State Records Committee Appeal Decision 24-42

BEFORE THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF UTAH

TYLER WINTERTON, Petitioner, v.

UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION, Respondent,

DECISION AND ORDER

Case No. 24-42

By this appeal, Tyler Winterton (“Petitioner”), requests records allegedly held by the Utah State Tax Commission (“Respondent”).

FACTS

On November 1, 2023, Petitioner submitted a request to the Respondent for certain records pursuant to the Government Records Access and Management Act (“GRAMA”). Specifically, Petitioner requested “[a] list of all names and mailing addresses of business (non-individual) taxpayers that the Utah State Tax Commission has initiated sales or use tax audit proceedings against in the years 2022 or 2023.”  The Respondent denied the request on the grounds that all tax returns and return information collected are classified as private or protected under GRAMA, and they are also held confidential under Utah Code § 59-1-403 and § 59-12-109.

Petitioner filed an appeal of the denial to Respondent’s chief administrative officer (“CAO”) on November 18, 2023, who affirmed the denial. Petitioner then appealed the CAO’s decision to the State Records Committee (“Committee”). 

On May 16, 2024, the Committee held a hearing during which the parties were allowed to participate. At the hearing, the Committee considered the written materials, oral testimony, and oral arguments of the parties. After having carefully considered all the evidence presented to the Committee, the Committee issues the following Decision and Order.

ISSUES FOR REVIEW

    The Committee is asked to determine whether the records are properly classified and withheld.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DECISION

    Under GRAMA, “a person has the right to inspect a public record free of charge, and the right to take a copy of a public record during normal working hours, . . .” Utah Code § 63G-2-201(1)(a). However, a record to which access is restricted pursuant to another state statute is not a public record. Utah Code § 63G-2-201(3)(b). If a record is governed by another statute, then GRAMA instructs us to defer to the disclosure provisions of that statute when it conflicts with GRAMA. Utah Code § 63G-2-10&(1)(a).

    Here, Petitioner requests only the business name and mailing address of companies that have been audited for sales or use tax in 2022 through 2023. To determine if a business name and its mailing address may be disclosed, we look at Section 59-1-403. There, the Code states that neither the tax commissioner, nor any agent, clerk, officer, or employee of the tax commission, may “divulge or make known in any manner any information gained by that person from any return filed with the commission.” Utah Code § 59-1-403(2)(a) (emphasis added). The words “any information” are obviously quire broad, and from the plain language of the statute applies to information “gained” from a return filed. Thus, the statute doesn’t refer to information filed, such as financial information, but any information that can be obtained from a filing. Since a business name and address can be obtained from a tax return filed with the commission, we conclude that such information is contemplated by the statute and cannot be divulged.

    To be sure, we examine Subsection 59-1-403(4), which carves out 30 exceptions to the general restriction on divulging information gained from filed tax returns. There, we see that the “name” and “address” on resident returns may be divulged to a “state court administrator” upon request. Utah Code § 59-1-403(4)(m)(i). Additionally, an “unclaimed property administrator,” as that term is defined in Section 67—4a-102, may also receive the “name” and “address” on certain returns upon its request. Utah Code § 59-1-403(bb)(ii). And, finally, the “name” on a return may be divulged to a “program manager of the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program” under certain conditions. Utah Code § 59-1-403(cc)(ii). Importantly, the Code also allows the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (“GOEO”) to obtain income tax information, but the “name” and “address” must be redacted. Utah Code § 59-1-403(4)(n)(ii)-(iii).

    These carveouts illustrate that the Code contemplates certain and limited situations in which the names and addresses on returns may be disclosed. The Code also expressly states that even when other tax information is shared with GOEO, names and addresses must be withheld. Together, these provisions strongly support the notion that names and addresses are generally confidential, and the only time they may be revealed is under the specific situations listed under Subsection 403(4). Because a private individual’s public record request is not among the enumerated exceptions, we can definitively conclude that the names and addresses obtained from tax returns may not be divulged.

    In reviewing the rest of Section 403, we see no provisions that invoke or address GRAMA’s applicability to the records Petitioner seeks. Thus, we are left to conclude that GRAMA does not apply here. Therefore, because Subsection 63G-2-107(1) provides that GRAMA gives way to another governing statute when the other statute governs access and conflicts with GRAMA, we find that we cannot revert to GRAMA’s protective classifications and apply them to the records, nor can we balance the interests and weigh disclosure pursuant to Utah Code § 63G-2-403(11)(b). Section 59-1-403 alone controls the records at issue, and, according to its provisions, they may not be disclosed.
 
ORDER

THEREFORE, in accordance with our Decision, Petitioner’s appeal is hereby DENIED.

Entered this 24 day of May 2024.

BY THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE

     Nancy Dean
Chair, Utah State Records Committee

Committee members Dean, N., Chairperson, Williams, K., Cornwall, M., Biehler, E., Buchanan, M., and Peterson, L. unanimously voted in favor of and joined in this Decision and Order.

Enclosures: Right to Appeal; Penalty Notice

RIGHT TO APPEAL

A party to a proceeding before the Committee may seek judicial review in District Court of a Committee's Order by filing a petition for review of the Committee Order as provided in Utah Code § 63G-2-404. Utah Code § 63G-2-403(14). A petition for judicial review of a Committee Order "shall be filed no later than 30 days" after the date of the Committee Order. Utah Code § 63G-2-404(1)(a). The petition for judicial review must be a complaint which is governed by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and include the Committee as a necessary party and contain the required information listed in Subsection -404(2). Utah Code § 63G-2-404(1) & (2). The court shall make its decision de novo but shall allow introduction of evidence presented to the Committee, determine all questions of fact and law without a jury, and decide the issue at the earliest practical opportunity. Utah Code § 63G-2-404(6). In order to protect parties’ rights on appeal, a party may wish to seek advice from an attorney.

PENALTY NOTICE

Pursuant to Utah Code § 63G-2-403(15)(c), if the Committee orders the governmental entity to produce a record and no appeal is filed, the government entity herein shall comply with the order of the Committee and shall: (1) Produce the record; and (2) File a notice of compliance with the Committee. If the governmental entity ordered to produce a record fails to file a notice of compliance or a notice of intent to appeal, the Committee may do either or both of the following: (1) Impose a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day of continuing noncompliance; or (2) Send written notice of the entity's noncompliance to the Governor. Utah Code § 63G-2-403(15)(d)(i)(B). In imposing a civil penalty, the Committee shall consider the gravity and circumstances of the violation, including whether the failure to comply was due to neglect or was willful or intentional. Utah Code § 63G-2-403(15)(d)(ii).