Department of Treasury December 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

For the period beginning January 1, 2010, and ending on June 30, 2010, the prompt payment interest rate is 3\1/4\ per centum per annum.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is publishing an alteration of its Privacy Act systems of records entitled ``Treasury/BEP .006Debt Files (Employees).''

This document contains final and temporary regulations under section 304 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The regulations apply to certain transactions that are subject to section 304 but that are entered into with a principal purpose of avoiding the application of section 304 to a corporation that is controlled by the issuing corporation in the transaction, or with a principal purpose of avoiding the application of section 304 to a corporation that controls the acquiring corporation in the transaction. The regulations affect persons treated as receiving distributions in redemption of stock by reason of section 304. The text of the temporary regulations serves as the text of the proposed regulations in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject published in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) is amending its regulations to incorporate technical and conforming amendments.

This document adopts as a final rule, with modifications set forth in this document, amendments proposed to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations with respect to the requirements applicable to the operation of Class 9 bonded warehouses, which are also known as ``duty- free sales enterprises'' or ``duty-free stores.'' The amendments in this document will extend the blanket withdrawal procedure for duty- free merchandise under certain circumstances and expand and create a uniform time period for Class 9 proprietors to file an entry, provide written confirmation of certain shortages, overages, and damages, and to pay duties, taxes, and interest on overages and shortages. The amendments in this document will also permit Class 9 warehouses to utilize existing technological systems more effectively. In addition, this document sets forth technical amendments to the applicable regulations to extend the time period for which merchandise may remain in a bonded warehouse under certain circumstances. The amendments will facilitate the efficient operation of Class 9 warehouses and also ensure adequate records are maintained for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') trade enforcement purposes.

The Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS), is amending its regulation governing the centralized offset of tax refund payments to collect nontax debts owed to the United States. The amendment authorizes the offset of Federal tax refunds irrespective of the amount of time the debt has been outstanding.

This final rule adopts the interim rule, published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2009, concerning the time limitation on the collection of nontax debts by centralized offset.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), OTS 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 August 19, 2009, OTS requested public comment for 60 days (74 FR 41981) on a proposal to extend, with revisions, the Thrift Financial Report (TFR), which is currently an approved collection of information. The notice described regulatory reporting revisions proposed for the TFR, Schedule SCConsolidated Statement of Condition, Schedule CCConsolidated Commitments and Contingencies, Schedule DIConsolidated Deposit Information, Schedule SB Consolidated Small Business Loans, and a proposed new schedule, Schedule RMAnnual Supplemental Consolidated Data on Reverse Mortgages. The changes are proposed to become effective in March 2010 except for the proposed new schedule RM which would become effective in December 2010.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we invite comments on the proposed or continuing information collections listed below in this notice.

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9470) that were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 (74 FR 59087) relating to the return and information statement requirements under section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code.

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

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9443) that were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, January 15, 2009 (74 FR 2370) relating to postponement of certain tax-related deadlines either due to service in a combat zone or due to a Federally declared disaster. The regulations reflect changes in the law made by the Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act of 2001, the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 (TEAMTRA), and current IRS practice.

This document contains proposed regulations relating to reporting sales of securities by brokers and determining the basis of securities. The proposed regulations reflect changes in the law made by the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 that require brokers when reporting the sale of securities to the IRS to include the customer's adjusted basis in the sold securities and to classify any gain or loss as long-term or short-term. This document also contains proposed regulations reflecting changes in the law that alter how taxpayers compute basis when averaging the basis of shares acquired at different prices and that expand the ability of taxpayers to compute basis by averaging. The document also proposes regulations that provide brokers and others until February 15 to furnish certain information statements to customers. This document also contains proposed regulations that implement new reporting requirements imposed upon persons that transfer custody of stock and upon issuers of stock regarding organizational actions that affect the basis of the issued stock. This document also contains proposed regulations reflecting changes in the law that alter how brokers report short sales of securities. Finally, this document provides for a notice of a public hearing on these proposed regulations.

This document contains final regulations relating to the reduction in taxable income under section 302 of the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005. The final regulations also reflect legislation under section 702 of the Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008. The final regulations affect taxpayers who provide housing in their principal residences to individuals displaced by certain major disasters.

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is issuing this final rule as part of its implementation of Title I of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (``TRIA'' or ``the Act''), as amended by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 (``Extension Act'') and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (``Reauthorization Act''). The Act established a temporary Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (``TRIP'' or ``Program'') under which the Federal Government would share the risk of insured losses from certified acts of terrorism with commercial property and casualty insurers. The Reauthorization Act has now extended the Program until December 31, 2014. This rule was published in proposed form on September 17, 2008, for public comment. The final rule contains minor clarifications in response to comments. The rule incorporates and implements statutory requirements in section 103(e) of the Act, as amended by the Reauthorization Act, for the recoupment of the Federal share of compensation for insured losses. In particular, the rule describes how Treasury will determine the amounts to be recouped and establishes procedures insurers are to use for collecting Federal Terrorism Policy Surcharges and remitting them to Treasury. The rule generally builds upon previous rules issued by Treasury.

This Treasury decision establishes the Calistoga viticultural area in Napa County, California. The viticultural area is entirely within the existing Napa Valley viticultural area. We designate 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 United States Mint published a document in the Federal Register of January 6, 2009, outlining the new pricing methodology for numismatic products containing gold and platinum coins. The document contained schedules for pricing based on a range of average prices of gold and platinum. These schedules now need to be expanded to higher ranges to accommodate rising prices of gold and platinum.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of eight individuals whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to Executive Order 12978 of October 21, 1995, Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions With Significant Narcotics Traffickers.