Treasury/IRS Invite Comments on 2015-2016 Priority Guidance Plan

The priority guidance plan for 2015-2016 for the Treasury Department and IRS is not yet set in stone. But they are working on it. And in Notice 2015-27, they have invited recommendations on what exactly should be in that plan.

The plan will identify projects that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to address during the period July 1, 2015-June 30, 2016 through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices and other published administrative guidance. It likely will include priorities that will affect tax treatment and regulation of retirement plans. The 2014-2015 priority guidance plan did; among the those plans were guidance on Code Section 404 on deductions for employer contributions to qualified plans, rules applicable to IRAs and final regulations relating to hybrid plans.

Factors the Treasury and the IRS will consider when they review recommendations and select projects to include on the 2015-2016 Priority Guidance Plan include whether they would:

• resolve significant issues relevant to many taxpayers;
• promote sound tax administration;
• enable taxpayers to easily understand and apply the guidance;
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• involve regulations that are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient or excessively burdensome and that should be modified, streamlined, expanded or repealed;
• lend themselves to uniform administration; and
• reduce controversy and lessen the burden on taxpayers or the IRS.

 

Recommendations must be submitted by May 1, 2015 for consideration in the formation of the plan. Recommendations do not have to be submitted in any particular format; they should, however, include a brief description of the recommended guidance and an explanation of why it is needed. They also may include an analysis of how the issue should be resolved.

Recommendations may be sent by mail to:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2015-27)
Room 5203
P.O. Box 7604
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044

They also may be hand-delivered Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. to:

Courier's Desk
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2015-27)
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20224

Comments also may be submitted electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (type IRS-2015-0008 in the search field on its homepage to find this notice and submit comments). All recommendations for guidance submitted by the public in response to this notice will be available for public inspection and copying in their entirety.