[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31289]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: December 21, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
26 CFR Part 31
[EE-45-93]
RIN 1545-AR67
Electronic Filing of Form W-4
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of proposed
rulemaking by cross-reference to temporary regulations.
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SUMMARY: This document withdraws proposed regulations published in the
Federal Register at 59 FR 18057 on April 15, 1994. In the Rules and
Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is
issuing temporary regulations relating to Form W-4, Employee's
Withholding Allowance Certificate. The temporary regulations authorize
employers to establish systems to permit employees to make certain
changes to their Forms W-4 electronically. The temporary regulations
provide employers and employees with guidance necessary to comply with
the law and affect employers who choose to establish authorized systems
and employees who use them. The text of those temporary regulations
also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.
DATES: Written comments and requests for a public hearing must be
received by February 21, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Send submissions to: CC:DOM:CORP:T:R (EE-45-93), room 5228,
Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington,
DC 20044. In the alternative, submissions may be hand delivered between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to: CC:DOM:CORP:T:R (EE-45-93),
Courier's Desk, Internal Revenue Service, room 5228, 1111 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning submissions, Michael
Slaughter, 202-622-7190; concerning the regulations, Russ Weinheimer,
202-622-6060. These are not toll-free numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Paperwork Reduction Act
The collection of information contained in this notice of proposed
rulemaking has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget
for review in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3504(h)). Comments on the collection of information should be sent to
the Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for the
Department of the Treasury, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Washington, DC 20503, with copies to the Internal Revenue
Service, Attn: IRS Reports Clearance Officer, PC:FP, Washington, DC
20224.
The collection of information is in Sec. 31.3402(f)(5)-2T. This
information is required by the IRS to ensure that, if the IRS requests
it, employers will be able to furnish a hard copy of the electronic
Form W-4. This information will be used to verify that the employer
used the electronic Form W-4 data properly. The likely respondents are
state and local governments, business or other for-profit institutions,
federal agencies or employees, nonprofit institutions, and small
businesses or organizations. Estimated total annual reporting burden:
40,000 hours. The estimated annual burden per respondent varies from 10
minutes to 20 minutes, depending on individual circumstances, with an
estimated average of 15 minutes.
Estimated number of respondents: 2,000.
Estimated annual frequency of responses: on occasion.
Background
The temporary regulations published in the Rules and Regulations
section of this issue of the Federal Register add Sec. 31.3402(f)(5)-2T
to the Employment Tax Regulations.
The text of those temporary regulations also serves as the text of
these proposed regulations. The preamble to the temporary regulations
explains the temporary regulations. Comments are specifically requested
on whether electronic systems should be allowed for additional
categories of Forms W-4 and the extent to which employers should be
allowed to mandate the use of an electronic system, to assist the IRS
in determining the appropriate balance between the advantages to
employers of fully electronic systems, ensuring adequate employee
access, and the IRS's concerns relating to enforcement.
Special Analyses
It has been determined that this notice of proposed rulemaking is
not a significant regulatory action as defined in Executive Order
12866. Therefore, a regulatory assessment is not required. It has also
been determined that section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act
(5 U.S.C. chapter 5) and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
chapter 6) do not apply to these regulations and, therefore, a
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required. Pursuant to section
7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, this notice of proposed
rulemaking will be submitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration for comment on its impact on small
business.
Comments and Requests for a Public Hearing
Before these proposed regulations are adopted as final regulations,
consideration will be given to any written comments (a signed original
and eight (8) copies) that are submitted timely to the IRS. All
comments will be available for public inspection and copying. A public
hearing may be scheduled if requested in any writing by any person that
timely submits written comments. If a public hearing is scheduled,
notice of the date, time, and place for the hearing will be published
in the Federal Register.
Drafting Information
The principal author of these proposed regulations is Russ
Weinheimer, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits
and Exempt Organizations), IRS. However, other personnel from the IRS
and Treasury Department participated in their development.
List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 31
Employment taxes, Income taxes, Penalties, Pensions, Railroad
retirement, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Social security,
Unemployment compensation.
Proposed Amendments to the Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 31 is proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 31--EMPLOYMENT TAXES AND COLLECTION OF INCOME TAX AT SOURCE
Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 31 continues to
read in part as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
Par. 2. Section 31.3402(f)(5)-2 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 31.3402(f)(5)-2 Electronic filing of withholding exemption
certificates.
[The text of this proposed section is the same as the text of
Sec. 31.3402(f)(5)-2T published elsewhere in this issue of the
Federal Register].
Margaret Milner Richardson,
Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
[FR Doc. 94-31289 Filed 12-20-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-U
