96-017
Response
January 26, 1996
Request
XXXXX
from XXXXX City called and indicated that a new counsel member has requested a copy
of the distribution reports from her to view.
She has refused his request as he has no dealings with the report in his
offical capacity nor does he have any financial responsibility. She is requesting a written opinion on this
matter.
This
report is a protected record and is to be used for official use only. This is outlined in 59-1-403.
Could
you write an opinion and fax it to XXXXX?
Her fax is XXXXX, her phone number is XXXXX, and her address is:
XXXXX
If
you have any questions, please call me at XXXXX. Thanks !
XXXXX
RE:
Advisory Opinion - Disclosure of information gained from tax returns
Dear
XXXXX,
We
have received your request for information regarding the release of financial information
that is distributed to the city on sales tax distribution reports. We find as follows:
Under
section 59-1-403, a city official is prohibited from disclosing any information
gained from tax returns. since the information contained in a sales tax
distribution report is obtained from sales tax returns, it is confidential.
The
sales tax report is distributed to the city for the very limited purpose of
allowing the city to verify that the Commission is correctly distributing sales
and use tax revenues. See §59-12-210
(1) Utah Code Ann. If the city wishes
to access the information for any other purpose, the city's chief executive
officer or designee must submit a written request to the Commission specifying
how the information will be used. 59-12-210 (2).
When
we send sales tax reports to your city, we assume that the report will be used
only by the employee or employees who have responsibility for verifying our
collection processes. Other city
employees or city officials should direct their requests for information
through the city administrator to the Tax Commission.
Please
let us know if you have further questions.
For
the Commission,
Alice
Shearer
Commissioner