[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39980-39981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17029]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY




Departmental Offices; Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended



AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury.



ACTION: Notice of proposed New Privacy Act System of Records.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



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 new system of records entitled ``Treasury/DO 

.226--Validating EITC Eligibility with State Data Pilot Project 

Records.''



DATES: Comments must be received no later than August 8, 2011. This new 

system of records will be effective August 8, 2011 unless the 

Department receives comments which would result in a contrary 

determination.



ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of the Fiscal 

Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania 

Ave., NW., Room 2112, Washington, DC 20220. You may send your comments 

by electronic mail to [email protected]. In general, the 

Department will make all comments available in their original format, 

including any business or personal information provided such as names, 

addresses, electronic mail addresses, or telephone numbers, for public 

inspection and photocopying in the Department's library, Room 1428, 

Main Department Building, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC, 20220, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 

p.m. You can make an appointment to inspect comments by calling (202) 

622-0990. All comments, including attachments and other supporting 

materials, received are part of the public record and are subject to 

public disclosure. You should submit only information that you wish to 

make available publicly.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl Maryott, Senior Financial Program 

Specialist, Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Department of the 

Treasury, (202) 622-1795 ([email protected]).



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of the Treasury (Departmental 

Offices and the Internal Revenue Service) is conducting a pilot project 

funded by the Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation 

(Partnership Fund). The Partnership Fund was established by the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034, 

3171-3172) to fund pilot projects to improve delivery of Federal 

assistance programs administered through State and local governments, 

or where Federal-State cooperation could be beneficial. Congress 

appropriated funds to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and 

authorized it to transfer such funds to appropriate agencies to carry 

out pilot projects and to provide for the evaluation of such projects. 

The Department submitted a pilot concept to OMB to assess the 

usefulness of State-administered benefits data in validating Earned 

Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility, including the identification of 

individuals who are eligible for but have not claimed the EITC.

    The Department proposes to obtain State-administered benefits data 

for a prior calendar year from up to five States. The pilot would 

evaluate whether State-administered benefits data could identify both 

ineligible individuals who receive improper EITC payments and eligible 

individuals who are not claiming the EITC. The assessment will be 

conducted separate from, but parallel to, normal Federal EITC 

operations. The Department will not use the data collected from States 

to intervene in the current tax filing season to stop improper EITC 

payments to ineligible individuals or attempt to initiate new claims 

for eligible individuals. Data from the pilot will not be used to 

adjust or correct a tax return.

    The Department's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will match the data 

collected from the States against data contained in IRS databases. The 

data matching analysis will be conducted in two stages. The first stage 

will entail automated database matching between information contained 

in IRS databases and the State-administered benefits data collected 

from the States to identify the positive and negative EITC eligibility 

matches. In the second stage, the results of the first stage will be 

validated by selecting a sample of the positive and negative matches 

and conducting interviews and individual case file research with State 

personnel to determine the extent to which the automated database 

matching may have generated false positives and false negatives. This 

two stage process will ensure the credibility of the automated results 

by confirming actual family circumstances and will allow for the 

development of the most reliable data matching protocol that could be 

used nationally to improve EITC eligibility determinations and reduce 

improper tax refund payments.

    As required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), a report of a new system of 

records has been provided to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and OMB.

    The system of records entitled ``Treasury/DO .226--Validating EITC 

Eligibility with State Data Pilot Project Records '' is published in 

its entirety below.



    Dated: June 23, 2011.

Melissa Hartman,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.

Treasury/DO .226



System Name:

    Validating EITC Eligibility with State Data Pilot Project Records -

Treasury/DO.



System Location:

    Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Department of the 

Treasury, Washington, DC.



[[Page 39981]]



Categories of Individuals Covered By The System:

    Individuals who file for State-administered public assistance 

benefits in States participating in the Department's pilot program.



Categories of Records in the System:

    These records include information pertaining to the Department of 

the Treasury's pilot project ``Assessing State Data for Validating EITC 

Eligibility.'' Records include, but are not limited to, the 

application[s] for State-administered benefits, including subsequent 

recertification documentation and other documents supporting 

eligibility for State-administered benefit programs. The records may 

contain taxpayer names, Taxpayer Identification Numbers, social 

security numbers, and other representative authorization information.



Authority for Maintenance of the System:

    The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117, 123 

Stat. 3034, 3171-3172); 5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321.



Purpose:

    The purpose of this system is to determine whether data maintained 

by up to five States in their public assistance and other databases can 

assist in identifying both ineligible individuals who receive improper 

Earned Income Tax Credit payments and eligible individuals who are not 

claiming the EITC.



Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System Including Categories 

of Users And Purposes of Such Uses:

    Disclosure of returns and return information may be made only as 

provided by 26 U.S.C. 6103. All other records may be used as described 

below if the Department determines that the purpose of the disclosure 

is compatible with the purpose for which the Department collected the 

records, and no privilege is asserted.

    (1) Disclose to the appropriate State agencies responsible for 

validating results of the data matching initiative with specific 

individual case file research.

    (2) Provide information to a Congressional Office in response to an 

inquiry made at the request of the individual to whom the records 

pertain.

    (3) Disclose information to a contractor, including a consultant 

hired by Treasury, to the extent necessary for the performance of a 

contract.

    (4) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) The 

Department suspects or has confirmed that the security or 

confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 

compromised; (b) the Department has determined that as a result of the 

suspected or confirmed compromise, there is a risk of harm to economic 

or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security 

or integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 

maintained by the Department or another agency or entity) that rely 

upon the compromised information; and (c) the disclosure made to such 

agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 

connection with the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected or 

confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

    (5) Disclose information to the National Archives and Records 

Administration (``NARA'') for use in its records management inspections 

and its role as an Archivist.



Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining 

and Disposing of Records in the System:

Storage:

    Paper records and electronic media.



Retrievability:

    By taxpayer name and Taxpayer Identification Number, social 

security number, employer identification number, or similar number 

assigned by the IRS.



Safeguards:

    Access to electronic records is restricted to authorized personnel 

who have been issued non-transferrable access codes and passwords. 

Other records are maintained in locked file cabinets or rooms with 

access limited to those personnel whose official duties require access. 

The facilities have 24-hour on-site security.



Retention and Disposal:

    Electronic and paper records will be maintained indefinitely until 

a records disposition schedule is approved by the National Archives and 

Records Administration.



System Manager(s) and Address:

    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fiscal Operations and Policy, Office 

of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury, 1500 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20220.



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 A. 

Inquiries should be addressed as in ``Record Access Procedures'' below.



Records 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 A. Inquiries should be addressed to Director, Disclosure 

Services, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20220.



Contesting Records Procedures:

    26 U.S.C. 7852(e) prohibits Privacy Act amendment of tax records. 

For all other records, see ``Records Access Procedures'' above.



Records Source Categories:

    Records in this system are provided by the States' department for 

public assistance and health services, and/or the departments of 

revenue for the States participating in the pilot project.



Exemptions Claimed For The System:

    None.

[FR Doc. 2011-17029 Filed 7-6-11; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810-25-P