[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39602-39603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14109]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments

SUMMARY:
     In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding an Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
(OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our ICR describes the 
information we seek to collect from the public. Review and approval by 
OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens.
    The RRB invites comments on the proposed collection of information 
to determine (1) the practical utility of the collection; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the 
subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 
collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the 
RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper 
consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive 
them within 30 days of the publication date.
    The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is directed by 45 U.S.C. 
231f(c)(2) to establish a financial interchange (FI) between the 
railroad retirement and social security systems to place the Social 
Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability 
Insurance (DI) Trust Funds and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services (CMS) Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund in the same condition 
they would have been had railroad employment been covered by the Social 
Security Act and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Each year, 
the RRB estimates the benefits and expenses that would have been paid 
by these trust funds, as well as the payroll taxes and income taxes 
that would have been received by them. To make these estimates, the RRB 
requires information on all earnings data that are not taxable under 
the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA), but would be taxable under 
FICA.
    A recent court ruling, Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. U.S., determined 
that non-qualified stock options (NQSOs) are not taxable under Section 
3231 of RRTA but would be taxable under FICA. Additionally, in Union 
Pacific Railroad Co. v. U.S., the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals 
determined whether certain ratification payments were taxable under the 
RRTA. The RRB requires railroad employer to provide information on the 
value of NQSOs and any ratification payments from the railroad employer 
separately from a railroad worker's reported RRTA compensation to 
determine the payroll taxes due to the Social Security Administration 
(SSA) and CMS and administer transfer of funds between the RRB, SSA and 
CMS accordingly.
    The payroll information collected from the BA-15 is essential for 
the calculation of payroll taxes and benefits used by the FI. Failure 
to collect NQSOs and ratification payment information will result in 
understating the payroll taxes that should have been collected and the 
benefit amounts that would have been payable under the Social Security 
Act for FI purposes. Accurate

[[Page 39603]]

compensation file tabulations are also an integral part of the data 
needed to estimate future tax revenues and corresponding FI amounts. 
Without information on NQSOs and ratification payments, the amount of 
funds to be transferred between the RRB, SSA and CMS cannot be 
determined.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (81 FR 14510 on March 12, 2020) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Information Collection Request (ICR)--NEW

    Title: Report of Stock Options and Other Payments.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-NEW.
    Form(s) submitted: BA-15.
    Type of request: New Collection (Request for a new OMB Control 
Number).
    Affected public: Private Sector; Businesses or other for-profits.
    Abstract: Section 7(b)(6) of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 
231f(c)(2)) requires a financial interchange between the SSA, CMS, and 
the RRB trust funds. The collection obtains non-qualified stock options 
and ratification payments for railroad employees. The information is 
used to calculate the correct payroll taxes and benefits that would 
have been paid to place the OASIDI and CMS trust funds in the same 
condition they would have been had railroad employment been covered by 
the SS and FIC acts.
    Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form BA-15, as it 
is a new form.
    The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
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                                                                      Annual
                            Form No.                                 responses    Time (minutes)  Burden (hours)
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BA-15 (by secure Email, FTP, or CD-ROM)--Positive...............              50             300             250
BA-15 ( by secure Email, FTP, or CD-ROM)--Negative..............             550              15           137.5
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    Total.......................................................             600  ..............           387.5
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    Additional Information or Comments: Copies of the forms and 
supporting documents can be obtained from Kennisha Tucker at (312) 469-
2591 or [email protected]. Comments regarding the information 
collection should be addressed to Brian Foster, Railroad Retirement 
Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 or 
[email protected].
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

Brian Foster,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-14109 Filed 6-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P