Department of Treasury 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9696) that were published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2014 (79 FR 59112). The final regulations are relating to the deductibility of expenses for lodging when an individual is not travelling away from home (local lodging).

This is Supplement No. 2 to the Treasury Department Circular 570, 2014 Revision, published July 1, 2014, at 79 FR 37398.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announces a meeting of the Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC).

This document contains final regulations that provide guidance on the mandatory electronic filing of Form 2290, ``Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return,'' for 25 or more vehicles; credits or refunds for sold, destroyed, or stolen vehicles; and the tax liability and computation of tax on the use of certain second-hand vehicles. The regulations affect owners and operators of highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. These final regulations also remove the temporary regulations that provide guidance on the filing of Form 2290 and payment of the associated highway use tax for the taxable period beginning July 1, 2011.

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. Currently, the OCC is soliciting comment concerning its renewal of an information collection titled ``Debt Cancellation Contracts and Debt Suspension Agreements.''

The Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Treasury) administers the Federal corporate surety program. Treasury issues certificates of authority to qualified sureties to underwrite and reinsure Federal bond obligations. Bonds underwritten by Treasury- certified sureties satisfy bonding requirements, provided such bonds are accepted by the agency bond-approving official. Treasury is amending its regulation to expressly provide that an agency may decline to accept a bond underwritten by a Treasury-certified surety for cause, provided the agency satisfies the requirements specified in the final rule. Treasury is also revising the procedures it uses to adjudicate any complaint received from an agency requesting that a surety's certificate of authority be revoked.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line 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 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.

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.

This document contains proposed regulations that will remove a rule that a deemed discharge of indebtedness for which a Form 1099-C, ``Cancellation of Debt,'' must be filed occurs at the expiration of a 36-month non-payment testing period. The Department of the Treasury and the IRS are concerned that the rule creates confusion for taxpayers and does not increase tax compliance by debtors or provide the IRS with valuable third-party information that may be used to ensure taxpayer compliance. The proposed regulations will affect certain financial institutions and governmental entities.

The Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) establishes the approximately 26,260-acre ``Eagle Peak Mendocino County'' viticultural area in Mendocino County, California. The viticultural area lies entirely within the multi-county North Coast viticultural area. TTB also modifies the boundaries of the Mendocino viticultural area and the Redwood Valley viticultural area to eliminate overlaps with the Eagle Peak Mendocino County 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 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 Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) Fund, Department of the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the CDFI Certification Application.

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 12854, Prior Government Service Information.

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 8924, Excise Tax on Certain Transfers of Qualifying Geothermal or Mineral Interests.

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 information collection requirements related to arbitrage restrictions on tax-exempt bonds.

Pursuant to United States Code, Title 31, section 5135(b)(8)(C), the United States Mint announces the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) public meeting scheduled for October 14, 2014. Date: October 14, 2014. Time: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Location: Conference Rooms B & C, United States Mint, 801 9th Street NW., Washington, DC 20220. Subject: Review and consideration of candidate designs for the American Fighter Aces Congressional Gold Medal and the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Congressional Gold Medal, and discussion of themes for the Monuments Men Recognition Congressional Gold Medal and the 2015 Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Program. Interested persons should call the CCAC HOTLINE at (202) 354-7502 for the latest update on meeting time and room location. In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 5135, the CCAC: [ssquf] Advises the Secretary of the Treasury on any theme or design proposals relating to circulating coinage, bullion coinage, Congressional Gold Medals, and national and other medals. [ssquf] Advises the Secretary of the Treasury with regard to the events, persons, or places to be commemorated by the issuance of commemorative coins in each of the five calendar years succeeding the year in which a commemorative coin designation is made. [ssquf] Makes recommendations with respect to the mintage level for any commemorative coin recommended.

The United States Mint is announcing pricing for the 2015 United States Marshals 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program as follows:

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is adopting as a permanent regulatory change a flat $1,000 penal sum for the brewer's bond for brewers whose excise tax liability is reasonably expected to be not more than $50,000 in a given calendar year and who were liable for not more than $50,000 in such taxes in the preceding calendar year. TTB originally set forth this change in a temporary rule issued on December 7, 2012. In addition, TTB is adopting as a final rule its proposal, also issued on December 7, 2012, to require small brewers to file Federal excise tax returns, pay tax, and submit reports of operations quarterly. TTB expects these amendments to reduce the regulatory burdens on such brewers, reduce their administrative costs, and create administrative efficiencies for TTB.

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 8804-C, Certificate of Partner-Level Items to Reduce Section 1446 Withholding, and Special Rules to Reduce Section 1446 Withholding.

Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund provides (i) FA awards of up to $2 million to Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to build their financial capacity to lend to their Target Markets, and (ii) TA grants of up to $125,000 to build Certified, Certifiable, and Emerging CDFIs' organizational capacity to serve their Target Markets. All awards provided through this NOFA are subject to funding availability.

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 transfers by domestic corporations that are subject to section 367(a)(5); distributions by domestic corporations that are subject to section 1248(f).

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9687) that were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 (79 FR 47246). The final regulations provide comprehensive guidance for the award program authorized under Internal Revenue Code (Code) section 7623.

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9684) that were published in the Federal Register on Monday, July 28, 2014 (79 FR 43631). The final regulations provide guidance on the annual fee imposed on covered entities engaged in the business of manufacturing branded prescription drugs.

In May 2014, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR or proposed rule) to revise the definition of the denominator of the supplementary leverage ratio (total leverage exposure) that the agencies adopted in July 2013 as part of comprehensive revisions to the agencies' regulatory capital rules (2013 revised capital rule). The agencies are adopting the proposed rule as final (final rule) with certain revisions and clarifications based on comments received on the proposed rule. The final rule revises total leverage exposure as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule to include the effective notional principal amount of credit derivatives and other similar instruments through which a banking organization provides credit protection (sold credit protection); modifies the calculation of total leverage exposure for derivative and repo-style transactions; and revises the credit conversion factors applied to certain off-balance sheet exposures. The final rule also changes the frequency with which certain components of the supplementary leverage ratio are calculated and establishes the public disclosure requirements of certain items associated with the supplementary leverage ratio. The final rule applies to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies (banking organizations) that are subject to the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rules, as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule (advanced approaches banking organizations), including advanced approaches banking organizations that are subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards that the agencies finalized in May 2014 (eSLR standards). Consistent with the 2013 revised capital rule, advanced approaches banking organizations will be required to disclose their supplementary leverage ratios beginning January 1, 2015, and will be required to comply with a minimum supplementary leverage ratio capital requirement of 3 percent and, as applicable, the eSLR standards beginning January 1, 2018.