Department of the Treasury April 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Internal Revenue Service, 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 continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Internal Revenue Service, 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. Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning the Tip Rate Determination Agreement (Gaming Industry).

The Internal Revenue Service, 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. Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning TD 8352 (temp & final) Final Regulations Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; Pre-change Attributes; TD 8531Final Regulations Under Section 382.

The Department of the Treasury will submit the following information collection requests to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The public is invited to submit comments on these requests.

The Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting on Thursday, June 7, 2018.

The Board of Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Pension Plan, a multiemployer pension plan, has submitted an application to reduce benefits under the plan in accordance with the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA). The purpose of this notice is to announce that the application submitted by the Board of Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Pension Plan has been published on the website of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), and to request public comments on the application from interested parties, including participants and beneficiaries, employee organizations, and contributing employers of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Pension Plan.

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 the renewal of its information collection titled ``Credit Risk Retention.'' The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing the names of one or more persons that have been placed on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List based on OFAC's determination that one or more applicable legal criteria were satisfied. All property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of these persons are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

The 2018 inflation adjustment factor and reference prices are used in determining the availability of the credit for renewable electricity production and refined coal production under section 45.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are seeking comment on a proposal that would modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for U.S. top-tier bank holding companies identified as global systemically important bank holding companies, or GSIBs, and certain of their insured depository institution subsidiaries. Specifically, the proposal would modify the current 2 percent leverage buffer, which applies to each GSIB, to equal 50 percent of the firm's GSIB risk-based capital surcharge. The proposal also would require a Board- or OCC-regulated insured depository institution subsidiary of a GSIB to maintain a supplementary leverage ratio of at least 3 percent plus 50 percent of the GSIB risk-based surcharge applicable to its top-tier holding company in order to be deemed ``well capitalized'' under the Board's and the OCC's prompt corrective action rules. Consistent with this approach to establishing enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for insured depository institutions, the OCC is proposing to revise the methodology it uses to identify which national banks and Federal savings associations are subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards to ensure that they apply only to those national banks and Federal savings associations that are subsidiaries of a Board-identified GSIB. The Board also is seeking comment on a proposal to make conforming modifications to the GSIB leverage buffer of the Board's total loss- absorbing capacity and long-term debt requirements and other minor amendments to the buffer levels, covered intermediate holding company conformance period, methodology for calculating the covered intermediate holding company long-term debt amount, and external total loss-absorbing capacity risk-weighted buffer.

The Agencies invite comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the mandatory recordkeeping requirements associated with a joint rule implementing the Unlawful internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (the ``Act'').

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (``Department'' or ``Treasury'') called for the submission of Large Position Reports by those entities whose positions in the 2\1/4\% Treasury Notes of November 2027 equaled or exceeded $4.58 billion as of January 12, 2018.

The Department of the Treasury will submit the following information collection requests to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The public is invited to submit comments on these requests.

This document provides notice of the availability of Application Packages for the 2018 Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Program.

This rule finalizes without change an interim rule that amended the Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulation (DTAR) by adding a subpart titled ``Responsible Prospective Contractor'' and a paragraph concerning Representation and certifications regarding responsibility matters, for the purpose of directing IRS contracting officers to the newly added DTAR subpart titled ``Tax Check Requirement,'' which prescribes the policies and procedures for performing a tax check on the apparent successful offeror in order to determine eligibility to receive an award.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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. On November 8, 2017, the agencies, under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), requested public comment for 60 days on a proposal to revise the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic and Foreign Offices (FFIEC 031), the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only (FFIEC 041), and the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only and Total Assets Less than $1 Billion (FFIEC 051) (November 2017 notice), which are currently approved collections of information. The Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income are commonly referred to as Call Reports. The proposed revisions to the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, and FFIEC 051 Call Reports would result in an overall reduction in burden. These reporting revisions consist of the deletion or consolidation of a large number of items and the addition of a new or increases in certain existing reporting thresholds. The comment period for the November 2017 notice ended on January 8, 2018. As described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, after considering the comments received on the proposal, the FFIEC and the agencies will proceed with the proposed reporting revisions to the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, and FFIEC 051 as originally proposed. The proposed revisions would take effect as of the June 30, 2018, report date. In addition, the agencies are giving notice that they are sending the collection to OMB for review.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 1,500-square mile ``Upper Hudson'' viticultural area in all or portions of Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Washington Counties in New York. The proposed viticultural area does not lie within, nor does it contain, any other established viticultural area. 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. TTB invites comments on this proposed addition to its regulations.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Special Projects 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.

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 Notices and Correspondence 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 OCC, Board, and FDIC (collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final rule to amend the agencies' regulations requiring appraisals of real estate for certain transactions. The final rule increases the threshold level at or below which appraisals are not required for commercial real estate transactions from $250,000 to $500,000. The final rule defines commercial real estate transaction as a real estate-related financial transaction that is not secured by a single 1-to-4 family residential property. It excludes all transactions secured by a single 1-to-4 family residential property, and thus construction loans secured by a single 1-to-4 family residential property are excluded. For commercial real estate transactions exempted from the appraisal requirement as a result of the revised threshold, regulated institutions must obtain an evaluation of the real property collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 126,635-acre ``Cape May Peninsula'' viticultural area in Cape May and Cumberland Counties, New Jersey. The viticultural area lies entirely within the established Outer Coastal Plain viticultural area. 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.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to expand the approximately 1,320-square mile ``Monticello'' viticultural area in Albemarle, Green, Nelson, and Orange Counties in Virginia, by approximately 166 square miles. The proposal would extend the viticultural area into Fluvanna County, Virginia. The established Monticello viticultural area and the proposed expansion area are not located within any established viticultural area. 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. TTB invites comments on this proposed amendment to its regulations.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing the names of 7 individuals that have been placed on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List based on OFAC's determination that one or more applicable legal criteria were satisfied. All property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of these persons are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.