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

The Board and FinCEN (collectively, the ``Agencies'') are issuing this proposed rule to modify the threshold in the rule implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (``BSA'') requiring financial institutions to collect and retain information on certain funds transfers and transmittals of funds. The proposed modification would reduce this threshold from $3,000 to $250 for funds transfers and transmittals of funds that begin or end outside the United States. FinCEN is likewise proposing to reduce from $3,000 to $250 the threshold in the rule requiring financial institutions to transmit to other financial institutions in the payment chain information on funds transfers and transmittals of funds that begin or end outside the United States. The Agencies are also proposing to clarify the meaning of ``money'' as used in these same rules to ensure that the rules apply to domestic and cross-border transactions involving convertible virtual currency (``CVC''), which is a medium of exchange (such as cryptocurrency) that either has an equivalent value as currency, or acts as a substitute for currency, but lacks legal tender status. The Agencies further propose to clarify that these rules apply to domestic and cross-border transactions involving digital assets that have legal tender status.

The Board of Trustees of the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund- Detroit & Vicinity Pension Fund, 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 Carpenters Pension Trust Fund-Detroit & Vicinity Pension Fund 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 Carpenters Pension Trust Fund-Detroit & Vicinity Pension Fund.

This document contains final regulations under sections 1502 and 1503 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). These regulations provide guidance implementing recent statutory amendments to section 172 of the Code relating to the absorption of consolidated net operating loss (CNOL) carryovers and carrybacks. These regulations also update regulations applicable to consolidated groups that include both life insurance companies and other companies to reflect statutory changes. These regulations affect corporations that file consolidated returns.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 8,129-acre ``Goose Gap'' viticultural area in Benton County, Washington. The proposed viticultural area lies entirely within the established Yakima Valley and Columbia Valley viticultural areas. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is publishing the names of one or more individuals and entities that have been placed on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). OFAC has determined that one or more applicable legal criteria were satisfied to place the individuals and entities on the SDN List. All property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of these individuals and entities are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

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. Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 8879-EX, IRS e-file Signature Authorization for Forms 720, 2290, and 8849.

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 existing Final Regulation, TD 9467-Measurement of Assets and Liabilities for Pension Funding Purposes, Pension Funding Stabilization under the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HAFTA), Notice 2020-61-Special rules for single-employer defined benefit pension plans under the Cares Act, and Notice 2020-60-Election of alternative minimum funding standards for community newspaper plans benefit pension plans under the Cares Act.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel's Toll-Free Phone Lines 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's 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 United States Mint is setting prices for the Mayflower 400th Anniversary Products.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is updating the entries of 490 persons on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List).

On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) posted on its website an interim final rule relating to the implementation of Sections 1102 and 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act or the Act) (published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2020). Section 1102 of the Act temporarily adds a new product, titled the ``Paycheck Protection Program,'' to the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) 7(a) Loan Program. Subsequently, SBA and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued additional interim final rules implementing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (Flexibility Act) was signed into law, amending the CARES Act. This interim final rule revises interim final rules posted on SBA's and the Department of the Treasury's websites on May 22, 2020 (published on June 1, 2020, in the Federal Register) and June 22, 2020 (published on June 26, 2020, in the Federal Register), by providing additional guidance concerning the forgiveness and loan review processes for PPP loans of $50,000 or less and, for PPP loans of all sizes, lender responsibilities with respect to the review of borrower documentation of eligible costs for forgiveness in excess of a borrower's PPP loan amount.

This notice announces the appointment of members to the Department of the Treasury's Performance Review Boards (PRBs). The purpose of these Boards are to review and make recommendations concerning proposed performance appraisals, ratings, bonuses and other appropriate personnel actions for incumbents of SES positions in the Department. Composition of the PRB: The Boards shall consist of at least three members. In the case of an appraisal of a career appointee, more than half the members shall consist of career appointees. The persons listed below may be selected to serve on one or more PRB within Treasury.

The U.S. 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 Financial Stability Oversight Council (the ``Council''), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites members of the public and affected agencies to comment on the continuing information collections listed below, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The Council is soliciting comments concerning its collection of information related to its authority to designate financial market utilities as systemically important. Section 804 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act'') provides the Council the authority to designate a financial market utility (``FMU'') that the Council determines is or is likely to become systemically important because the failure of or a disruption to the functioning of the FMU could create, or increase, the risk of significant liquidity or credit problems spreading among financial institutions or markets and thereby threaten the stability of the United States financial system.

This document contains final regulations that clarify the definition of a ``qualifying relative'' for purposes of various provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) for taxable years 2018 through 2025. These regulations generally affect taxpayers who claim Federal income tax benefits that require a taxpayer to have a qualifying relative.

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.