New York state has amended their Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance program (VDC) to allow the Tax Department to disclose any return or report filed by a taxpayer under the VDC program to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, his or her delegates (this includes the IRS), or the proper tax officer of any state or city, as otherwise permitted in the Tax law.
Prior to the amendment, the law allowed for the disclosure of returns and reports filed under the VDC program to another agency only if the taxpayer failed to comply with the terms of a voluntary disclosure and compliance agreement.
The amendment took effect on April 7, 2009, and applies to returns or reports filed under the VDC program on or after that date. The amendment does not apply to any other information obtained from a taxpayer during the voluntary disclosure process, including the taxpayer's actual disclosure under the VDC program. That information remains confidential and will not be shared with another agency.
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Office of Tax Policy Analysis, Taxpayer Guidance Division
NY TSB-M-09(6)I, TSB-M-09(6)C, TSB-M-09(5)M, TSB-M-09(1)R, TSB-M-09(5)S; May 13, 2009
