Department of the Treasury February 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains corrections to notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of a public hearing; and withdrawal of previously proposed rulemaking (REG-146097-09) that was published in the Federal Register on Friday, January 7, 2011 (76 FR 1105). The proposed regulations provide guidance on the reporting requirements for interest on deposits maintained at U.S. offices of certain financial institutions and paid to nonresident alien individuals.

The OTS Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC) will convene a meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, in Conference Room 6B of the Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC, beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. The meeting will be open to the public.

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, 44 U.S.C. 3507. OTS is soliciting public comments on the proposal.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Department of the Treasury, Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), gives notice of a proposed new system of records entitled ``Mass Communication SystemTreasury/OTS.013.''

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Department of the Treasury gives notice of a proposed amendment to this part to exempt a system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act.

The OTS is requesting public comment on its proposal to cease collection of data used to calculate and publish the Monthly Median Cost of Funds Index (MMCOF), the Quarterly Cost of Funds Index (QCOF), the Semiannual Cost of Funds Index (SCOF), and other related cost of funds ratios currently published monthly in the OTS's Cost of Funds (COF) Report.\1\ At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the OTS should modify the proposal prior to giving final approval. The OTS will then submit the revisions to OMB for review and approval.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the OCC, the Board, the FDIC, and the OTS (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 agencies, under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, have approved the publication for public comment of a proposal to require savings associations currently filing the Thrift Financial Report (TFR) to convert to filing the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) beginning with the reporting period ending on March 31, 2012. In addition, the Board is publishing a notice of its intent to require savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs) to submit to the Board all regulatory reports that are currently required to be filed by bank holding companies (BHCs), beginning with the reporting period ending on March 31, 2012. See the Board's separate Notice of Intent for its plans regarding SLHC reporting in today's Federal Register. The TFR and the Call Report 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 agencies should modify the proposal for savings associations to convert to filing the Call Report prior to giving final approval. The agencies will then submit the proposal to OMB for review and approval.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of 4 individuals and 1 entity whose property and interests in property have been blocked pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (``Kingpin Act'') (21 U.S.C. 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. 1182).

This document contains a final regulation that provides the time and manner rules for electing to treat the sale or exchange of a musical composition or a copyright in a musical work created by the taxpayer (or received by the taxpayer from the composition or work's creator in a transferred basis transaction) as the sale or exchange of a capital asset. The regulation reflects changes to the law made by the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 and the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. The regulation affects taxpayers who elect to treat gain or loss from such a sale or exchange as capital gain or loss.

On November 22, 2010, the Department of the Treasury published a proposed rule to amend subpart C of its rules promulgated pursuant to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, as amended (the Act). This notice extends the comment period on the proposed rule to April 21, 2011. Pursuant to the Act, with certain exceptions, Treasury has responsibility for payment of benefits based on service accrued as of June 30, 1997, under the retirement plans for District of Columbia teachers, police officers, and firefighters. Benefits for service after that date, and certain other benefits, are funded by the District of Columbia. Subpart C, published in 2000 as part of the final regulations to implement the provisions of the Act, establishes the methodology for determining the split between the Federal and District obligations. Pursuant to regulation, the effective date of subpart C was delayed pending completion of Treasury's new automated retirement system, ``System to Administer Retirement'' (STAR), which replaced the District's legacy automated retirement system. While the new system has been completed, the proposed amended subpart C will establish additional rules and provide additional examples of benefit calculation scenarios, the need for which was identified during systems development. The amendments to subpart C will have minimal financial impact and are introduced to simplify calculations and maintain consistency with the general principles established in the original regulations.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), the OTS 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. On October 5, 2010, the OTS requested public comment for 60 days (75 FR 61563) \1\ on a proposal to extend, with revisions, the Thrift Financial Report (TFR), which is currently an approved collection of information. On November 17, 2010, the OTS published an amended notice to correct an error in the initial notice (75 FR 70355).\2\ These notices described regulatory reporting revisions proposed for the TFR. After considering the comments received on the proposal, the OTS will proceed with most, but not all, of the reporting changes that had been proposed and will also revise two other TFR items in response to commenters' recommendations. For some of the reporting changes that the OTS plans to implement, limited modifications have been made to the original proposals in response to the comments. All proposed changes to the TFR for 2011 that would increase the differences between the TFR and the Call Report have been eliminated. Proposed changes to the TFR for 2011, announced on October 5, 2010 (75 FR 61563), included changes that parallel proposed changes to the Call Report as well as changes unique to the TFR. Proposed changes unique to the TFR included proposed data collections for classified assets by major loan category and loan loss allowances by major loan category. The OTS will curtail all proposed TFR changes that increase differences with the Call Report in an effort to reduce the initial burden of converting to the Call Report. The changes are proposed to become effective in March 2011.

An open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Tax Forms and Publications Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Joint Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Notice Improvement Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Area 6 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Taxpayer Assistance Center Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requests applications of individuals to be considered for membership on the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). Nominations of qualified individuals may come from associations and should describe and document the applicant's qualifications for ETAAC membership. An application and resume are required. Submit a short statement as required in Part II of the application and include recent examples of specific expertise in e- file security, tax software and accuracy. See the ETAAC application, Form 13768 for more details. The ETAAC provides continued input into the development and implementation of the IRS' strategy for electronic tax administration. The ETAAC also provides an organized public forum for discussion of electronic tax administration issues in support of the overriding goal that paperless filing should be the preferred and most convenient method of filing tax and information returns. ETAAC members convey the public's perception of IRS electronic tax administration activities, offer constructive observations about current or proposed policies, programs, and procedures, and suggest improvements. The Director, Electronic Tax Administration (ETA) and Refundable Credits will assure that the size and organizational representation of the committee is balanced to include industry representatives from various groups. Accordingly, to maintain membership diversity, selection is based on the applicant's qualifications and expertise.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of 1 individual and 12 entities whose property and interests in property have been blocked pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (``Kingpin Act'') (21 U.S.C. 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. 1182).

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is amending the Belarus Sanctions Regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations to revoke a general license authorizing U.S. persons to engage until May 31, 2011, in otherwise prohibited transactions with two blocked entities, Lakokraska OAO and/or Polotsk Steklovolokno OAO.