Department of Treasury January 2009 – 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 REG-110311-98 (Final), Corporate Tax Shelter Registration.

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 3949-A, Information Referral.

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 an existing final regulations, FI-27-89 (TD 8366), Real Estate Mortgage Conduits; Reporting Requirements and Other Administrative Matters, and FI-61-91 (TD 8431), Allocation of Allocable Investment Expense; Original Issue Discount Reporting Requirements (Sec. Sec. 1.67-3, 1.860D-4, 1.860F-4, 1.6049-4 and 1.6049-7).

The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) was established to provide continued input into the development and implementation of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) strategy for electronic tax administration. The ETAAC provides an organized public forum for discussion of electronic tax administration issues in support of the overriding goal that paperless filing should be the preferred and most convenient method of filing tax and information returns. ETAAC members convey the public's perception of IRS electronic tax administration activities, offer constructive observations about current or proposed policies, programs, and procedures, and suggest improvements. This document seeks applicants for selection as Committee members. The Director, Electronic Tax Administration (ETA) and Refundable Credits will assure that the size and organizational representation of the ETAAC obtains balanced membership and includes representatives from various groups including: (1) Tax practitioners and preparers, (2) transmitters of electronic returns, (3) tax software developers, (4) large and small business, (5) employers and payroll service providers, (6) individual taxpayers, (7) financial industry (payers, payment options and best practices), (8) system integrators (technology providers), (9) academic (marketing, sales or technical perspectives), (10) trusts and estates, (11) tax exempt organizations, and (12) state and local governments. We are soliciting applicants from professional and public interest groups. Members serve a three-year term on the ETAAC to allow for a rotation in membership which ensures that different perspectives are represented. All travel expenses within government guidelines will be reimbursed. Potential candidates must pass an IRS tax compliance check and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background investigation.

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 4810, Request for Prompt Assessment Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6501(d).

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. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless the information collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. Currently, the OCC is soliciting comment concerning its extension, without change, of an information collection titled, ``Release of Non- Public Information12 CFR 4, Subpart C.'' The OCC is also giving notice that it has submitted the collection to OMB for review.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of 19 newly-designated entities whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13382 of June 28, 2005, ``Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and Their Supporters'' and 123 related vessels.

An open meeting of the Area 4 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel VITA Issue Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Language Services Issue Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Area 6 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the IRS Forms and Publications Issue Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel 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 Wage & Investment Reducing Taxpayer Burden (Notices) Issue Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted (via teleconference). 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 Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

This document contains a correction to a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-158747-06) that was published in the Federal Register on Friday, December 5, 2008 (73 FR 74082) relating to withholding under section 3402(t) of the Internal Revenue Code. The proposed regulations reflect changes in the law made by the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 that require Federal, State, and local government entities to withhold income tax when making payments to persons providing property or services. These proposed regulations provide guidance to assist the government entities in complying with section 3402(t). The regulations also provide certain guidance to persons receiving payments for property or services from government entities.

The United States Mint is implementing a new pricing methodology for its numismatic products containing platinum and gold coins to mitigate the effect that fluctuating gold and platinum commodity costs has on the pricing of these products. The new pricing methodology is based primarily on the London Fix weekly average (average of the London Fix prices covering the previous Thursday a.m. Fix through the Wednesday a.m. Fix) platinum and gold prices, which reflect the market value of the platinum and gold bullion that these products contain. As required by law, the prices of these products also must be sufficient to recover all other costs incurred by the United States Mint, such as the cost of minting, marketing, and distributing such products (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and promotional and overhead expenses). This pricing methodology will allow the United States Mint to change the prices of these products as often as weekly so they better reflect the costs of platinum and gold on the open markets.

This document contains temporary regulations that provide further guidance and clarification regarding methods under section 482 to determine taxable income in connection with a cost sharing arrangement in order to address issues that have arisen in administering the current regulations. The temporary regulations affect domestic and foreign entities that enter into cost sharing arrangements described in the temporary regulations. The text of these temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register.

This is Supplement No. 7 to the Treasury Department Circular 570; 2008 Revision, published July 1, 2008, at 73 FR 37644.