Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 75603

Respondents: Large certificated air 

carriers. 

Number of Respondents: 40. 

Number of Responses: 40. 

Total Annual Burden: 26 hours. 

Needs and Uses: As a party to the 

Convention on International Civil 

Aviation (Treaty), the United States is 

obligated to provide ICAO with 

financial and statistical data on 

operations of U.S. carriers. Over 99% of 

the data filled with ICAO is extracted 

from the air carriers’ Form 41 

submissions to BTS. BTS Form EF is the 

means by which BTS supplies the 

remaining 1% of the air carrier data to 

ICAO. 

The Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires 

a statistical agency to clearly identify 

information it collects for non-statistical 

purposes. BTS hereby notifies the 

respondents and the public that BTS 

uses the information it collects under 

this OMB approval for non-statistical 

purposes including, but not limited to, 

publication of both Respondent’s 

identity and its data, submission of the 

information to agencies outside BTS for 

review, analysis and possible use in 

regulatory and other administrative 

matters.

Donald W. Bright, 

Assistant Director, Airline Information, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

[FR Doc. 04–27593 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–FE–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

Agency Information Collection; 

Activity Under OMB Review; Report of 

Financial and Operating Statistics for 

Large Certificated Air Carriers

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics invites the 

general public, industry and other 

governmental parties to comment on the 

continuing need for and usefulness of 

the BTS Form 41. Comments are 

requested concerning whether the 

continuation of Form 41 is necessary for 

DOT to carry out its mission of 

promoting air transportation; BTS 

accurately estimated the reporting 

burden; there are other ways to enhance 

the quality, use and clarity of the data 

collected; and there are ways to 

minimize reporting burden, including 

the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology.

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by February 15, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

directed to: Office of Airline 

Information, K–14, Room 4125, Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590–

0001, FAX NO. (202) 366–3383 or 

EMAIL bernard.stankus@bts.gov.

Comments: Comments should identify 

the OMB # 2138–0013. Persons wishing 

the Department to acknowledge receipt 

of their comments must submit with 

those comments a self-addressed 

stamped postcard on which the 

following statement is made: Comments 

on OMB # 2138–0013. The postcard will 

be date/time stamped and returned.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bernie Stankus, Office of Airline 

Information, K–14, Room 4125, Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics, 400 Seventh 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590–

0001, (202) 366–4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No.: 2138–0013. 

Title: Report of Financial and 

Operating Statistics for Large 

Certificated Air Carriers. 

Form No.: BTS Form 41. 

Type Of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Large certificated air 

carriers. 

Number of Respondents: 84. 

Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours 

per schedule, an average carrier may 

submit 90 schedules in one year. 

Total Annual Burden: 27,000 hours. 

Needs and Uses: Program uses for 

Form 41 data are as follows: 

Mail Rates 

The Department of Transportation 

sets and updates the international and 

mainline Alaska mail rates based on 

carrier aircraft operating expense, traffic 

and operational data. Form 41 cost data, 

especially fuel costs, terminal expenses, 

and line haul expenses are used in 

arriving at rate levels. DOT revises the 

established rates based on the 

percentage of unit cost changes in the 

carriers’ operations. These updating 

procedures have resulted in the carriers 

receiving rates of compensation that 

more closely parallel their costs of 

providing mail service and contribute to 

the carriers’ economic well-being.

Submission of U.S. Carrier Data to 

ICAO 

As a party to the Convention on 

International Civil Aviation, the United 

States is obligated to provide the 

International Civil Aviation 

Organization with financial and 

statistical data on operations of U.S. air 

carriers. Over 99 percent of the data 

filed with ICAO is extracted from the 

carriers’ Form 41 reports. 

Standard Foreign Fare and Rate Levels 

DOT uses Form 41 cost data to 

calculate the Standard Foreign Fare 

Level (SFFL) for passengers and the 

Standard Foreign Rate Level (SFRL) for 

freight. Any international fare or rate set 

below this fare level are automatically 

approved. Separate passenger fare and 

rate levels are established for Canadian, 

Atlantic, Latin America, and Pacific 

areas. In markets where liberal bilateral 

or multilateral pricing agreements 

provide for more competitive open 

market pricing, such agreements may 

take precedence over the SFFL and 

SFRL. 

