosure
or access to information on a combined tax report filed under ORS 316.168 is
necessary to performance of their duties in administering the tax imposed by
ORS chapter 657.
(n) The State Fire
Marshal to assist the State Fire Marshal in carrying out duties, functions and
powers under ORS 453.307 to 453.414, the employer or agent name, address,
telephone number and standard industrial classification, if available.
(o) Employees of the
Department of State Lands for the purposes of identifying, locating and
publishing lists of taxpayers entitled to unclaimed refunds as required by the
provisions of chapter 694, Oregon Laws 1993. The information shall be limited
to the taxpayer’s name, address and the refund amount.
(p) In addition to the
disclosure allowed under ORS 305.225, state or local law enforcement agencies
to assist in the investigation or prosecution of the following criminal
activities:
(A) Mail theft of a
check, in which case the information that may be disclosed shall be limited to
the stolen document, the name, address and taxpayer identification number of
the payee, the amount of the check and the date printed on the check.
(B) The counterfeiting,
forging or altering of a check submitted by a taxpayer to the Department of
Revenue or issued by the Department of Revenue to a taxpayer, in which case the
information that may be disclosed shall be limited to the counterfeit, forged
or altered document, the name, address and taxpayer identification number of
the payee, the amount of the check, the date printed on the check and the
altered name and address.
(q) The United States
Postal Inspection Service or a federal law enforcement agency, including but
not limited to the United States Department of Justice, to assist in the
investigation of the following criminal activities:
(A) Mail theft of a
check, in which case the information that may be disclosed shall be limited to
the stolen document, the name, address and taxpayer identification number of
the payee, the amount of the check and the date printed on the check.
(B) The counterfeiting,
forging or altering of a check submitted by a taxpayer to the Department of
Revenue or issued by the Department of Revenue to a taxpayer, in which case the
information that may be disclosed shall be limited to the counterfeit, forged
or altered document, the name, address and taxpayer identification number of
the payee, the amount of the check, the date printed on the check and the
altered name and address.
(r) The United States
Financial Management Service, for purposes of facilitating the reciprocal
offsets described in ORS 305.612.
(s) A municipal
corporation of this state for purposes of assisting the municipal corporation
in the administration of a tax of the municipal corporation that is imposed on
or measured by income, wages or net earnings from self-employment. Any
disclosure under this paragraph may be made only pursuant to a written
agreement between the Department of Revenue and the municipal corporation that
ensures the confidentiality of the information disclosed.
(3)(a) Each officer or
employee of the department and each person described or referred to in
subsection (2)(a), (e) to (k) or (m) to (p) of this section to whom disclosure
or access to the tax information is given under subsection (2) of this section
or any other provision of state law, prior to beginning employment or the performance
of duties involving such disclosure or access, shall be advised in writing of
the provisions of ORS 314.835 and 314.991, relating to penalties for the
violation of ORS 314.835, and shall as a condition of employment or performance
of duties execute a certificate for the department, in a form prescribed by the
department, stating in substance that the person has read these provisions of
law, that the person has had them explained and that the person is aware of the
penalties for the violation of ORS 314.835.
(b) The disclosure
authorized in subsection (2)(q) of this section shall be made only after a
written agreement has been entered into between the Department of Revenue and
the person described in subsection (2)(q) of this section to whom disclosure or
access to the tax information is given, providing that:
(A) Any information
described in ORS 314.835 that is received by the person pursuant to subsection
(2)(q) of this section is confidential information that may not be disclosed,
except to the extent necessary to investigate or prosecute the criminal
activities described in subsection (2)(q) of this section;
(B) The information
shall be protected as confidential under applicable federal and state laws; and
(C) The United States
Postal Inspection Service or the federal law enforcement agency shall give
notice to the Department of Revenue of any request received under the federal
Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, or other federal law relating to the
disclosure of information.
(4) The Department of
Revenue may recover the costs of furnishing the information described in
subsection (2)(k), (L) and (n) to (p) of this section from the respective
agencies.
Approved by the Governor June 11, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 13, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
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