Department of the Treasury September 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document adopts as a final rule, with some changes, interim amendments to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations which were published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2007, as CBP Dec. 07-43 to implement the duty-free provisions of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (``HOPE I'') Act of 2006. The regulatory amendments adopted as a final rule in this document include changes necessitated by enactment of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (``HOPE II'') Act of 2008.

The Department of the Treasury (``Treasury'') is issuing this proposed rule as part of its implementation of Title I of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (``TRIA'' or ``the Act''), as amended by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (``Reauthorization Act''). The Act established a temporary Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (``TRIP'' or ``Program'') under which the Federal Government would share with commercial property and casualty insurers the risk of insured losses from certified acts of terrorism. The Reauthorization Act has now extended the Program until December 31, 2014. This proposed rule is the latest in a series of regulations Treasury has issued to implement the Act. The proposed rule incorporates and implements statutory requirements in section 103(e) of the Act, as amended by the Reauthorization Act, for capping the annual liability for insured losses at $100 billion. In particular, the proposed rule describes how Treasury intends to determine the pro rata share of insured losses under the Program when insured losses would otherwise exceed the cap on annual liability. The rule builds upon previous rules issued by Treasury.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) (collectively, the Agencies) are proposing to permit banks, bank holding companies, and savings associations (collectively, banking organizations) to reduce the amount of goodwill that a banking organization must deduct from tier 1 capital by the amount of any deferred tax liability associated with that goodwill. The proposed change would effectively reduce the amount of goodwill that a banking organization must deduct from tier 1 capital and would reflect a banking organization's maximum exposure to loss in the event that such goodwill is impaired or derecognized for financial reporting purposes.

This document cancels a public hearing on proposed regulations under section 7477 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) regarding petitions filed with the United States Tax Court for declaratory judgments as to the valuation of gifts.

This document cancels a public hearing on proposed rulemaking providing guidance under Internal Revenue Code section 642(c) with regard to the Federal tax consequences of an ordering provision in a trust, a will, or a provision of local law that attempts to determine the tax character of the amounts paid to a charitable beneficiary of the trust or estate. The proposed regulations also make conforming amendments to the regulations under section 643(a)(5). The proposed regulations affect estates, charitable lead trusts (CLTs) and other trusts making payments or permanently setting aside amounts for a charitable purpose.

This document contains corrections to a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-209006-89) that was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 (73 FR 49278) under sections 367(a), 367(a)(5), 367(b), 1248(a), 1248(e), 1248(f), and 6038B of the Internal Revenue Code. The proposed regulations under sections 367(a)(5) and 367(b) apply when a domestic corporation transfers certain property to a foreign corporation in an exchange described in section 361(a) or (b). The proposed regulations under section 1248(e) suspend the application of section 1248(e) when capital gains are taxed at a rate equal to or greater than the rate at which ordinary income is taxed. The proposed regulations under section 1248(f) apply when a domestic corporation distributes stock of certain foreign corporations in a distribution to which section 337, 355, or 361 applies. The proposed regulations under section 1248(f) include regulations described in Notice 87-64 (1987-2 CB 375). The proposed regulations under section 6038B establish reporting requirements for certain transfers of property by a domestic corporation to a foreign corporation in certain exchanges described in section 361(a) or (b). Finally, the proposed regulations under section 367(a) include the regulations described in Notice 2008-10 (2008-3 IRB 277). The proposed regulations included in this document affect domestic corporations that transfer property to foreign corporations in certain transactions, or that distribute the stock of certain foreign corporations, and certain shareholders of such domestic corporations. The proposed regulations are necessary, in part, to provide guidance on changes to the law made by the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-647, 102 Stat. 3342).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing final regulation, REG-209828 (TD 8758), Nuclear Decommissioning Funds; Revised Schedules of Ruling Amounts (Sec. 1.468A-3).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing notice of proposed rulemaking, FI-165-84, Below-Market Loans (Sec. Sec. 1.7872-11(g)(l) and 1.7872-11(g)(3)).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing final regulation, REG-158138-04, Information Returns by Donees Relating to Qualified Intellectual Property Contributions.