Carrier Fitness 

Fitness determinations are made for 

both new entrants and established U.S. 

domestic carriers proposing a 

substantial change in operations. A 

portion of these applications consists of 

an operating plan for the first year (14 

CFR part 204) and an associated 

projection of revenues and expenses. 

The carrier’s operating costs, included 

in these projections, are compared 

against the cost data in Form 41 for a 

carrier or carriers with the same aircraft 

type and similar operating 

characteristics. Such a review validates 

the reasonableness of the carrier’s 

operating plan. 

Form 41 reports, particularly balance 

sheet reports and cash flow statements 

play a major role in the identification of 

vulnerable carriers. Data comparisons 

are made between current and past 

periods in order to assess the current 

financial position of the carrier. 

Financial trend lines are extended into 

the future to analyze the continued 

viability of the carrier. DOT reviews 

three areas of a carrier’s operation: (1) 

The qualifications of its management 

team, (2) its disposition to comply with 

laws and regulations, and (3) its 

financial posture. DOT must determine 

whether or not a carrier has sufficient 

financial resources to conduct its 

operations without imposing undue risk 

on the traveling public. Moreover, once 

a carrier is operating, DOT is required 

to monitor its continuing fitness. 

Senior DOT officials must be kept 

fully informed as to all current and 

developing economic issues affecting 

the airline industry. In preparing 

financial conditions reports or status 

reports on a particular airline, financial

75604 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 2004 / Notices 

and traffic data are analyzed. Briefing 

papers may use the same information. 

The Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), requires 

a statistical agency to clearly identify 

information it collects for non-statistical 

purposes. BTS hereby notifies the 

respondents and the public that BTS 

uses the information it collects under 

this OMB approval for non-statistical 

purposes including, but not limited to, 

publication of both Respondent’s 

identity and its data, submission of the 

information to agencies outside BTS for 

review, analysis and possible use in 

regulatory and other administrative 

matters.

Donald W. Bright, 

Assistant Director, Airline Information, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

[FR Doc. 04–27594 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–FE–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Secretary 

List of Countries Requiring 

Cooperation With an International 

Boycott 

In order to comply with the mandate 

of section 999(a)(3) of the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986, the Department 

of the Treasury is publishing a current 

list of countries which may require 

participation in, or cooperation with, an 

international boycott (within the 

meaning of section 999(b)(3) of the 

Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

On the basis of the best information 

currently available to the Department of 

the Treasury, the following countries 

may require participation in, or 

cooperation with, an international 

boycott (within the meaning of section 

999(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

of 1986): Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, 

Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, 

Syria, United Arab Emirates, and 

Yemen, Republic of.

Dated: December 13, 2004. 

Barbara Angus, 

International Tax Counsel (Tax Policy).

[FR Doc. 04–27631 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–25–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request for Form 8893

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is 

soliciting comments concerning Form 

8893, Election of Partnership Level Tax 

Treatment.

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before February 15, 2005, 

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to R. Joseph Durbala, Internal Revenue 

Service, Room 6516, 1111 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the form and instructions 

should be directed to Carol Savage at 

Internal Revenue Service, Room 6516, 

1111 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20224, or at (202) 622–

3945, or through the Internet at 

CAROL.A.SAVAGE@irs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title:

Election of Partnership Level Tax 

Treatment. 

OMB Number: 1545–1912. 

Form Number: 8893. 

Abstract: IRC section 6231(a)(1)(B)(ii) 

allows small partnerships to elect to be 

treated under the unified audit and 

litigation procedure. Form 8893 will 

allow IRS to better track these elections 

by providing a standardized format for 

this election. 

Current Actions: There are no changes 

being made to the form at this time. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents:

100. 

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 1 

hour, 27 minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 227. 

The following paragraph applies to all 

of the collections of information covered 

by this notice: 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a valid OMB control number. 

Books or records relating to a collection 

of information must be retained as long 

as their contents may become material 

in the administration of any internal 

revenue law. Generally, tax returns and 

tax return information are confidential, 

as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103. 

Request for Comments: Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information; (c) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information to be collected; (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology; 

and (e) estimates of capital or start-up 

costs and costs of operation, 

maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information.

Approved: December 13, 2004. 

R. Joseph Durbala, 

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 04–27680 Filed 12–16–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request for Form 1099–Q

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is 

soliciting comments concerning Form 

1099-Q, Payments From Qualified 

Education Programs (Under Sections 

529 and 530).

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before February 15, 2005, 

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to R. Joseph Durbala, Internal Revenue