Proposed Collection; Comment Request

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for

public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad

Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data

collections.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information

collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the information has practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection

of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize

the burden related to the collection of information on respondents,

including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

Title and purpose of information collection: Nonresident

Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0145. Under Public Law 98-21 and 98-76 benefits

under the Railroad Retirement Act payable to annuitants living outside

the United States may be subject to taxation under United States income

tax laws.

Whether the social security equivalent and non-social security

equivalent portions of Tier 1, Tier 2, vested dual benefit, or

supplemental annuity payments are subject to tax withholding, and

whether the same or different rates are applied to each payment, depend

on a beneficiary's citizenship and legal residence status, and whether

exemption under a tax treaty between the United States and the country

in which the beneficiary is a legal resident.

To effect the required tax withholding, the Railroad Retirement

Board (RRB) needs to know a nonresident's citizenship and legal

residence status.

To secure the required information, the RRB utilizes Form RRB-1001,

Nonresident Questionnaire, as a supplement to an application as part of

the initial application process, and as an independent vehicle for

obtaining the needed information when an annuitant's residence or tax

treaty status changes. Completion is voluntary. One response is

requested of each respondent.

The RRB proposes a minor editorial change to Form RRB-1001 to

incorporate language required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The completion time for Form RRB-1001 is

[[Page 64402]]

estimated at 5 minutes at the time of an initial filing and 3 minutes

when completed as part of the tax exemption renewal process.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: To request more information or to

obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/

or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312)

751-3363. Comments regarding the information collection should be

addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush

Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. Written comments should be

received within 60 days of this notice.

Chuck Mierzwa,

Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 96-70881 Filed 12-3-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905-01-M