Part III. — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2003-4

The rate of interest on 30-year Treasury Securities for December 2002 is 4.92 percent. Pursuant to Notice 2002–26, 2002–15 I.R.B. 743, the Service has determined this rate as the monthly average of the daily determination of yield on the 30-year Treasury bond maturing in February 2031.

Section 405 of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 amended § 412(l)(7)(C) of the Code to provide that for plan years beginning in 2002 and 2003 the permissible range is extended to 120 percent.

The following rates were determined for the plan years beginning in the month shown below.

Weighted Average Interest Rate Update

Notice 2003–7

Sections 412(b)(5)(B) and 412(l)(7)(C)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code provide that the interest rates used to calculate current liability for purposes of determining the full funding limitation under § 412(c)(7) and the required contribution under § 412(l) must be within a permissible range around the weighted average of the rates of interest on 30-year Treasury securities during the fouryear period ending on the last day before the beginning of the plan year.

Notice 88–73, 1988–2 C.B. 383, provides guidelines for determining the weighted average interest rate and the resulting permissible range of interest rates

used to calculate current liability for the purpose of the full funding limitation of § 412(c)(7) of the Code.

Section 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) of the Code defines the applicable interest rate, which must be used for purposes of determining the minimum present value of a participant’s benefit under § 417(e)(1) and (2), as the annual rate of interest on 30-year Treasury securities for the month before the date of distribution or such other time as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe. Section 1.417(e)–1(d)(3) of the Income Tax Regulations provides that the applicable interest rate for a month is the annual interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities as specified by the Commissioner for that month in revenue rulings, notices or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.

Month Year Weighted

Average

90% to 110% Permissible

Range

90% to 120% Permissible

Range

January 2003 5.54 4.98 to 6.09 4.98 to 6.65

Drafting information

The principal author of this notice is Todd Newman of the Employee Plans, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. For further information regarding this notice, please contact the Employee Plans’ taxpayer assistance telephone service at 1–877–829–5500 (a toll-free number), between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Mr. Newman may be reached at 1–202– 283–9888 (not a toll-free number).

Information Reporting for Securities Futures Contracts

Notice 2003–8

Until further notice, the Internal Revenue Service will not require information reporting under Code section 6045 with respect to securities futures contracts.

Background

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (the “Act”) authorized trading in securities futures contracts (“SFCs”). The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Act, defines a SFC generally as a contract of sale for future delivery of a single security or a narrowbased security index. See 15 U.S.C. § 78c(a)(55)(A) (2000).

Section 6045(a) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that brokers, when required by the Secretary, must make a return, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, regarding each of the broker’s customers, with such details regarding gross proceeds and other information as the Secretary may by forms or regulations require.

Deferral of Potential Information Reporting Obligations

The Service will issue published guidance identifying the circumstances, if any, in which brokers must file information returns under section 6045 regarding SFC in

vestments or transactions of the brokers’ customers. Depending on the conclusions reached, this guidance may take the form of regulations, of a notice published in the Federal Register, or of a publication in the Internal Revenue Bulletin . Pending this guidance, the Service will not require information reporting under section 6045 with respect to SFCs. Thus, to the extent current law can be interpreted as requiring brokers to prepare information returns under section 6045 with respect to SFCs, no such returns will be required pending issuance of the guidance described above. This Notice 2003–8 does not affect informationreporting obligations, if any, with respect to SFCs under any other Code section.

For further information regarding this notice, contact Nathan Rosen of the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure & Administration), Administrative Provisions and Judicial Practice Division, at (202) 622–4910 (not a toll-free call).

2003–4 I.R.B. 310 January 27, 2003

ships, trusts, and estates) that the taxpayer caused to use offshore payment cards or offshore financial arrangements, or that was the source of funds that the taxpayer caused to be transferred to a foreign jurisdiction;

(4) state the name and office location of any Service official whom the taxpayer has previously contacted about making a voluntary disclosure; and

(5) include complete information regarding the taxpayer’s introduction to offshore payment cards and offshore financial arrangements, including the following:

(a) the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any parties who promoted or solicited the taxpayer’s use of offshore payment cards or offshore financial arrangements;

(b) if known to the taxpayer, the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any parties who advised or assisted the promoters or solicitors in marketing offshore payment cards or offshore financial arrangements; and

(c) all promotional materials, transactional materials, and other related correspondence and documentation that the taxpayer at any time received regarding offshore payment cards or offshore financial arrangements. Taxpayers that send a written request to participate in the Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative by email to VCI@irs.gov must send these materials by mail or private delivery service (to the addresses provided in subsection .01 above) within five days of the email. These taxpayers should include with the materials a copy of the email sent to VCI@irs.gov.