[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70813-70815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29372]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed New Privacy Act 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,
Internal Revenue Service, gives notice of a proposed new system of
records entitled ``Treasury/IRS 37.111--Preparer Tax Identification
Number Records.''
DATES: Comments must be received no later than December 15, 2011. This
new system of records will be effective December 20, 2011 unless the
IRS receives comments that would result in a contrary determination.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Governmental
Liaison and Disclosure, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224. Comments will be available for
inspection and copying in the Freedom of Information Reading Room (Room
1621), at the above address. The telephone number for the Reading Room
is (202) 622-5164 (not a toll-free number).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David R. Williams, Director, Return
Preparer Office, 1111 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20224.
Phone: (202) 927-6428 (not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Return Preparer Review initiative
represents a big step toward meeting the IRS strategic plan goals of
increasing taxpayer compliance and ensuring uniform and high ethical
standards of conduct for paid tax return preparers. The major
components of the program include requiring paid tax return preparers
to register with the IRS and obtain a preparer tax identification
number (PTIN), requiring competency measurements (by testing or through
other professional licensing) for paid tax return preparers, requiring
continuing professional education for paid tax return preparers,
extending the ethical rules found in Treasury Department Circular 230
to all paid tax return preparers, assessing the quality of return
preparation and performing tax compliance checks and suitability checks
on paid tax return preparers, and developing a publicly accessible and
searchable database of paid tax return preparers who have registered
and been issued a PTIN.
The proposed system will maintain administrative records pertaining
to the issuance of PTINs to registered paid tax return preparers. This
registration program will allow the IRS to better serve the public by
requiring paid tax return preparers to register with the IRS, and to
obtain and regularly renew their preparer tax identification number
(PTIN). Paid tax return preparers may be subject to suitability checks,
including background, fingerprint, and tax compliance checks, and to
ethics and other regulatory rules; may be required to take competency
tests; and may need to secure continuing education credits. IRS intends
to notify the public of who is registered, and may provide to the
public information sufficient to advise the public if a preparer is
removed from the program. The IRS will also maintain information about
individual providers of continuing education for paid tax return
preparers, and intends to make certain information about these
providers available to the public to assist return preparers in
locating appropriate continuing education opportunities and to enable
taxpayers to know the subject matter of courses a paid tax return
preparer may have taken.
A proposed rule exempting the proposed system of records from
certain provisions of the Privacy Act will be published separately in
the Federal Register.
One provision of the Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(5), allows an agency to
exempt qualifying material and is frequently overlooked by the public
until it is invoked by an agency. The Internal Revenue Service is
providing notice of its authority to assert the exemption granted by
subsection (d)(5) to any record maintained in any of its systems of
records when appropriate to do so. 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(5) states that
``nothing in this [Act] shall allow an individual access to any
information compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or
proceeding.'' This subsection permits an agency to withhold a record
from the access provisions of the Privacy Act and reflects Congress's
intent to exclude civil litigation files which includes quasi-judicial
administrative hearings from access under subsection (d)(1). Unlike the
other Privacy Act exemptions (see 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) and (k)),
subsection (d)(5) is entirely ``self-executing,'' and as such it does
not require an implementing regulation in order to be effective.
[[Page 70814]]
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 the Office of
Management and Budget.
The system of records entitled ``Treasury/IRS 37.111--Preparer Tax
Identification Number Records'' is published in its entirety below.
Dated: October 24, 2011.
Melissa Hartman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
Treasury/IRS 37.111
SYSTEM NAME:
Preparer Tax Identification Number Records.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
National Office, Field Offices, Campuses, and Computing Centers.
(See IRS Appendix A for addresses of IRS offices.)
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Applicants for a PTIN; registered paid tax return preparers
(individuals issued a PTIN); individuals whose application or
registration is rejected, revoked, or suspended. Individual providers
of continuing education for paid tax return preparers, including
applicants for IRS approval, approved providers, and former providers.
Individual contractors who assist the IRS in reviewing continuing
education provider applications. Individuals who communicate with the
IRS regarding the paid tax return preparer registration program or
about any specific paid tax return preparer or continuing education
provider.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Administrative records pertaining to paid tax return preparers,
including records pertaining to applications for registration, renewal
of registration, revocations, suspensions, and appeals; records
pertaining to IRS investigation and evaluation of eligibility for
registration; records relating to proof of identity for applicants who
do not have Social Security Numbers; records related to competency
testing, including applications, answer sheets, and test scores;
records related to background, fingerprint, and tax compliance checks;
records on continuing education requirements to become a registered
paid tax return preparer; and information related to testing and
education exemptions due to supervised status and types of returns
prepared. Records pertaining to individual providers of continuing
education for paid tax return preparers, including applications for IRS
approval of courses or programs, grants and denials of such
applications, and records of participation in offered courses and
programs. Records pertaining to individual contractors who assist IRS
in reviewing continuing education provider applications. Records
pertaining to received communications.
Note: Disciplinary records pertaining to registered paid tax
return preparers are maintained in Treasury/IRS 37.007, Practitioner
Disciplinary Records.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
5 U.S.C. 301; 26 U.S.C. 7801 and 7803; 31 U.S.C. 330.
PURPOSE(S):
To administer records pertaining to the issuance of Preparer Tax
Identification Numbers (PTINs) to registered paid tax return preparers.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
Returns and return information may be disclosed only as authorized
by 26 USC 6103. Material covered by rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure may be disclosed only as permitted by that rule. All
other records may be used as described below if the IRS deems that the
purpose of the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which IRS
collected the records, and no privilege is asserted.
