(1) If the Tax Commissioner or any official or employee of the Tax Commissioner, the State Treasurer, or the Department of Administrative Services makes known in any manner the value of any estate or any particular set forth or disclosed in any report, state tax return, federal tax return, or other tax information required to be filed with the Tax Commissioner under the provisions of Nebraska's transfer tax laws, except so far as may be necessary for the enforcement and collection of the transfer tax provided for by the laws of this state, such person shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.

(2) Federal tax returns, copies of such returns, and return information as defined under section 6103(d) of the Internal Revenue Code and state transfer tax returns and inheritance tax returns which are required to be filed with the Tax Commissioner for the enforcement of the inheritance and transfer tax laws of this state shall be deemed to be confidential by the Tax Commissioner.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit:

(a) The delivery or inspection of such returns or tax information by:

(i) The personal representative or legal representative of the decedent's estate or representative of the transferor;

(ii) The county attorney of the county in which the decedent's or transferor's property is located;

(iii) The judge of the county court in which the decedent's or transferor's property is located; or

(iv) The Attorney General's office or other legal representative of the Tax Commissioner when such returns or tax information are relevant to any action or proceeding instituted by or against the transferor or the personal or legal representative of the decedent's estate or transferor;

(b) The furnishing of such information to the United States Government or to other states allowing similar privileges to the Tax Commissioner; or

(c) The publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the items thereof.