Chapter 656 Oregon Laws 1999

Session Law

AN ACT

HB 2135

Relating to the disclosure of information; amending ORS 314.840.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 314.840 is amended to read:

314.840. (1) The Department of Revenue may:

(a) Furnish any taxpayer or authorized representative, upon request of the taxpayer or representative, 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.

(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 or employer 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 Oregon or the authorized representative of the Governor:

(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 Oregon individual income tax return.

(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 Oregon personal income tax laws and the nature of the penalty.

(iv) Has been or is under investigation for possible criminal offenses under the Oregon personal income tax laws. Information disclosed pursuant to this paragraph shall be used only for the purpose of making the appointment, reappointment or decision to employ or not to employ the individual in the office of the Governor.

(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 information disclosed or to which access is given under this subparagraph shall be confined to the identity of a corporate taxpayer, the amount of the corporate tax liability of the corporate taxpayer and the amount of the payments made by the corporation to the Department of Revenue under the corporate excise and income tax laws of this state. Any officer, employee or person furnished or granted access to information under this subparagraph shall not remove the information from the premises of the Department of Revenue.

(b) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue or authorized representative, for tax 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 has a provision of law which meets the requirements of any applicable provision of the Internal Revenue Code as to confidentiality.

(d) The Multistate Tax Commission or its authorized representatives, for tax purposes only. However, the Multistate Tax Commission may make such 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.

(e) The Attorney General, assistants and employees in the Department of Justice, or other legal representative of the State of Oregon, to the extent the department deems disclosure or access necessary for the performance of the duties of advising or representing the department pursuant to ORS 180.010 to 180.240 and the tax laws of this state.

(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 Adult and Family Services Division of the Department of Human Resources pursuant to ORS 314.860 and 418.135; the Support Enforcement Division 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 Service Examiners, pursuant to ORS 673.710; and the State 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.

(D) Nature of business.

(E) Entity changes.

(F) Date of last payroll.

(L) The Assistant Director for Mental Health and Developmental Disability 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 Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services Division 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 Division 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:

(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 [(o)] (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 [(o)] (p) of this section from the respective agencies.

Approved by the Governor July 13, 1999

Filed in the office of Secretary of State July 14, 1999

Effective date October 23, 1999

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