Department of the Treasury 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The OCC, the Board, the FDIC, and the OTS (collectively, the ``agencies'') are amending their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to adjust the asset-size thresholds used to define ``small bank'' or ``small savings association'' and ``intermediate small bank'' or ``intermediate small savings association.'' As required by the CRA regulations, the adjustment to the threshold amount is based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index.

In response to a request from a national trade association, TTB is extending for an additional 60 days the comment period prescribed in Notice No. 111, Disclosure of Cochineal Extract and Carmine in the Labeling of Wines, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2010.

This Treasury decision expands the Santa Maria Valley viticultural area in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, California, by 18,790 acres. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the name of one newly-designated entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001, ``Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism.''

This document contains a request for information on how group health plans and health insurance issuers can employ value-based insurance design in the coverage of recommended preventive services.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of ten individuals whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to Executive Order 13288 of March 6, 2003, ``Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe,'' as amended by Executive Order 13391 of November 22, 2005, ``Blocking Property of Additional Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe.''

This document contains correctioning amendments to correct errors resulting from the publication of to final regulations (TD 9505) that were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 (75 FR 64123) providing guidance relating to certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to hybrid defined benefit pension plans.

This document contains a correction to temporary regulations (TD 9508) thatwere published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 (75 FR 76262)providing guidance about the treatment of fails charges for purposes of sections 871 and 881, which generally require gross-basis taxation of foreign persons not otherwise subject to U.S. net-basis taxation and the withholding of such tax under sections 1441 and 1442.

By this Notice and in accordance with 31 CFR part 129, the Department of the Treasury is informing the public that it is conducting a mandatory survey of U.S. ownership of foreign securities as of December 31, 2010. This Notice constitutes legal notification to all United States persons (defined below) who meet the reporting requirements set forth in this Notice that they must respond to, and comply with, this survey. Additional copies of the reporting form SHCA (2010) and instructions may be printed from the Internet at: https:// www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Pages/ forms- sh.aspx. Definition: Pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 3102 a United States person is any individual, branch, partnership, associated group, association, estate, trust, corporation, or other organization (whether or not organized under the laws of any State), and any government (including a foreign government, the United States Government, a State or local government, and any agency, corporation, financial institution, or other entity or instrumentality thereof, including a government- sponsored agency), who resides in the United States or is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Who Must Report: The panel for this survey is based upon the level of U.S. holdings of foreign securities reported on the December 2006 benchmark survey of U.S. holdings of foreign securities, and will consist primarily of the largest reporters on that survey. Entities required to report will be contacted individually by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Entities not contacted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have no reporting responsibilities. What to Report: This report will collect information on holdings by U.S. residents of foreign securities, including equities, long-term debt securities, and short-term debt securities (including selected money market instruments). How to Report: Copies of the survey forms and instructions, which contain complete information on reporting procedures and definitions, can be obtained at the Web site address given above in the SUMMARY, or by contacting the survey staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at (212) 720-6300, e-mail: SHC.help@ny.frb.org. The mailing address is: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Statistics Function, 4th Floor, 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10045-0001. Inquiries can also be made to Dwight Wolkow at (202) 622-1276, e-mail: comments2TIC@do.treas.gov. When to Report: Data must be submitted to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, acting as fiscal agent for the Department of the Treasury, by March 4, 2011. Paperwork Reduction Act Notice: This data collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act and assigned control number 1505-0146. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid control number assigned by OMB. The estimated average annual burden associated with this collection of information is 48 hours per respondent for end-investors and custodians that file Schedule 3 reports covering their securities entrusted to U.S. resident custodians, 145 hours per respondent for large end-investors filing Schedule 2 reports, and 700 hours per respondent for large custodians of securities filing Schedule 2 reports. Comments concerning the accuracy of this burden estimate and suggestions for reducing this burden should be directed to the Department of the Treasury, Attention Administrator, International Portfolio Investment Data Reporting Systems, Room 5422, Washington, DC 20220, and to OMB, Attention Desk Officer for the Department of the Treasury, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503.

This document contains final regulations under section 468A of the Internal Revenue Code relating to deductions for contributions to trusts maintained for decommissioning nuclear power plants. These final regulations affect taxpayers that own an interest in a nuclear power plant and reflect recent statutory changes. The corresponding temporary regulations are removed.

The Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS) is amending its regulation governing the use of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system by Federal agencies to permit the delivery of Federal payments to prepaid debit cards that meet certain criteria. To be eligible to receive Federal payments, a card must provide the cardholder with pass-through deposit or share insurance and the card account must not have an attached line of credit or loan feature that triggers automatic repayment from the card account. In addition, the issuer of the card account must provide the cardholder with all of the consumer protections that apply to a payroll card under the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation E.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of ten newly designated individuals and entities whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001, ``Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism.''

FinCEN is inviting the public to nominate financial institutions and trade groups for membership on the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group. New members will be selected for three-year membership terms.

The Department of the Treasury published a document in the Federal Register on November 23, 2010, inviting comments on collections of information submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. This document contained an incorrect reference.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of three individuals whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to Executive Order 13288 of March 6, 2003, ``Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe,'' as amended by Executive Order 13391 of November 22, 2005, ``Blocking Property of Additional Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe.''

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the name of one individual whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to Executive Order 13348 of July 22, 2004, ``Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Importation of Certain Goods from Liberia.''

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of five individuals and one entity whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to Executive Order 12978 of October 21, 1995, Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions With Significant Narcotics Traffickers.

This document contains final regulations defining an omission from gross income for purposes of the six-year minimum period for assessment of tax attributable to partnership items and the six-year period for assessing tax. The regulations resolve a continuing issue as to whether an overstatement of basis in a sold asset results in an omission from gross income. The regulations will affect any taxpayer who overstates basis in a sold asset creating an omission from gross income exceeding twenty-five percent of the income stated in the return. Additionally, provisions related to estate, gift and excise tax are reinstated from the prior final regulation.

This document contains proposed regulations relating to the capitalization and allocation of royalties that are incurred only upon the sale of property produced or property acquired for resale (sales- based royalties). This document also contains proposed regulations on adjusting the cost of merchandise inventory for an allowance, discount, or price rebate based on merchandise sales (sales-based vendor allowances). The regulations modify the simplified production method and the simplified resale method of allocating capitalized costs between ending inventory and cost of goods sold. The regulations affect taxpayers that incur capitalizable sales-based royalties and earn sales-based vendor allowances.

The Department of the Treasury is proposing to amend the Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulation (DTAR) to: update, revise, or remove, as applicable, outdated text and references; add new text to maintain consistency with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); incorporate Treasury-specific policy associated with current FAR requirements; reflect the Treasury's organization and delegation of authorities; and make minor editorial changes.

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 Revenue Procedure 2003-45, Late Election Relief for S Corporations, and Revenue Procedure 2004-48, Deemed Corporate Election for Late Electing S Corporations.

This document contains final regulations allowing the IRS to require corporations to file a schedule disclosing uncertain tax positions related to the tax return as required by the IRS.

The Department of the Treasury (``Department'' or ``Treasury'') called for the submission of Large Position Reports by those entities whose reportable positions in the 0-3/4% Treasury Notes of September 2013 equaled or exceeded $2 billion as of close of business December 8, 2010.