Recommendation: Congress should consider establishing a long-term fiscal plan that includes fiscal rules and targets, such as a debt-to-GDP target. In doing so, Congress should weigh the key considerations discussed in this report to help ensure proper design, implementation, and enforcement of those rules and targets. (Matter for Consideration 1)

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: When we determine what steps the Congress has taken, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should change Schedule C or Form 1099-NEC so that taxpayers can identify if they received payment for platform work. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should develop a process for monitoring feedback on its communications efforts and products tailored for platform workers, which should include documenting and evaluating feedback. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should clarify the instructions and publications for Forms 1040 and 1099-K by adding plain language to clearly indicate to platform workers that the forms apply to them. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should work with the Secretary of the Treasury to amend the 6050W "tie-breaker rule" that applies to duplicative reporting requirements so that payments made through a TPSO's third party payment network are reportable under Section 6041, rather than under Section 6050W. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should work with Treasury to determine what thresholds would be the most appropriate for payment information reporting and, if warranted, recommend that Congress adjust the thresholds. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should work with the Secretary of the Treasury to implement withholding that is voluntary for companies making payments for services to platform workers and other independent contractors who choose to participate. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of IRS should assess the impact of withholding that is voluntary for companies, once implemented, and if warranted, work with the Secretary of the Treasury on a proposal to Congress that would require TPSOs to offer tax withholding to platform workers and other independent contractors who choose to participate. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the Bureau of Economic Analysis includes Puerto Rico in its reporting on gross domestic product, as it does for four other U.S. territories. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Commerce agreed with this recommendation. As of August 2018, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) received initial funding for the remainder of FY18 and FY19 to begin producing economic statistics for Puerto Rico. BEA is currently in the process of meeting with the government and other stakeholders and building a work plan, with a kick-off expected in early FY19 and initial outputs anticipated in late FY19. In addition, BEA reported taking steps to develop a work plan to calculate GDP and review the economic and demographic data currently available from the federal government and Puerto Rico. Any short-term efforts to calculate GDP will rely heavily on data currently collected by the Puerto Rico government. Additional efforts beyond FY19 are contingent on resource availability.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics, should conduct a study on the feasibility of including Puerto Rico in its reporting of the Current Population Survey. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Commerce
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Commerce agreed with this recommendation. In June 2018, the Department noted that in Fall 2016, the Census Bureau and DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that an assessment of the feasibility of expanding the Current Population Survey (CPS) data products to include Puerto Rico would cost approximately $1.5 million over an 18-month period. Commerce understands that BLS, which funds the majority of the CPS, does not have the funds within its budget to conduct a feasibility study. Given these resources constraints, Census and BLS would also not be able to absorb the costs of collecting, analyzing and producing the data in the out years. As of June 2019, Commerce has coordinated with BLS regarding the related feasibility study required per House Report 115-704. We will close this recommendation when the study is begun.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Labor, in cooperation with the Commerce's Census Bureau, should conduct a study on the feasibility of including Puerto Rico in its reporting of the Current Population Survey. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: DOL noted that in 2016, Census and its Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that an assessment of the feasibility of expanding the Current Population Survey (CPS) data products to include Puerto Rico would cost approximately $1.5 million over an 18-month period (as of June 2018). BLS, which funds the majority of the CPS, does not have the funds within its budget to conduct a feasibility study. Given these resources constraints, BLS and Census would also not be able to absorb the costs of collecting, analyzing and producing the data in the out years. In June 2019, BLS reported that it is in contact with the Census Bureau with respect to the related feasibility study required per House Report 115-704. We will close this recommendation when BLS begins this study.

Recommendation: To ensure that all relevant U.S. agencies have information on the effect of changes in U.S. policy related to Cuba, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Department of Commerce, Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other relevant agencies, should take steps to identify and begin to collect the information that would allow them to monitor changes in economic engagement, including with the Cuban private sector.

Agency: Department of State
Status: Open

Comments: State concurred with this recommendation. In April 2017, State reported that it was taking steps to identify and collect information that would enable it to monitor the Cuban economy and changes in the economic environment, including with the Cuban private sector. For example, State noted that Embassy Havana had developed a plan for in-country travel and reporting by identifying key sectors and provinces that could provide additional insights on the Cuban economy. As of July 2017, State reported that the U.S. government had paused most bilateral engagement with the Cuban government while the incoming presidential administration conducted an interagency policy review. However, State noted that during this time the U.S. embassy in Havana produced several analytic cables discussing developments in the Cuban economy. With the release of the administration's National Security Presidential Memorandum "Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba" in June 2017, State reported that it would work to implement this policy and would monitor developments in U.S. engagement with the private sector and Cuban economic trends. As of November 2017, State said that it was consulting with interagency partners on developments impacting the Cuban private sector and that it was working with other U.S. agencies to determine how to most effectively redirect resources away from the Cuban government and towards the private sector as called for in the administration's Cuba policy. However, State also noted that operations at Embassy Havana had been significantly affected by Hurricane Irma and the health attacks against U.S. diplomats in Cuba. According to State, the Secretary of State's September 2017 order for all non-emergency U.S. personnel to depart Cuba had limited the ability of Embassy Havana to report on developments there, but that the department would continue to monitor and report on Cuba's private sector to the greatest extent possible and as resources permitted. As of November 2019, State had shared with GAO reporting it had conducted related to Cuba's economy. GAO is in the process of reviewing this documentation and will be making a final decision about whether State has taken sufficient steps to implement GAO's recommendation.

Recommendation: To better balance the benefits of expedited rulemaking procedures with the benefits of public comments that are typically part of regular notice-and-comment rulemakings, and improve the quality and transparency of rulemaking records, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Chairman of Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), should issue guidance to encourage agencies to respond to comments on final major rules, for which the agency has discretion, that are issued without a prior notice of proposed rulemaking.

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: In a status update from OMB received on March 6, 2020, OMB stated that it agrees that agencies should respond to comments on final major rules, for which the agency has discretion, that are issued without a prior notice of proposed rulemaking. OMB says it will continue to prioritize this issue during review of regulations under EO 12866, and that it is currently considering whether additional guidance is appropriate and will consult with the staff of the Administrative Conference of the United States on this issue.