SECTION 4. DRAFTING — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2015-13

INFORMATION

The principal author of this notice is Jennifer C. Bernardini of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs & Special Industries). For further information regarding this notice contact Ms. Bernardini on (202) 317-6853 (not a toll-free number).

Empowerment Zone Designation Extension

Notice 2015–26

I. PURPOSE

This notice explains how a State or local government amends the nomination of an empowerment zone to provide for a new termination date of December 31, 2014, as provided for by § 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by § 753(c) of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111– 312, 124 Stat. 3296 (December 17, 2010) (TRUIRJCA), § 327(c) of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112–240, 126 Stat. 2313 (January 2, 2013) (ATRA), and § 139(b) of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, Pub. L. 113–295, ___ Stat. ____ (December 19, 2014) (TIPA).

II. BACKGROUND

In 1993, § 1391 was enacted to allow a State or local government (“entity”) to nominate an area or areas in its jurisdiction for designation as an empowerment zone. Subsequently, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in the case of any nominated area that is located in an urban area, and the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of any nominated area that is located in a rural area, have designated which nominated areas are empowerment zones. The entities generally provided in their nomination that the designation would remain in effect for 10 years. This 10-year period in the nomination typically ended on December 31, 2009, but in some cases, it expired before December 31, 2009. In the latter cases, § 112 of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106–554, 114 Stat. 2763A–587 (December 21, 2000) (CRTRA), amended § 1391(d)(1) to extend the designation of those empowerment zones through December 31, 2009, regardless of the period provided in the nomination. Accordingly, the nomination for all empowerment zones originally had a termination date of December 31, 2009.

Prior to the enactment of TRUIRJCA, ATRA, and TIPA, § 1391(d)(1) provided that any designation of an empowerment

March 30, 2015 814 Bulletin No. 2015–13

zone ends on the earliest of (A) December 31, 2009, (B) the termination date designated by the State and local governments as provided for in their nomination, or (C) the date the appropriate Secretary revokes the designation. Section 1393(a)(1) defines the term “appropriate Secretary” as meaning the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the case of any nominated area that is located in an urban area, and the Secretary of Agriculture in the case of any nominated area that is located in a rural area.

Section 753(a) of TRUIRJCA amended § 1391(d)(1) to allow a two-year extension of the period for which the designation of an empowerment zone is in effect. As amended by § 753(a) of TRUIRJCA, § 1391(d)(1) provided that any designation of an empowerment zone ends on the earliest of (A) December 31, 2011, (B) the termination date designated by the State and local governments as provided for in their nomination, or (C) the date the appropriate Secretary revokes the designation. Section 753(c) of TRUIRJCA provided that where the nomination of an empowerment zone included a termination date of December 31, 2009, § 1391(d)(1)(B) shall not apply with respect to such designation if, after the date of the enactment of TRUIRJCA, the entity that made such nomination amends the nomination, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury may provide, to provide for a new termination date. The amendments made by § 753 of TRUIRJCA apply to periods after December 31, 2009.

Section 327(a) of ATRA further amended § 1391(d)(1) to allow an additional extension of two years of the period for which the designation of an empowerment zone is in effect. As amended by § 327(a) of ATRA, § 1391(d)(1) provided that any designation of an empowerment zone ends on the earliest of (A) December 31, 2013, (B) the termination date designated by the State and local governments as provided for in their nomination, or (C) the date the appropriate Secretary revokes the designation. Section 327(c) of ATRA provided that where a nomination of an empowerment zone included a termination date of December 31, 2011, § 1391(d)(1)(B) shall not apply with respect to such designation if, after the date of the enactment of ATRA, the entity that

made such nomination amends the nomination, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury may provide, to provide for a new termination date. The amendments made by § 327 of ATRA apply to periods after December 31, 2011.

In 2013, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2013–38, 2013–25 I.R.B. 1251, under TRUIRJCA and ATRA. Notice 2013–38 provided that any nomination for an empowerment zone that was in effect on December 31, 2009, is deemed to be amended to provide for a new termination date of December 31, 2013, unless the nominating entity declined the extension in a written notification to the IRS. No nominating entity declined the extension. Accordingly, the designations of all empowerment zones that were in effect on December 31, 2009, currently have a termination date of December 31, 2013.

Section 139(a) of TIPA further amended § 1391(d)(1) to allow an additional extension of one year of the period for which the designation of an empowerment zone is in effect. As amended by § 139(a) of TIPA, § 1391(d)(1) provides that any designation of an empowerment zone ends on the earliest of (A) December 31, 2014, (B) the termination date designated by the State and local governments as provided for in their nomination, or (C) the date the appropriate Secretary revokes the designation. Section 139(b) of TIPA provides that where a nomination of an empowerment zone included a termination date of December 31, 2013, § 1391(d)(1)(B) shall not apply with respect to such designation if, after the date of the enactment of TIPA, the entity that made such nomination amends the nomination, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury may provide, to provide for a new termination date. The amendments made by § 139 of TIPA apply to periods after December 31, 2013.

Thus, under TIPA, to have an empowerment zone designation remain in effect through December 31, 2014, the entity that made the nomination of the empowerment zone must amend the nomination to provide for a new termination date of December 31, 2014, as provided in this guidance.

