O.C.G.A. § 48-13-15 (2019)
Confidentiality of information provided by business or practitioner; violation; when disclosure allowed
(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, infor156
SPECIFIC, BUSINESS, & OCCUPATION TAXES
mation on gross receipts received by a business or practitioner of an occupation or profession provided to a local government for the purpose of determining the amount of occupation tax for the business or practitioner is confidential and exempt from inspection or disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. (b) Violation of the confidentiality provision of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be unlawful and upon conviction shall be punished as a misdemeanor. (c) Information on gross receipts received by a business or practitioner of an occupation or profession provided to a local government for the purpose of determining the amount of occupation tax for the business or practitioner may be disclosed to the governing authority of another local government for occupation tax purposes or pursuant to court order or for the purpose of collection of occupation tax or prosecution for failure or refusal to pay occupation tax. (d) In the event a taxpayer completes one or more forms in order to comply with a local government’s ordinance or resolution imposing either an occupation tax or a regulatory fee and any such form fails to disclose the social security number or the appropriate federal or state taxpayer identification number, or other identification numbers, if required by the local government, such omission shall be reported in a timely manner to the state revenue commissioner.
History
Code 1981, § 48-13-15, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1292, § 7; Ga. L. 1995, p. 419, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 749, § 6.
Annotations
Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 1993, p. 1292, § 9, effective
January 1, 1995, renumbered former Code Section 48-13-15 as present Code Section 48-13-24.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Ordinance allowing inspection of attorney’s financial records. - Provisions in a city ordinance allowing the city to inspect an attorney’s financial records and to issue an execution to recover unpaid taxes due constituted neither a precondition to the practice of law nor an attempt to regulate such
practice because the city’s right to review the financial records did not require the production of material protected by attorney-client privilege and gross revenue statements were specifically protected from disclosure. Moss v. City of Dunwoody, 293 Ga. 858, 750 S.E.2d 326, 2013 Ga. LEXIS 868 (2013).
RESEARCH REFERENCES ALR. Recovery of damages under § 7431(c)(1)(B) of Internal Revenue Code
(26 USCA § 7431(c)(1)(B)) based on improper release of confidential tax return information, 154 A.L.R. Fed. 537.