It is unlawful for the collector or any person having an administrative
duty under the provisions of this code to make known in any manner
whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained
by an investigation of records and equipment of any person required
to obtain a license, or pay a license tax, or any other person visited
or examined in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or source
of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof,
set forth in any statement or application, or to permit any statement
or application, or copy of either, or any book containing any abstract
or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person; provided
that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent:
(1) The disclosure to, or the examination of records and equipment by, another city official, employee, or agent for collection of taxes for the sole purpose of administering or enforcing any provisions of Chapters
3.40 through
3.96, or collecting taxes imposed hereunder;
(2) The
disclosure of information to, or the examination of records by, federal
or state officials, or the tax officials of another city or county,
or city and county, if a reciprocal arrangement exists, or to a grand
jury or court of law, upon subpoena;
(3) The
disclosure of information and results of examination of records of
particular taxpayers, or relating to particular taxpayers, to a court
of law in a proceeding brought to determine the existence or amount
of any license tax liability of the particular taxpayers to the city;
(4) The
disclosure after the filing of a written request to that effect, to
the taxpayer himself, or to his successors, receivers, trustees, executors,
administrators, assignees and guarantors, if directly interested,
of information as to the items included in the measure of any paid
tax, any unpaid tax or amounts of tax required to be collected, interest
and penalties; further provided, however, that the city attorney approves
each such disclosure and that the collector may refuse to make any
disclosure referred to in this subdivision when in his opinion the
public interest would suffer thereby;
(5) The
disclosure of the names and addresses of persons to whom licenses
have been issued, and the general type or nature of their businesses;
(6) The
disclosure by way of public meeting or otherwise of such information
as may be necessary to the city council in order to permit it to be
fully advised as to the facts when a taxpayer files a claim for refund
of license taxes, or submits an offer of compromise with regard to
a claim asserted against him by the city for license taxes, or when
acting upon any other matter;
(7) The
disclosure of general statistics regarding taxes collected or business
done in the city.
(Prior code § 2171; Ord. 908 § 2, 1971)