III. AMENDMENT OF A NOMINATION TO EXTEND EMPOWERMENT ZONE DESIGNATION THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2014

Any nomination for an empowerment zone with a current termination date (as amended by CRTRA and Notice 2013–38) of December 31, 2013, is deemed to be amended to provide for a new termination date of December 31, 2014, unless the nominating entity sends written notification to the IRS by May 11, 2015. The written notification must affirmatively decline extension of the empowerment zone nomination through December 31, 2014. If the United States mail is used, the notification should be sent to the following address:

Internal Revenue Service Attn: Charles Magee, CC:ITA:7, Room 4136 P.O. Box 7604 Ben Franklin Station Washington, D.C. 20044

If a private delivery service is used, the notification should be sent to the following address:

Internal Revenue Service Attn: Charles Magee, CC:ITA:7, Room 4136 1111 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20044

If the entity that nominated an empowerment zone does not send written notification, the nomination of that empowerment zone will be deemed extended from December 31, 2013, through December 31, 2014. Accordingly, § 1391(d)(1)(B) does not apply and, pursuant to § 1391(d)(1)(A)(i), the designation of that empowerment zone ends on December 31, 2014.

IV. DRAFTING INFORMATION

The principal author of this notice is Charles Magee of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax & Accounting). For further information regarding this notice contact Mr. Magee at (202) 317-7005 (not a toll-free number).

Bulletin No. 2015–13 815 March 30, 2015

Public Comment Invited on Recommendations for 2015–2016 Priority Guidance Plan

Notice 2015–27

The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (Service) invite public comment on recommendations for items that should be included on the 2015–2016 Priority Guidance Plan. The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and the Service use the Priority Guidance Plan each year to identify and prioritize the tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other published administrative guidance. The 2015–2016 Priority Guidance Plan will identify guidance projects that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to work on actively as priorities during the period from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016. The Treasury Department and the Service recognize the importance of public input to formulate a Priority Guidance Plan that focuses resources on guidance items that are most important to taxpayers and tax administration. Published guidance plays an important role in increasing voluntary compliance by helping to clarify ambiguous areas of the tax law. The published guidance process is most successful if the Treasury Department and the Service have the benefit of the experience and knowledge of taxpayers and practitioners who must apply the rules implementing the internal revenue laws.

As is the case whenever significant legislation is enacted, the Treasury Department and the Service have continued to dedicate substantial resources during the current plan year to published guidance projects necessary to implement the provisions of various tax Acts that have been enacted over the past several years including, but not limited to, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, Pub. L. No. 111–147, 124 Stat. 71, which was enacted on March 18, 2010; the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111–148, 124 Stat. 119, which was enacted on March 23, 2010; the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, Pub. L. No. 111–152, 124 Stat. 1029,

which was enacted on March 30, 2010; the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Pub. L. No. 113–235, 128 Stat. 2130 (which includes the Expatriate Health Coverage Clarification Act of 2014 (Division M) and the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (Division O)), enacted on December 16, 2014; and the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, Pub. L. No. 113–295, 128 Stat. 4010 (which includes the Tax Technical Corrections Act of 2014 and the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014), enacted on December 19, 2014. The Treasury Department and the Service will continue to evaluate the priority of each guidance project in light of the above-mentioned tax legislation and other developments occurring during the 2015–2016 plan year.

In reviewing recommendations and selecting projects for inclusion on the 2015– 2016 Priority Guidance Plan, the Treasury Department and the Service will consider the following:

Whether the recommended guidance resolves significant issues relevant to many taxpayers;
Whether the recommended guidance promotes sound tax administration;
Whether the recommended guidance can be drafted in a manner that will enable taxpayers to easily understand and apply the guidance;
Whether the recommended guidance involves regulations that are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome and that should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed;
Whether the Service can administer the recommended guidance on a uniform basis; and
Whether the recommended guidance reduces controversy and lessens the burden on taxpayers or the Service.

Please submit recommendations by May 1, 2015, for possible inclusion on the original 2015–2016 Priority Guidance Plan. Taxpayers may, however, submit recommendations for guidance at any time during the year. The Treasury Department and the Service may update the 2015–2016 Priority Guidance Plan periodically to reflect additional guidance that the Treasury Department and the Service intend to publish during the plan year. The

periodic updates allow the Treasury Department and the Service to respond to the need for additional guidance that may arise during the plan year.

Taxpayers are not required to submit recommendations for guidance in any particular format. Taxpayers should, however, briefly describe the recommended guidance and explain the need for the guidance. In addition, taxpayers may include an analysis of how the issue should be resolved. It would be helpful if taxpayers suggesting more than one guidance project prioritize the projects by order of importance. If a large number of projects are being suggested, it would be helpful if the projects were grouped in terms of high, medium, or low priority. Requests for guidance in the form of petitions for rulemaking will be considered with other recommendations for guidance in accordance with the considerations described in this notice.

Taxpayers may mail comments 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

or hand deliver comments Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 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

Alternatively, taxpayers may submit comments electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations. gov (type IRS–2015–0008 in the search field on the regulations.gov 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.

For further information regarding this notice, contact Emily M. Lesniak of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration) at (202) 3173400 (not a toll-free number).

March 30, 2015 816 Bulletin No. 2015–13

26 CFR 601.201: Rulings and determination letters (Also Part I, §§ 501(c)(3), 501(r), 1.501(r)–2)

Rev. Proc. 2015–21