Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 436 Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Final rule amendments. SUMMARY: The FTC announces revised monetary thresholds for three exemptions from the Franchise Rule. FTC is required to adjust the size of the monetary thresholds every fourth year based upon the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers published by the Department of Labor. DATES: This final rule is effective July 1, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Tregillus, Franchise Rule Coordinator, Division of Marketing Practices, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326–2970, [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule entitled ‘‘Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising’’ (Franchise Rule or Rule) 1 provides three exemptions based on a monetary threshold: the $500 ‘‘minimum payment exemption,’’ 2 the $1 million ‘‘large franchise investment exemption’’ 3 and the $5 million ‘‘large franchisee exemption.’’ 4 The Rule requires the Commission to ‘‘adjust the size of the monetary thresholds every fourth year based upon the * * * Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers published by the Department of Labor.’’ 5 This requirement, added by the 2007 amendments to the Rule, took effect on July 1, 2007, so that franchisors would have a one-year phase-in period within which to comply with the amended Rule’s revised disclosure requirements VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:18 Jun 15, 2012 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\18JNR1.SGM 18JNR1 srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES

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36150 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 6 72 FR 15444 (Mar. 30, 2007). 7 Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers (‘‘CPI–U’’), available at ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/ special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt. 8 The Commission has rounded this figure from $542.45 to $540 for compliance clarity and simplicity.

9 See 15 U.S.C. 57a(d)(2)(B); 16 CFR 1.15(b) (providing that non-substantive amendments to trade regulation rules are exempt from the rulemaking procedures of Section 18 of the FTC Act).

10 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) (providing that ‘‘good cause’’ exists to forego notice and comment when public comment is unnecessary). 11 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 (no regulatory flexibility analyses required where the APA does not require public comment).

before the July 1, 2008, final compliance deadline.6 Between 2007 and 2011, the annual average value of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers and all items increased by 8.49 percent—from an index value of 207.342 to a value of 224.939.7 Applying the percentage increase to the three monetary thresholds increases the thresholds as follows:

Exemption Original threshold Adjusted threshold Minimum Payment $500 8 $540 Large Franchise Investment .........

1,000,000 1,084,900 Large franchisee ...

5,000,000 5,424,500 Because the calculation of these thresholds is purely ministerial in nature and implements the Rule’s mandatory adjustment mechanism, these adjustments are exempt from the rulemaking procedures specified in section 18 of the FTC Act.9 In addition, the Commission has determined that notice and comment are unnecessary under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for the same reason. The Commission, therefore, has omitted notice and comment for good cause as provided by section 553(b)(B) of the APA.10 For this reason, the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act also do not apply.11 Accordingly, the adjusted thresholds will take effect on July 1, 2012. List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 436 Advertising, Business and industry, Franchising, Trade practices. Rule Amendments For the reasons set out in the preamble of this document, the Federal Trade Commission amends 16 CFR Part 436 as follows:

PART 436—DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS CONCERNING FRANCHISING ■1. The authority citation for part 436 continues to read as follows: Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41–58. ■2. Amend ’ 436.8 as follows: ■a. In paragraph (a)(1), remove ‘‘$500’’ and, in its place, add ‘‘$540’’; ■b. In paragraph (a)(5)(i), remove all references to ‘‘$1 million’’ and, in their place, add ‘‘$1,084,900’’; and ■c. In paragraph (a)(5)(ii), remove ‘‘$5 million’’ and, in its place, add ‘‘$5,424,500’’.

By direction of the Commission. Donald S. Clark, Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2012–14785 Filed 6–15–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service 26 CFR Parts 20, 25, and 602 [TD 9593] RIN 1545–BK34 Portability of a Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion Amount AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

ACTION: Temporary regulations. SUMMARY: This document contains temporary regulations that provide guidance on the estate and gift tax applicable exclusion amount, in general, as well as on the applicable requirements for electing portability of a deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount to the surviving spouse and on the applicable rules for the surviving spouse’s use of this DSUE amount. The statutory provisions underlying the portability rules were enacted as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. The portability rules affect married spouses where the death of the first spouse to die occurs on or after January 1, 2011. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject appearing elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. DATES: Effective Date. These regulations are effective on June 15, 2012. Applicability Dates: Sections of the temporary regulation relating to portability of a deceased spousal unused exclusion amount apply to estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2011. For specific dates of applicability, see §§ 20.2001–2T(b), 20.2010–1T(e), 20.2010–2T(e), 20.2010–3T(f), 25.2505– 1T(e), and 25.2505–2T(g). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karlene Lesho (202) 622–3090 (not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Paperwork Reduction Act The collection of information contained in these regulations has been reviewed and, pending receipt and evaluation of public comments, approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1545– 0015. Responses to this collection of information are voluntary to obtain the benefit of being able to elect portability or to take advantage of the special reporting requirements applicable to certain assets, and, for certain estates, to opt out of a deemed portability election. 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 control number. For further information concerning this collection of information, and the address for the submission of comments on the collection of information and the accuracy of the estimated burden, and suggestions for reducing this burden, please refer to the preamble of the crossreferencing notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.

Books and 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.

Background On December 17, 2010, in section 303 of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Public Law 111– 312 (124 Stat. 3296, 3302) (TRUIRJCA), Congress amended section 2010(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to allow portability of the applicable exclusion amount between spouses, and it made conforming amendments to sections 2505(a), 2631(c), and 6018(a)(1) of the Code. Section 303 of TRUIRJCA directs the Secretary to issue such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out section 303(a) of TRUIRJCA.

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