(a) Except in accordance with judicial order or as otherwise provided in this article, the finance director and his or her agents and employees shall not divulge any information gained from any return filed under this article or any audit conducted by the tax administrator.

(b) The officials charged with the custody of such returns shall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything contained in them in any action or proceedings in any court, except on behalf of the finance director in any action under this article, to which he or she is a party, or on behalf of any party to an action or proceeding under this article or to punish a violator thereof when the report of facts shown by such report is directly involved in such action or proceeding. In either of such events the court may require the production of and may admit in evidence so much of the returns or of the facts shown thereby as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more.

(c) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a person or his or her duly authorized representative a copy of any return or report filed in connection with his or her tax or to prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the items thereof or to prohibit the inspection by the city attorney or any other legal representative of the City of the report or return of any person who shall bring action to set aside or review the tax based thereon or against whom an action or proceeding is contemplated or has been instituted under this article.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not preclude the finance director or his or her agents and employees from divulging any information gained from any return or audit to the state department of revenue or to any other municipal entity, nor shall the finance director or his or her agents or employees be liable to any person for such disclosure made for the purpose of computing or collecting the tax due and owing from any person.

(e) Any city officer, agent, or employee or any agent or employee of the finance director who shall divulge any information classified in this section as confidential, in any manner, except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, shall be guilty of a violation of this article.