INCOME TAX

Rev. Rul. 2002–70, page 958. Interest rates; underpayments and overpayments. The rate of interest determined under section 6621 of the Code for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2003, will be 5 percent for overpayments (4 percent in the case of a corporation), 5 percent for underpayments, and 7 percent for large corporate underpayments. The rate of interest paid on the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000 will be 2.5 percent.

T.D. 9023, page 955. Final regulations under section 1441 of the Code provide rules to allow withholding agents, who are also acceptance agents, to rely on a beneficial owner withholding certificate that does not contain an individual taxpayer identifying number (ITIN), in limited circumstances when the IRS is not issuing ITINs. Specifically, the regulations have the effect of: (1) allowing certain withholding agents to obtain ITINs on an expedited basis for foreign individuals receiving unexpected payments and claiming tax treaty benefits with respect to those payments; and (2) allowing withholding agents to make unexpected payments to foreign individuals, who do not possess ITINs, when the use of the expedited process is unavailable.

Finding Lists begin on page ii.