[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 185 (Wednesday, September 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 50054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25279]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Privacy Act of 1974: Computer Matching Program

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Department.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Privacy Act of 1974, as 
amended, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on 
the Conduct of Matching Programs, notice is hereby given of the conduct 
of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) computer match.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice will be effective October 24, 1997, unless 
comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESS: Comments or inquiries may be mailed to Chief Inspector, 
Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Jacqueline Greening, Internal 
Auditor, Quality Assurance and Oversight Section, Office of Planning 
and Management, Office of Assistant Chief Inspector (Internal Audit), 
Internal Revenue Service, (202) 622-5911.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IRS management is responsible for 
discouraging the perpetration of irregular or illegal acts and limiting 
any exposure if an integrity breach occurs. To accomplish its mission, 
the Inspection Service assists management in achieving this objective 
by enhancing its conventional audit and investigative activities with a 
program designed to deter and detect such acts and to search for 
indicators of fraud sufficient to warrant investigation.
     The Inspection Service's Integrity Program includes Integrity 
Projects, Integrity Tests, and national or other projects, including 
joint Internal Audit/Internal Security activities, designed to detect 
indicators of fraud and which focus specifically on the deterrence and 
detection of integrity breaches.
    Integrity Projects are reviews or probes of specific high risk 
areas or transactions by the Inspection Service to detect material 
fraud and to assess the extent of integrity breaches that may have 
occurred.
    Computer matching is the most feasible method of performing 
comprehensive analysis of employee, taxpayer, and tax administration 
data because of the large number of employees (seasonally varying to 
over 102,000), the geographic dispersion (nationwide) of IRS offices 
and employees, and the tremendous volume of computerized data that is 
available for analysis.
    This computer match may be conducted in part or in its entirety by 
any or all of the Inspection Service's offices. The results of this 
match may be matched with County and/or State Lien records to identify 
any discrepancies and/or underlying fraudulent activity aimed at 
unauthorized lien releases.

NAME OF SOURCE AGENCY:
    Internal Revenue Service.

NAME OF RECIPIENT AGENCY:
    Internal Revenue Service.

BEGINNING AND COMPLETION DATES:
    This computer match is targeted to commence in October, 1997 unless 
comments dictate otherwise. The program of computer matches will 
conclude at the end of the eighteenth month after the beginning date 
(April, 1999).

PURPOSE:
    The purpose of this computer match is to identify employee 
misconduct (e.g., internal corruption through the exploitation of 
existing internal controls) that has resulted in improper lien releases 
and failure to adequately protect the government's interests.

AUTHORITY:
    The Office of Chief Inspector was established and provided the 
authority to perform character and conduct investigations of IRS 
employees pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 321(b); sections 7801(a), 7802, and 
7803 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 26 U.S.C. 7804 and 
Reorganization Plan Number 1 of 1952.
    Commissioner's reorganization Order #Hdq-1 (July 29, 1952), IR-
Mimeograph Number 236 (December 7, 1953), and the current provisions of 
the Internal Revenue Manual (IRE) give authority to conduct personnel 
investigations to the Chief Inspector.
    Internal Revenue Manual 1161 charges the Chief Inspector with 
carrying out a program for assisting management to maintain the highest 
standards of honesty and integrity among its employees.
    The United States General Accounting Office field work standards 
for both performance and financial audits require auditors to design an 
audit to provide reasonable assurance of detecting abuse of illegal 
acts that could significantly affect the financial statements, audit 
objectives, or audit results.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED:
    Current and former employees of the IRS.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS COVERED:
1. Information regarding Lien Files (Open and Closed) [Treasury/IRS 
26.009].
2. Information regarding taxpayers, tax returns, and tax return 
information.
    a. Individual Master File (IMF) (Treasury/IRS 24.030).
    b. Business Master File (BMF) (Treasury/IRS 24.046).
3. Information regarding IRS employees (General Personnel and Payroll-
Treasury/IRS 36.003)
4. Information regarding County and/or State Lien Filing and Lien 
Release Records.

    Dated: September 17, 1997.

Alex Rodriguez,
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Administration).

[FR Doc.97-25279 Filed 9-23-97; 8:45am]
Billing Code: 4830-01-F