An employee of the department may reveal to:

A. a district court, an appellate court or a federal court, a return or return information:

(1) in response to an order thereof in an action relating to taxes or an action for tax fraud or any other crime that may involve taxes due to the state and in which the information sought is about a taxpayer that is party to the action and is material to the inquiry, in which case only that information may be required to be produced in court and admitted in evidence subject to court order protecting the confidentiality of the information and no more;

(2) in an action in which the department is attempting to enforce an act with which the department is charged or to collect a tax; or

(3) in any matter in which the department is a party and the taxpayer has put the taxpayer's own liability for taxes at issue, in which case only that information regarding the taxpayer that is party to the action may be produced, but this shall not prevent revelation of department policy or interpretation of law arising from circumstances of a taxpayer that is not a party;

B. the Bernalillo county metropolitan court, upon that court's request, the last known address and the date of that address for every person the court certifies to the department as a person who owes fines, fees or costs to the court or who has failed to appear pursuant to a court order or a promise to appear;

C. a magistrate court, upon the magistrate court's request, the last known address and the date of that address for every person the court certifies to the department as a person who owes fines, fees or costs to the court or who has failed to appear pursuant to a court order or a promise to appear;

D. a district attorney, a state district court grand jury or federal grand jury, information for an investigation of or proceeding related to an alleged criminal violation of the tax laws;

E. a third party subject to a subpoena or levy issued pursuant to the provisions of the Tax Administration Act, the identity of the taxpayer involved, the taxes or tax acts involved and the nature of the proceeding; and

F. the administrative hearings office, information in relation to a protest or other hearing, in which case only that information regarding the taxpayer that is a party to the action may be produced, but this shall not prevent revelation of department policy or interpretation of law arising from circumstances of a taxpayer that is not a party. The office shall maintain confidentiality regarding taxpayer information as required by the provisions of Section 7-1-8 NMSA 1978.

History: 1978 Comp., § 7-1-8.4, as enacted by Laws 2009, ch. 243, § 6; 2015, ch. 73, § 13.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, authorized certain information from administrative hearings to be revealed to judicial bodies or with respect to judicial proceedings or investigations; in the catchline, after "investigations", added "and to administrative hearings office"; in Subsection A, Paragraph (1), after "taxpayer", deleted "who" and added "that"; in Subsection A, Paragraph (3), after the second and third occurrence of "taxpayer", deleted "who" and added "that"; in Subsection D, after "tax laws;", deleted "and"; in Subsection E, after the semicolon, added "and"; and added Subsection F.