As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of revenue;
(2) “Department” means the department of revenue;
(3) “Officer or employee” includes former officers and employees;
(4) “Person” means every individual, firm, association, joint-stock company, syndicate, partnership, corporation, or state or federal agency;
(5) “Return” means any tax or information return, declaration of estimated tax, claim for refund, or petition for waiver of penalty required by, or provided for, or permitted under, any law, that is filed with or submitted to the commissioner by, on behalf of, or with respect to, any person, and any amendment or supplement thereto, including supporting schedules, attachments, or lists which are supplemental to, or part of, any return so filed or submitted;
(6) “Tax administration” means the administration, management, conduct, direction, and supervision of the execution and application of the state tax laws, rules, or related statutes or rules and reciprocity agreements with the several states or federal government to which the state of Tennessee is a party. “Tax administration” also means the development and formulation of state tax policy relating to existing or proposed tax laws, related statutes and reciprocity agreements and includes assessments, collection, enforcement, litigation, publication, and statistical gathering functions under such laws, statutes, rules or reciprocity agreements;
(7) “Tax administration information” means criteria or standards used or to be used for the selection of returns or persons for audit or examination, or data used or to be used for determining such criteria or standards; audit procedures; and any other information relating to tax administration;
(8) “Tax information” means a taxpayer’s identity, the nature, source, or amount of the taxpayer’s income, payments, receipts, deductions, exemptions, credits, assets, liabilities, net worth, tax liability, tax collected, deficiencies, overassessments, or tax payments, whether the taxpayer’s return was, is being, or will be, examined or subject to other investigation or processing, or any other data, received by, recorded by, prepared by, furnished to, or collected by, the commissioner with respect to a return or with respect to the determination of the existence, or possible existence, of liability, or the amount of the liability, of any person for any tax, penalty, interest, fine, forfeiture, or other penalty, imposition or offense, administered by or collected by the commissioner, either directly or indirectly. “Tax information” does not include data in a form that cannot, either directly or indirectly, be associated with, or otherwise be used to identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer;
(9) “Taxpayer identity” means the name of a person subject to a tax collected or administered by the commissioner, the person’s mailing address, the person’s taxpayer identifying number or account number, or a combination thereof; and
(10) “Unit of local government” means any county enumerated in § 5-1-101, any incorporated municipality, or any consolidated unit of any such counties and municipalities.
