Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 29, 2021 / Proposed Rules
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1

The increase in the user fee is primarily attributable to increases in salary and benefits for employees conducting activities related to the EA
SEE program. The proposed user fee accounts for the time and personnel necessary to oversee the development and administration of the EA SEE and to ensure the contractor complies with the terms of its contract. The IRSs oversight costs include costs associated with: 1 Review and approval of materials used by the contractor in developing the EA SEE; 2 review of surveys of existing enrolled agents, which help to determine the topics to be covered in the EA SEE; 3 composition of potential EA SEE questions in coordination with the contractors external tax law experts; and 4
analysis of the answers and raw scores of a testing population to determine a passing score.
In addition, IRS personnel ensure the contractors compliance with its contract by reviewing the work of the contractor using an annual Work Breakdown Structurea project management tooland reviewing and verifying that the contractor is in compliance with a Quality Assurance Plan measuring customer satisfaction and accuracy. The IRS incurs additional costs associated with enforcing compliance with the Treasury contractor personnel security and training policies, Federal Information Security Modernization Act FISMA, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other laws, regulations and policies in the scope of the EA SEE
contract; monitoring the contractors help desk; and the resolution of testrelated issues such as cheating incidents, appeals regarding test scores, refund requests, and customer service complaints that are not resolved by the contractor.
D. Calculation of User Fees Generally The IRS follows generally accepted accounting principles GAAP in calculating the full cost of overseeing the EA SEE. The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board FASAB is the body that establishes GAAP that apply for Federal reporting entities, such as the IRS. FASAB publishes the FASAB Handbook of Accounting Standards and Other Pronouncements, as Amended Current Handbook, which is available at https files.fasab.gov/
pdffiles/2020_fasab_handbook.pdf. The Current Handbook includes the Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards SFFAS No. 4:
Managerial Cost Accounting Standards and Concepts. SFFAS No. 4 establishes internal costing standards under GAAP

VerDate Sep<11>2014

20:02 Sep 28, 2021

Jkt 253001

to accurately measure and manage the full cost of Federal programs, and the methodology below is in accordance with SFFAS No. 4.
1. Cost Center Allocation The IRS determines the cost of its services and the activities involved in producing them through a cost accounting system that tracks costs to organizational units. The lowest organizational unit in the IRSs cost accounting system is called a cost center. Cost centers are usually separate offices that are distinguished by subject matter area of responsibility or geographic region. All costs of operating a cost center are recorded in the IRSs cost accounting system. The costs charged to a cost center are the direct costs for the cost centers activities in addition to allocated overhead. Some cost centers work on different services across the IRS and are not fully devoted to the services for which the IRS charges user fees.
2. Cost Estimation of Direct Costs The IRS uses various cost measurement techniques to estimate the costs attributable to oversight of the EA
SEE. These techniques include using various timekeeping systems to measure the time required to accomplish activities, or using information provided by subject matter experts on the time devoted to a service or activity. To determine the labor and benefits costs incurred to provide the service of providing the EA SEE, the IRS estimated the number of full-time employees required to conduct activities related to the costs of overseeing the EA SEE. The number of full-time employees is based on both current employment numbers and future hiring estimates. Other direct costs associated with overseeing the EA
SEE include travel, training, and supplies.
3. Overhead When the indirect cost of a service or activity is not specifically identified from the cost accounting system, an overhead rate is added to the identifiable direct cost to arrive at full cost. Overhead is an indirect cost of operating an organization that is not specifically identified with an activity.
Overhead includes costs of resources that are jointly or commonly consumed by one or more organizational units activities but are not specifically identifiable to a single activity.
These costs can include:
General management and administrative services of sustaining and supporting organizations.

PO 00000

Frm 00010

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

53895

Facilities management and ground maintenance services security, rent, utilities, and building maintenance.
Procurement and contracting services.
Financial management and accounting services.
Information technology services.
Services to acquire and operate property, plants, and equipment.
Publication, reproduction, and graphics and video services.
Research, analytical, and statistical services.
Human resources/personnel services.
Library and legal services.
To calculate the overhead allocable to a service, the IRS multiplies an overhead rate by the estimated direct costs. The IRS calculates the overhead rate annually based on the Statement of Net Cost included in the IRS annual financial statements. The financial statements are audited by the Government Accountability Office. The overhead rate is the ratio of the IRSs indirect costs divided by the direct costs of its organizational units. Indirect costs are labor, benefits, and non-labor costs excluding IT related to taxpayer services, enforcement, and business system modernization from the supporting and sustaining organizational units. Direct costs are the labor, benefits, and non-labor costs for the IRSs organizational units that interact directly with taxpayers.
For the EA SEE user fee review, the Fiscal Year FY 2021 overhead rate of 58.83 percent was used. The rate was calculated based on the FY 2020
Statement of Net Cost as follows:
Total Indirect Costs Total Direct Costs Overhead Rate

$4,274,512,375
$7,265,460,800
58.83%

E. Calculation of the EA SEE User Fee 1. Cost Estimate The IRS projected the estimated costs of direct labor and benefits based on the actual salary and benefits of employees who devote time to oversee the administration of the EA SEE program, reduced to reflect the percentage of time each individual spends overseeing the EA SEE program. RPOs managers estimated the percentage of time these employees devote to overseeing the EA
SEE based on their knowledge of actual program assignments. Six employees devote seventy-five percent of their time to EA SEE-related activities. Two employees who are contracting officer representatives devote 90 percent and 80 percent of their time, respectively, to EA SEE-related activities. Additional
E:FRFM29SEP1.SGM

29SEP1