39-15-102. Administration; confidentiality.

(a) This article is known and may be cited as the "Selective Sales Tax Act of 1937".

(b) The administration of this article is vested in the department of revenue.

(c) The department may provide for the issuance, affixing and payment of revenue stamps or the issuance of tokens or other devices to more efficiently secure the payment, collection and accounting for taxes imposed by this article.

(d) Notices required to be mailed by the department under this article if mailed to the address shown on the records of the department shall be sufficient for the purposes of this article.

(e) No state employee or other person who by virtue of his employment has knowledge of the business affairs of any person filing or required to file any tax returns under this article shall make known their contents in any manner or permit any person to have access to any returns or information contained therein except as provided by law. The department may also allow the following:

(i) The delivery to the taxpayer or his legal representatives upon written request of a copy of any return or report in connection with his tax;

(ii) The publication of statistics so classified to prevent the identification of particular returns or reports;

(iii) The inspection by the attorney general of the state of the report or return of any person who brings an action against the state, or against whom an action is contemplated or has been instituted;

(iv) The introduction into evidence of any report or return or information therefrom in any administrative or court proceeding to which the person making the report or return is a party;

(v) The furnishing of any information to the United States government and its territories, the District of Columbia, any state allowing similar privileges to the department or to the multistate tax commission for relay to tax officials of cooperating states. Information furnished shall be only for tax purposes;

(vi) The inspection of tax returns and records by the state department of audit;

(vii) The sharing of information with local government entities and other state agencies, provided a written request is made to the department and the governmental entity or agency demonstrates sufficient reason to obtain the information for official business purposes.

(f) No person shall fail or refuse to make any return or payment required by this article or shall make any false return or statement or shall evade the payment of any tax due. No person shall aid or abet another in any attempt to evade payment of the tax due. No person shall knowingly attest by signature to a false or fraudulent return. The district court of the county in which violations of this subsection occur shall have jurisdiction.