Department of the Treasury 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 2438, Undistributed Capital Gains Tax Return; Revenue Procedure 97-29, Model Amendments and Prototype Program for SIMPLE IRAs; Revenue Procedure 2006-30, Restaurant TipsAttributed Tip Income Program (ATIP); and Form 13768, Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee Membership Application.

This document adopts, as a final rule, a proposal to amend the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau wine labeling regulations to allow a vintage date to appear on a wine that is labeled with a country as an appellation of origin. This amendment will provide greater grape sourcing and wine labeling flexibility to winemakers, both domestic and foreign, while still ensuring that consumers are provided with adequate information as to the identity and quality of the wines they purchase.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the 28,441-acre ``Inwood Valley'' viticultural area in Shasta County, California. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

This document contains final regulations that apply to determine when property is traded on an established market (that is, publicly traded) for purposes of determining the issue price of a debt instrument. The regulations amend the current regulations to clarify the circumstances that cause property to be publicly traded. The regulations also amend the current regulations for reopenings of debt instruments, potentially abusive situations, and the definition of qualified stated interest. The regulations provide guidance to issuers and holders of debt instruments.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on a currently approved information collection that is due for extension approval by the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of International Affairs within the Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning the Annual Report of U.S. Ownership of Foreign Securities, including Selected Money Market Instruments. The next such collection is a benchmark survey is to be conducted as of December 31, 2012.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Face-to-Face Service Methods 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 Toll-Free 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 Refund Processing Communications 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 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.

In the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS and the Treasury Department are issuing temporary regulations (TD 9598) under section 988(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. These regulations address certain integrated transactions that involve a foreign currency denominated debt instrument and multiple associated hedging transactions. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of five individuals whose property and interests in property have been blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13581 of July 24, 2011, ``Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations'' (``the Order'').

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of 25 individuals and 1 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''.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of three individuals and two entities whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (``Kingpin Act'') (21 U.S.C. Sections 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. Section 1182). In addition, OFAC is publishing an amendment to the identifying information of one individual previously designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act.

The United States Mint is announcing a price of $54.95 for the 2012 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set. This set contains the following uncirculated coins: four Presidential $1 Coins, one Native American $1 Coin, and one American Eagle Silver Coin.

This document amends temporary regulations relating to dividend equivalents for purposes of section 871(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The regulations affect nonresident aliens and foreign corporations that hold notional principal contracts (NPCs) providing for payments determined by reference to payments of dividends from sources within the United States.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are seeking comment on three notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRs) that would revise and replace the agencies' current capital rules. This NPR (Standardized Approach NPR) includes proposed changes to the agencies' general risk-based capital requirements for determining risk-weighted assets (that is, the calculation of the denominator of a banking organization's risk-based capital ratios). The proposed changes would revise and harmonize the agencies' rules for calculating risk- weighted assets to enhance risk-sensitivity and address weaknesses identified over recent years, including by incorporating certain international capital standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) set forth in the standardized approach of the ``International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: A Revised Framework'' (Basel II), as revised by the BCBS between 2006 and 2009, and other proposals addressed in recent consultative papers of the BCBS. In this NPR, the agencies also propose alternatives to credit ratings for calculating risk-weighted assets for certain assets, consistent with section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act). The revisions include methodologies for determining risk-weighted assets for residential mortgages, securitization exposures, and counterparty credit risk. The changes in the Standardized Approach NPR are proposed to take effect on January 1, 2015, with an option for early adoption. The Standardized Approach NPR also would introduce disclosure requirements that would apply to top-tier banking organizations domiciled in the United States with $50 billion or more in total assets, including disclosures related to regulatory capital instruments. In connection with the proposed changes to the agencies' capital rules in this NPR, the agencies are also seeking comment on the two related NPRs published elsewhere in today's Federal Register. The two related NPR's are discussed further in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are revising their market risk capital rules to better capture positions for which the market risk capital rules are appropriate; reduce procyclicality; enhance the rules' sensitivity to risks that are not adequately captured under current methodologies; and increase transparency through enhanced disclosures. The final rule does not include all of the methodologies adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision for calculating the standardized specific risk capital requirements for debt and securitization positions due to their reliance on credit ratings, which is impermissible under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Instead, the final rule includes alternative methodologies for calculating standardized specific risk capital requirements for debt and securitization positions.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of 2 individuals and 24 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).