Department of the Treasury May 13, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains a notice that the IRS has made available the 2016 Grant Application Package and Guidelines (Publication 3319) for organizations interested in applying for a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) matching grant for the 2016 grant year, which runs from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016. The application period runs through June 15, 2015. The IRS will award a total of up to $6,000,000 (unless otherwise provided by specific Congressional appropriation) to qualifying organizations, subject to the limitations of Internal Revenue Code section 7526. For fiscal year 2015, Congress appropriated a total of $10,000,000 in federal funds for LITC grants. A qualifying organization may receive a matching grant of up to $100,000 per year for up to a three-year project period. Qualifying organizations that provide representation to low income taxpayers involved in a tax controversy with the IRS or educate individuals for whom English is a second language (ESL) of their taxpayer rights and responsibilities under the Internal Revenue Code are eligible for a grant. Beginning in grant year 2016, the LITC Program will award grants only to qualifying organizations that provide both services. An LITC must provide services for free or for no more than a nominal fee. Examples of qualifying organizations include: (1) A clinical program at an accredited law, business or accounting school whose students represent low income taxpayers in tax controversies with the IRS, and (2) an organization exempt from tax under I.R.C. Sec. 501(a) whose employees and volunteers represent low income taxpayers in tax controversies with the IRS. In determining whether to award a grant, the IRS will consider a variety of factors, including: (1) The number of taxpayers who will be assisted by the organization, including the number of ESL taxpayers in that geographic area; (2) the existence of other LITCs assisting the same population of low income and ESL taxpayers; (3) the quality of the program offered by the organization, including the qualifications of its administrators and qualified representatives, and its record, if any, in providing assistance to low income taxpayers; and (4) alternative funding sources available to the organization, including amounts received from other grants and contributions, and the endowment and resources of the institution sponsoring the organization.

The OCC, 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 a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC 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 OCC is soliciting comment concerning its information collection titled, ``Recordkeeping Requirements for Securities Transactions.'' The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.