[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 44 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11833-11834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5365]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Privacy Act of 1974, System of Records

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed new system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 
1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Department of the Treasury gives 
notice of a proposed IRS system of records, Disclosure Authorizations 
for U.S. Residency Certification Letters--Treasury/IRS 22.028.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than April 5, 2000. The 
proposed system of records will be effective April 17, 2000 unless 
comments are received that result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the IRS Freedom of Information 
Reading Room, 1621, at 1111 Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC 20224. 
Comments will be made available for inspection and copying. An 
appointment for inspecting the comments can be made by contacting the 
IRS Reading Room at (202) 622-5164 (this is not a toll-free call).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Ann Leshinski, Chief, 
International and Domestic Program Support at 215-516-7544.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IRS is establishing the Disclosure 
Authorizations for U.S. Residency Certification system of records to 
maintain the taxpayer's authorization granting the IRS permission to 
send the U.S. residency certification or rejection letter to their 
designated third party (generally a financial institution authorized by 
the taxpayer). Since parts of this system are retrieved by individual 
identifier, the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, requires a general 
notice of the existence of this system of records to the public.
    This system will incorporate stringent controls to ensure full 
protection of the taxpayer's rights. The establishment of this system 
will save time, promote efficiencies within the IRS, and provide 
greater service to the public since it will reduce the flow of paper 
between the IRS, the financial community, and the taxpayer.
    The IRS will maintain these authorizations to allow them to be used 
for up to 3 years instead of being discarded each time they are used. 
This would greatly reduce the number of ``specific purpose'' 
authorizations by the taxpayer as they pertain to the residency 
certification letters. Currently, the authorizations must be received 
within 60 days of the taxpayer's signature. The taxpayer can designate 
authorization up to 3 years on the form, but the IRS does not have any 
means to maintain this information. Since there is no established 
system of records that enables the IRS to maintain ``specific purpose'' 
authorizations, we are restricted in our ability to process the third-
party requests without receiving a newly signed authorization yearly.
    The proposed IRS system of records, ``Disclosure Authorizations for 
U.S. Residency Certification Letters--Treasury/IRS 22.028,'' is 
published in its entirety below.

    Dated: February 28, 2000,
Shelia Y. McCann,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, (Administration).
Treasury/IRS 22.028

System Name
    Disclosure Authorizations for U.S. Residency Certification Letters.

System Location
    Internal Revenue Service, Northeast Region, Philadelphia Service 
Center, 11601 Roosevelt Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19154.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System
    Individuals and third parties who are subjects of correspondence 
and who initiate correspondence for disclosure authorizations for U.S. 
Residency Certification Letters. The correspondence may include any 
form of communications, including telephone calls, and e-mail.

Categories of Records in the System
    Records relating to the entity requesting certification, including 
taxpayer identification number, name and address, countries for which 
certification has been requested, and when applicable, business 
activity code; records relating to the designated entity authorized to 
receive tax information specific to the U.S. Residency Certification 
Letters, name, address, and number of years authorization has been 
granted.

AUTHORITY for Maintenance of the System
    5 U.S.C. 301; 26 U.S.C. 7801 & 7802.

Purpose(s)
    The records will enable the IRS to determine if there is a valid 
disclosure authorization to provide a third party with the Residency 
Certification Letter (Form 6166, Form 2297 or Form 2298) or related 
taxpayer information.

Routine Uses of the Records Maintained in the System, Including 
Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses
    Disclosure of returns and return information may only be made as 
provided by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System
Storage
    Electronic media, and/or hard copy media (paper).

Retrievability
    Records may be retrieved by the taxpayer's name, authorized 
individual or company name, and by the Taxpayer Identification Number 
(TIN).

[[Page 11834]]

Safeguards
    Protection and control of the records are in accordance with the 
requirements of IRM 2(10), the Automated Security System Security 
Handbook, and IRM 1(16)12.

Retention and Disposal
    Records are maintained in accordance with Records Control Schedule 
206 for Service Centers, IRM 1(15)59.26. Records will be maintained up 
to 3 years. Hard copy and microfilm media will be disposed by shredding 
or incineration. Electronic media will be erased electronically.

System Manager(s) and Addresses
    Director, Philadelphia Service Center, Internal Revenue Service, 
Northeast Region, Philadelphia Service Center, 11601 Roosevelt 
Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19154.

Notification Procedure
    Individuals seeking to determine if this system of records contains 
a record pertaining to themselves may inquire in accordance with 
instructions appearing at 31 CFR part 1, subpart C, appendix B.

Record Access PRocedures
    Individuals seeking access to any record contained in this system 
of records, or seeking to contest its content, may inquire in 
accordance with instructions appearing at 31 CFR part 1, subpart C, 
appendix B. Inquiries should be addressed to the Philadelphia Service 
Center Director. (See IRS appendix A for addresses.)

Contesting Record Procedures
    See record access procedures above. 26 U.S.C. 7852(e) prohibits 
Privacy Act amendment of tax records.

Record Source Categories
    Information supplied by the initiators of the correspondence.

Exemptions Claimed for the System
    None.

[FR Doc. 00-5365 Filed 3-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P