(a)
Except as provided in subdivision (f), if any officer or employee of the board intentionally settles the determination or compromises the collection of any tax due from an attorney, certified public accountant, or tax preparer (as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 19169) representing a taxpayer, in exchange for information conveyed by the taxpayer to the attorney, certified public accountant, or tax preparer for purposes of obtaining advice concerning the taxpayer’s tax liability, the taxpayer may bring a civil action for damages against the State of California in superior court. The civil action shall be the exclusive remedy for recovering damages resulting from the acts described in this subdivision.
(b)
In any action brought under subdivision (a), upon the finding of liability on the part of the defendant, the defendant shall be liable to the plaintiff in an amount equal to the lesser of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or the sum of all the following:
(1)
Actual, direct economic damages sustained by the plaintiff as a proximate result of the information disclosure.
(2)
The costs of the action.
(c)
Damages shall not include the taxpayer’s liability for any civil or criminal penalties or other losses attributable to incarceration or the imposition of other criminal sanctions.
(d)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action to enforce liability created under this section may be brought without regard to the amount in controversy, and may be brought only within two years after the date the actions creating the liability would have been discovered by the exercise of reasonable care.
(e)
Upon certification of the executive officer of the board, or the executive officer’s delegate, that criminal charges have been filed against the taxpayer, the court before which an action under this section is pending shall stay all proceedings with respect to the action, pending the resolution of those criminal charges. Certification authorized by this subdivision shall comply with the requirements of Section 19542.
(f)
Subdivision (a) shall not apply to information conveyed to an attorney, certified public accountant, or tax preparer for the purpose of perpetrating a fraud or crime.
(g)
This section is operative for actions filed on or after January 1, 1998.