171-o. Income verification for a city with a population of one million or more. (1) The department shall enter into an agreement with a city with a population of one million or more to verify, to the extent practicable, whether persons described in paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section four hundred twenty-five of the real property tax law meet the income eligibility requirements prescribed therein for the applicable income tax year, beginning with the income tax year ending in two thousand five. The department shall advise the city of its findings, stating in each case either that such person or persons do or do not satisfy such requirements, or that the eligibility of such person or persons cannot be verified, whichever is appropriate. The department shall not provide any other information about the income of such persons to the city.
(2) The provisions of article six of the public officers law shall not apply to any information that the department obtains from or provides to the city pursuant to this section.
(3) Any information furnished by the department pursuant to this section shall be deemed confidential and the assessor, any municipal officer or municipal employees are prohibited from disclosing any such information, except for any disclosure necessary in the performance of their official duties in connection with the school tax relief (STAR) exemption pursuant to section four hundred twenty-five of the real property tax law. Any unauthorized disclosure of such information shall be deemed a violation of section eight hundred five-a of the general municipal law.
Last modified: February 3, 2019