To reduce liquidity and other strains being experienced by money market mutual funds, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System adopted on September 19, 2008, a special lending facility that enables depository institutions and bank holding companies to borrow from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on a nonrecourse basis if they use the proceeds of the loan to purchase certain types of asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) from money market mutual funds. This lending facility is referenced to as the ABCP Lending Facility. To facilitate the ability of national banks to participate in the program, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has adopted, on an interim final basis, an exemption from its risk-based capital guidelines for ABCP held by a national bank as a result of its participation in this program.

The proposed information collection request (ICR) described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. OTS is soliciting public comments on the proposal.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing final regulation, REG-209827-96 and REG-111672-99 (TD 8834), Treatment of Distributions to Foreign Persons Under Sections 367(e)(1) and 367(e)(2) (Sec. Sec. 1.367(e)-1, 1.367(e)-2 and 1.6038B-1).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 5305-SEP, Simplified Employee Pension-Individual Retirement Accounts Contribution Agreement.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Notice 2002-69, Interest Rates and Appropriate Foreign Loss Payment Patterns for Determining the Qualified Insurance Income of Certain Controlled Corporations under Section 954(j).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Notice 99-43, Nonrecognition Exchanges under Section 897.

This document contains a correction to final regulations (TD 9422) that were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, August 14, 2008 (73 FR 47526) providing guidance regarding certain changes made to the rules governing S corporations under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 and the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. The final regulations replace obsolete references in the current regulations and allow taxpayers to make proper use of the provisions that made changes to prior law. The final regulations include guidance on the S corporation family shareholder rules, the definitions of ``powers of appointment'' and ``potential current beneficiaries'' (PCBs) with regard to electing small business trusts (ESBTs), the allowance of suspended losses to the spouse or former spouse of an S corporation shareholder, and relief for inadvertently terminated or invalid qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub) elections. The final regulations affect S corporations and their shareholders.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 8845, Indian Employment Credit.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 1120-H, U.S. Income Tax Return for Homeowners Associations.

The Department of the Treasury (the ``Department'') intends to establish the Advisory Committee on the Ten Year Framework for Energy and Environment Cooperation with China (the ``Advisory Committee'') to provide advice and recommendations on how best the United States can cooperate with China on shared energy and environmental challenges pursuant to the ``Framework for the Ten Year Cooperation on the Energy and Environment between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People's Republic of China'' (signed on 6/18/ 08 in Washington, DC). The Department is seeking nominations of individuals to be considered for selection as Advisory Committee members, and names of professional and public interest groups that should be represented on the Committee.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the agencies' publication for public comment of a proposal to extend, with revision, the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report), which are currently approved collections of information. At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the FFIEC and the agencies should modify the proposed revisions prior to giving final approval. The agencies will then submit the revisions to OMB for review and approval.

This is Supplement No. 2 to the Treasury Department Circular 570, 2008 Revision, published July 1, 2008, at 73 FR 37644.

This document amends Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect both continuing and new import restrictions on certain archaeological material from Cambodia. Import restrictions that were previously imposed by CBP Decision 03-28 on certain stone, metal, and ceramic archaeological materials that are due to expire on September 19, 2008, are extended. The Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has made the requisite determination for the extension of import restrictions that previously existed and for amending the agreement so that it applies also to archaeological material of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Accordingly, these import restrictions will remain in effect until September 19, 2013, and title 19 of the CBP regulations is being amended to reflect this amended bilateral agreement. These restrictions are being extended pursuant to determinations of the United States Department of State made under the terms of the 1970 Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act in accordance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. This document also contains the amended Designated List of Archaeological Material that describes the articles to which the restrictions apply, including the new categories of objects (glass and bone) and the additional subcategories of stone and metal objects from the Bronze and Iron Age.