Iowa Code 422.20 – Information confidential — redactions — penalty
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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1. a. It shall be unlawful for any present or former officer or employee of the state to willfully or recklessly divulge or to make known in any manner whatever not provided by law to any person the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof, set forth or disclosed in any income return, or to permit any income return or copy thereof or any book containing any abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person except as provided by law.
b. It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or recklessly print or publish in any manner whatever not provided by law any income return, or any part thereof or source of income, profits, losses, or expenditures appearing in any income return.
c. Any person committing an offense described in this subsection shall be guilty of a serious misdemeanor. If the offender is an officer or employee of the state, such person shall also be dismissed from office or discharged from employment.
d. Nothing in this section shall prohibit turning over to duly authorized officers of the United States or tax officials of other states state information and income returns pursuant to agreement between the director and the secretary of the treasury of the United States or the secretary’s delegate or pursuant to a reciprocal agreement with another state.
Attorney's Note
Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Serious misdemeanor | up to 1 year | between $430 and $2,560 |
Terms Used In Iowa Code 422.20
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Director: means the director of the department of revenue. See Iowa Code 453A.42
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Member: includes any entity included in the consolidated return under section 422. See Iowa Code 422.7
- Partner: means a person that holds an interest, directly or indirectly, in a partnership or pass-through entity. See Iowa Code 422.25A
- Person: means any individual, firm, association, partnership, joint stock company, joint adventure, corporation, trustee, agency, or receiver, or any legal representative of any of the foregoing. See Iowa Code 453A.42
- Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Use: means the exercise of any right or power incidental to the ownership of tobacco products. See Iowa Code 453A.42
2. It is unlawful for an officer, employee, or agent, or former officer, employee, or agent of the state to willfully or recklessly disclose to any person, except as authorized in subsection 1 of this section, any federal tax return or return information as defined in section 6103(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is unlawful for a person to whom any federal tax return or return information, as defined in section 6103(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, is disclosed in a manner unauthorized by subsection 1 of this section to thereafter willfully or recklessly print or publish in any manner not provided by law any such return or return information. A person violating this subsection is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
3. a. Unless otherwise expressly permitted by section 8A.504, section 8G.4, section 11.41, section 96.11, subsection 6, section 421.17, subsections 22, 23, and 26, section 421.17, subsection 27, paragraph “k”, section 421.17, subsection 31, section 252B.9, section 321.40, subsection 6, sections 321.120, 421.19, 421.28, 421.59, 422.72, and 452A.63, this section, or another provision of law, a tax return, return information, or investigative or audit information shall not be divulged to any person or entity, other than the taxpayer, the department, or internal revenue service for use in a matter unrelated to tax administration.
b. This prohibition precludes persons or entities other than the taxpayer, the department, or the internal revenue service from obtaining such information from the department, and a subpoena, order, or process which requires the department to produce such information to a person or entity, other than the taxpayer, the department, or internal revenue service for use in a nontax proceeding is void.
4. The director may disclose the tax return of a partnership, limited liability company, or S corporation, any such return information, or any investigative information related to the return, to any person who was a partner, shareholder, or member of such an entity during any part of the period covered by the return.
5. a. Prior to the record in an appeal or contested case being made available for public inspection, the department shall redact the following information from any pleading, exhibit, attachment, motion, written evidence, final order, decision, or opinion contained in that record:
(1) A financial account number.
(2) An account number generated by the department to identify an audit or examination.
(3) A social security number.
(4) A federal employer identification number.
(5) The name of a minor.
(6) A medical record or other medical information.
(7) A return as defined in section 421.6.
b. Upon a motion filed by the taxpayer, the department may redact from the record in an appeal or contested case any other information from a pleading, exhibit, attachment, motion, or written evidence, if the taxpayer proves by clear and convincing evidence that the release of such information would disclose a trade secret or be a clear, unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
c. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, when making final orders, decisions, or opinions available for public inspection, the department may disclose the items in paragraph “a” if the department determines such information is relevant or necessary to the resolution or decision of the appeal or case.
d. Except as described in paragraphs “a” and “b”, all information contained in a pleading, exhibit, attachment, motion, written evidence, final order, decision, opinion, and the record in an appeal or contested case is subject to examination to the extent provided by chapter 22.
6. The director may disclose taxpayer identity information to the press and other media for purposes of notifying persons entitled to tax refunds when the director, after reasonable effort and lapse of time, has been unable to locate the persons.
7. The department may permit, by rule, the disclosure of state tax information to a person a taxpayer has authorized to receive such state tax information, in the manner prescribed by the department.