Department of the Treasury October 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect the imposition of import restrictions on certain archaeological material from the Republic of Chile (Chile). These restrictions are being imposed pursuant to an agreement between the United States and Chile that has been entered into under the authority of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. The final rule amends the CBP regulations by adding Chile to the list of countries which have a bilateral agreement with the United States that imposes cultural property import restrictions. The final rule also contains the Designated List that describes the types of archaeological material to which the restrictions apply.

The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is issuing this notice (Notice) to solicit input on a future study by FIO (FIO Study) to evaluate the potential effects of the insurance capital standard (ICS) on U.S. insurance markets, U.S. consumers, and U.S. insurers. FIO coordinates federal efforts and develops federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters, including representing the United States at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). Version 2.0 of the ICS was adopted by the IAIS in November 2019, with a five-year monitoring period starting in 2020 for confidential reporting and discussion in supervisory colleges.\1\ FIO will consider the responses to this Notice to inform its work on the ICS and related matters, including future revisions to the ICS and the economic impact assessment of the ICS to be conducted by the IAIS in 2023.\2\

This document contains corrections to Treasury Decision 9902, which was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Treasury Decision 9902 contained final regulations under the global intangible low-taxed income and subpart F income provisions of the Internal Revenue Code regarding the treatment of income that is subject to a high rate of foreign tax.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are adopting as final the revisions to the community bank leverage ratio framework made under two interim final rules issued in the Federal Register on April 23, 2020. The final rule adopts these interim final rules with no changes. Under the final rule, the community bank leverage ratio will remain 8 percent through calendar year 2020, will be 8.5 percent through calendar year 2021, and will be 9 percent thereafter. The final rule also maintains a two- quarter grace period for a qualifying community banking organization whose leverage ratio falls no more than 1 percentage point below the applicable community bank leverage ratio requirement.

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's Taxpayer Assistance Center Improvements 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.

This notice announces the appointment of members of the Legal Division PRB. The purpose of this Board is to review and make recommendations concerning proposed performance appraisals, ratings, bonuses, and other appropriate personnel actions for incumbents of SES positions in the Legal Division.

This document sets forth final regulations that provide guidance for employers concerning income tax withholding from employees' wages. These final regulations concern the amount of Federal income tax employers withhold from employees' wages, implement changes in the Internal Revenue Code made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and reflect the redesigned withholding allowance certificate (Form W-4) and related IRS publications. These final regulations affect employers that pay wages subject to Federal income tax withholding and employees who receive wages subject to Federal income tax withholding.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing the identifying information of one individual who was added to OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).

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, ``OCC Guidelines Establishing Heightened Standards for Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal Branches.''

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the renewal of an information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 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 renewal of its information collection titled, ``Examination Survey.''

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the renewal of an information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 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 an information collection titled, ``Record and Disclosure RequirementsConsumer Financial Protection Bureau Regulations B, E, M, Z, and DD and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Regulation CC.''

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations (WMD Regulations) to update a note to describe how persons designated pursuant to the WMD Regulations for North Korea-related activities are identified on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). Specifically, OFAC is amending the note to explain that SDN List entries for these designated persons will include additional information regarding certain risks associated with dealings with such persons. Separately, OFAC is amending the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations to refine the list of organizations whose activities are authorized under the general license for the official business of certain international organizations, and to make a technical correction. OFAC is also making technical edits to the authority citations in both sets of regulations to conform to Federal Register guidance.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is adding regulations to implement Executive Order 13928 of June 11, 2020 (``Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated With the International Criminal Court''). OFAC intends to supplement these regulations with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive and definitional guidance, general licenses, and statements of licensing policy.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 5,850-acre ``Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon'' viticultural area in Polk County, Oregon. The proposed viticultural area lies entirely within the Willamette Valley 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.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the 408,585-acre ``San Luis Obispo Coast'' viticultural area in San Luis Obispo County, California. TTB is proposing to recognize both ``San Luis Obispo Coast'' and the abbreviated ``SLO Coast'' as the name of the proposed AVA. The proposed AVA is located entirely within the existing Central Coast AVA and would encompass the established Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley AVAs. 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.