Posted by Sarah Loats Zimmermann
Happy Monday - hopefully you all enjoyed your weekend! I think Steve and I bombarded you with enough sports rivalry banter last week so I'll just dive into it on Monday morning...
The garnishment interim final rule has been in place for a couple of weeks now and in light of some of the questions that have come up, the Treasury Dept. has issued a set of FAQs. As a refresher, this rule provides procedures credit unions must take when they receive a garnishment order against a member who receives certain Federal benefit payments by direct deposit.
It is a short document but it does address one of the more common questions we've received. Below is Q&A #2 from the document.
2.Are tax levies subject to the rule? Currently, the requirements of the rule are
triggered by the receipt of a “garnishment order,” which is defined as an order
issued by a court or a state child support enforcement agency. Accordingly,
Federal or State tax levies issued directly by a taxing authority are not
subject to the rule. Treasury is seeking public comment on all aspects of
the rule, including whether levies should be included in the definition of
"garnishment order.” The comment period for the rule extends through
May 24, 2011.
As part of the Greenbook the Treasury Dept. has also issued Guidelines and a Quick Reference Guide.
If you are wondering what this Greenbook thing is, it is a guide for Federal ACH Payments and Collections. It is a useful guide if you receive payments from, and send payments to, the Federal government (it even devotes and entire chapter to reclamations, a topic which can cause confusion).
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