[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 165 (Wednesday, August 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51874-51875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21057]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Proposed Collection; Comment Request on Information Collection 
Tools Relating to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP); 
Correction

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Correction to the notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document contains a correction to the notice and request 
for comments which was published in the Federal Register on Monday, 
August 10, 2015 (80 FR 47998). As part of the continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the notice 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)).

DATES:  Effective Date: August 26, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christie Preston, (202) 317-4207 (not 
a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning the Offshore 
Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and the Streamlined Filing 
Compliance Procedures.

Need for Correction

    As published, the notice and request for comments contain errors 
which may prove to be misleading and is in need of clarification.

Correction of Publication

    Accordingly, the publication of the notice and request for comments 
which is the subject of FR Doc. 2015-19521 is corrected as follows:
    On page 47998, column 2, under SUMMARY, the sentence ``Currently, 
the IRS is soliciting comments concerning the Offshore Voluntary 
Disclosure Program (OVDP). '' is corrected to read ``Currently, the IRS 
is soliciting comments concerning the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure 
Program (OVDP) and the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures.''.
    On page 47998, column 2, under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, the Title 
``Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP)'' is corrected to read 
``Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and Streamlined Filing 
Compliance Procedures''.
    On page 47998, column 2, under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, the 
Abstract: ``The IRS is offering people with undisclosed income from 
offshore accounts an opportunity to get current with their tax returns. 
Taxpayers with undisclosed foreign accounts or entities should make a 
voluntary disclosure because it enables them to become compliant, avoid 
substantial civil penalties and generally eliminate the risk of 
criminal prosecution. The objective is to bring taxpayers that have 
used undisclosed foreign accounts and undisclosed foreign entities to 
avoid or evade tax into compliance with United States tax laws.'' is 
corrected to read ``The IRS offers taxpayers with undisclosed offshore 
income, undisclosed foreign financial accounts/assets, and other 
offshore arrangements opportunities to participate in programs and 
procedures to come into compliance with their tax and FBAR compliance 
requirements. Broadly, OVDP provides taxpayers with potential criminal 
liability or substantial civil liabilities resulting from offshore 
noncompliance an avenue to avoid criminal prosecution and come into 
compliance. Whereas the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures 
provide filing procedures for taxpayers whose offshore noncompliance 
resulted from non-willful conduct.''
    On page 47998, column 2, under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, the 
Current Actions: ``In September 2012, the IRS announced a new offshore 
initiative entitled the Streamlined Non- filer program. This program 
was developed specifically for US citizens with income solely from non-
us sources. Although this program was successful at closing the non-
filer loop, this program did not allow for amended returns to be filed 
reporting previously unreported foreign sourced income. As a result, an 
enhanced process was developed in which taxpayers will be allowed to 
file amended returns in order to report previously unreported foreign 
source income while allowing a relief from penalties. Forms 14653, 
14654, and the new Form 14708 have replaced the need for Form 14438. 
The net result is a burden increase of 15,500 estimated responses and 
30,500 estimated annual hours per year.'' is corrected to read ``In 
September 2012, the IRS announced the Streamlined Filing Compliance 
Procedures (2012 Streamlined Procedures). The 2012 Streamlined 
Procedures were available only to non-resident non-filers and had very 
specific criteria. In June 2014, the IRS announced new Streamlined 
Filing Compliance Procedures (2014 Streamlined Procedures). The 2014 
Streamlined Procedures are available to a wider population of U.S. 
taxpayers living outside the country and, for the first time, to 
certain U.S. taxpayers residing in the United States. See, announcement 
IR-2014-73 (June 18, 2014). Forms 14653, 14654 replaced the now 
obsolete Form 14438. Additionally,

[[Page 51875]]

the IRS created Form 14708 to allow taxpayers who paid a penalty on the 
value of Canadian registered retirement savings plans (RRSP), 
registered retirement income funds (RRIF), or other similar Canadian 
retirement plans to request penalty reconsideration. See Streamlined 
Domestic Offshore Procedures FAQ # 12.
    In June 2014 the IRS announced significant revisions to the 2012 
OVDP. See, announcement IR-2014-73 (June 18, 2014). The significantly 
revised offshore voluntary disclosure program is commonly called the 
2014 OVDP. In conjunction with the announcement of the 2014 OVDP, the 
IRS updated Forms 14452, 14453, 14454, 14457 and 14467.
    The net result is a burden increase of 15,500 estimated responses 
and 30,500 estimated annual hours per year.''

R. Joseph Durbala,
IRS, Tax Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2015-21057 Filed 8-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4830-01-P