1 See Institute Memorandum to Tax Members No. 49-96, Operations Members No. 47-96, Closed-End Investment Company Members No. 36-96, Unit Investment Trust Members No. 54-96 and
Transfer Agent Advisory Committee No. 63-96, dated November 1, 1996.
2 See e.g., Institute Memorandum to Tax Committee No. 28-96, Operations Members No. 16-96, Closed-End Fund Committee No. 25-96, Unit Investment Trust Committee No. 34-96 and Transfer
Agent Advisory Committee No. 45-96, dated August 5, 1996.
November 15, 1996
TO: TAX MEMBERS No. 51-96
OPERATIONS MEMBERS No. 48-96
CLOSED-END INVESTMENT COMPANY MEMBERS No. 40-96
UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST MEMBERS No. 57-96
TRANSFER AGENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 65-96
RE: IRS ADOPTS INSTITUTE POSITION ON LOGOS
______________________________________________________________________________
We are pleased to inform you that the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") today issued the
attached Notice 96-62 regarding the permissible use of "logos" on substitute IRS Forms 1099
mailed to payees. The guidance, which clarifies comments made by an IRS speaker at the
Institutes 1996 Operations Conference,1 adopts the Institutes position on logo use.2
Specifically, the Notice announces that IRS will issue amended regulations that "generally will permit logos (including the name of the payor in any
typeface, font, or stylized fashion and/or a symbolic icon) and identifying slogans, provided the logo or identifying slogan is used by the payor in the ordinary
course of its trade or business. However . . . the use of a logo or identifying slogan must not make it less likely that a reasonable payee will recognize the
importance of the payee statement for tax reporting purposes."
Regarding penalty enforcement, the Notice announces that "the Service will not impose penalties in connection with a payor*s use on a payee
statement of a logo or an identifying slogan that satisfies these requirements."
We will keep you informed of developments.
Keith D. Lawson
Associate Counsel - Tax
Attachment
Note: Not all recipients of this memo will receive an attachment. If you wish to obtain a copy of the attachment referred to in this memo, please call the
Institute’s Information Resource Center at (202)326-8304, and ask for this memo’s attachment number: 8404.