(1) Disclose information to the Department of Justice (DOJ) when
seeking legal advice or for use in any proceeding, or in preparation
for any proceeding, when: (a) The IRS or any component thereof; (b) any
IRS employee in his or her official capacity; (c) any IRS employee in
his or her individual capacity if the IRS or DOJ has agreed to provide
representation for the employee; or (d) the United States is a party
to, has an interest in, or is likely to be affected by, the proceeding
and the IRS determines that the records are relevant and necessary to
the proceeding or advice sought.
(2) Disclose information during a proceeding before a court,
administrative tribunal, or other adjudicative body when: (a) The IRS
or any component thereof; (b) any IRS employee in his or her official
capacity; (c) any IRS employee in his or her personal capacity if the
IRS or DOJ has agreed to provide representation for the employee; or
(d) the United States is a party to, has an interest in, or is likely
to be affected by, the proceeding and the IRS or DOJ determines that
the information is relevant and necessary to the proceeding.
Information may be disclosed to the adjudicative body to resolve issues
of relevancy, necessity, or privilege pertaining to the information.
(3) Disclose information to an arbitrator, mediator, or other
neutral, in the context of alternative dispute resolution, to the
extent relevant and necessary for resolution of the matters presented,
including asserted privileges. Information may also be disclosed to the
parties in the alternative dispute resolution proceeding.
(4) Disclose to a Federal, State, local, or tribal agency, or other
public authority, which has requested information relevant or necessary
to hiring or retaining an employee, or issuing or continuing a
contract, security clearance, license, grant, or other benefit.
(5) Disclose pertinent information to an appropriate Federal,
State, local, or tribal agency, or other public authority, responsible
for implementing or enforcing, or for investigating or prosecuting the
violation of, a statute, rule, regulation, order, or license, when a
record on its face, or in conjunction with other records, indicates a
potential violation of law or regulation and the information disclosed
is relevant to any regulatory, enforcement, investigative, or
prosecutorial responsibility of the receiving authority.
(6) Disclose information to foreign governments in accordance with
international agreements.
(7) Disclose information to third parties during the course of an
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent
to the investigation.
(8) Disclose information to professional organizations or
associations with which individuals covered by this system of records
may be affiliated, such as state bar and accountancy disciplinary
authorities, to meet their responsibilities in connection with the
administration and maintenance of standards of conduct and discipline.
(9) To the extent consistent with the American Bar Association's
Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 4.2, disclose to a person the
fact that his chosen legal representative may not be authorized to
represent him before the IRS.
(10) Disclose information to a contractor, including an expert
witness or a consultant, hired by the IRS, to the extent necessary for
the performance of a contract.
(11) Disclose information to a supervised tax return preparer
sufficient
[[Page 70815]]
to identify the supervising tax return preparer, and information to a
supervising tax return preparer sufficient to identify the tax return
preparers who have named that individual as their supervisor.
(12) Disclose information to a contractor's financial institution
to the extent necessary for the processing of PTIN application and
registration fee payments.
(13) Disclose information to a former employee of the IRS to the
extent necessary for personnel-related or other official purposes when
the IRS requires information and/or consultation assistance from the
former employee regarding a matter within that person's former area of
responsibility.
(14) Disclose information to the public sufficient to identify
individuals who have registered with the IRS as a paid tax return
preparer and been issued a PTIN, and to advise the public when such an
individual is removed from the program.
(15) Disclose information to the public sufficient to identify
individual providers of continuing education for paid tax return
preparers, including contact information.
(16) Disclose information to appropriate agencies, entities, and
persons when: (a) The IRS suspects or has confirmed that the security
or confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised; (b) the IRS 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 IRS 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 IRS efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise
and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
Paper and electronic media.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Records pertaining to paid tax return preparers may be retrieved by
the preparer's Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), name,
Taxpayer Identification Number (Social Security Number or Employer
Identification Number), or application number. Records pertaining to
individual continuing education providers may be retrieved by provider
name, Taxpayer Identification Number, application number, or course or
program number. Records pertaining to contractors may be retrieved by
contractor name or Taxpayer Identification Number, or by contract
number. Records pertaining to communications with individuals regarding
the paid tax return preparer registration program may be retrieved by
the name of the individual or the name or other identifying information
of a paid tax return preparer or a continuing education provider
identified in the communication. Records may also be retrieved by IRS
employee identification number for the employee assigned to the case,
project, or determination.
SAFEGUARDS:
Only persons authorized by law will have access to these records.
Security standards will not be less than those published in TD P 71-10,
Department of the Treasury Security Manual, and IRM 10, Security,
Privacy and Assurance.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Record retention will be established in accordance with the
National Archives and Records Administration Regulations Part 1228,
Subpart B--Scheduling Records.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Director, Return Preparer Office, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC, 20224. Phone: (202) 927-6428 (not a toll-free number).
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Individuals seeking notification and access to any record contained
in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may
inquire in writing in accordance with instructions appearing at 31 CFR,
Part 1, Appendix B. Written inquiries should be addressed to Director,
ETA, Wage and Investment, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC,
20224. This system of records contains records that are exempt from the
notification, access and contest requirements pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552a(k)(2).
RECORDS ACCESS PROCEDURES:
See ``Notification Procedure'' above.
CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:
26 U.S.C. 7852(e) prohibits Privacy Act amendment of tax records.
With respect to records other than tax records, see ``Notification
Procedure'' above.
RECORDS SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Applicants and registered paid tax return preparers; Treasury and
other Federal agency records; state and municipal government agencies;
contractors; continuing education providers; witnesses; professional
organizations; publicly available records such as real estate records
and news media.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
Some of the records in this system are exempt from sections (c)(3),
(d)(1)-(4), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G)-(I), and (f) of the Privacy Act, pursuant
to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2). (See 31 CFR 1.36)
[FR Doc. 2011-29372 Filed 11-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P