Tax Returns Are Private and Can Be Destroyed After Three Years

All tax returns and return information required to be filed under this Article, and the report of any investigation of the return or of the subject matter of the return, shall be confidential. It shall be unlawful for any person or any officer or employee of the County, including the auditor or the auditor's agent, to intentionally make known information imparted by any tax return or return information filed pursuant to this Article, or any report of any investigation of the return or of the subject matter of the return, or to willfully permit any return, return information, or report so made, or any copy thereof, to be seen or examined by any person; provided that for tax purposes only the taxpayer, the taxpayer's authorized agent, or persons with a material interest in the return, return information, or report may examine them. Unless otherwise provided by law, persons with a material interest in the return, return information, or report shall include:Trustees;Partners;Persons named in a board resolution or a one per cent shareholder in the case of a corporate return;The person authorized to act for a corporation in dissolution;The shareholder of an S corporation;The personal representative, trustee, heir, or beneficiary of an estate or trust in the case of the estate's or decedent's return;The committee, trustee, or guardian of any person in paragraphs (1) through (6) who is incompetent;The trustee in bankruptcy or receiver, and the attorney-in-fact of any person in paragraphs (1) through (7);Persons duly authorized by the State in connection with their official duties;Any duly accredited tax official of the United States, or of any state or territory, or of any county of this State;The Multistate Tax Commission or its authorized representative; andMembers of a limited liability company.Violation of this subsection is punishable in accordance Section 237D-13, Hawai'i Revised Statutes. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the publication of statistics that are classified to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the items of the reports or returns.The County Finance Director may destroy the monthly, quarterly, or semiannual returns filed pursuant to Section 5-4.7, or any of them, upon the expiration of three years after the end of the calendar or fiscal year in which the taxes so returned accrued.