About the Taxation of Marijuana in the USA - #Michael Ayele (a.k.a) W

2. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005 INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION DELIVERED VIA EMAIL: waacl13@gmail.com W (AACL) Michael A. Ayele P.O. Box 20438 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Dear Mr. W (AACL): This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act request, dated and received on May 22, 2020, seeking access to records maintained by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). On June 8, 2020, Julissa Hurtado, Government Information Specialist of my staff, sent you an email to clarify the portion of your request related to “all tax return reviewed by TIGTA for the purpose of this study” (The Growth of the Marijuana Industry Warrants Increased Tax Compliance Efforts and Additional Guidance, April 30, 2020, Reference Number 2020-30-017). On June 9, 2020, we received your email response stating that you would like to withdraw your request for tax return information examined by TIGTA for the purpose of the study. In addition, you modified your request and stated the following: Part One However, I would like to express concern about the report which was made public on March 2020 by the TIGTA. I am just worried. I have thoroughly read it. What is of particular concern is the TIGTA not having mentioned any study conducted by the Department of Treasury to determine the revenue lost in states which have neither legalized, regulated and taxed marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes. Has TIGTA ever conducted a study to determine the actual cost state and federal government incur as a direct consequence of the black-market economy of drugs where prohibition is the norm and ongoing? Has TIGTA ever conducted a study to determine the actual cost incurred by state and federal government pertaining to the adverse public health consequences suffered by the population as a direct result of the black-market economy of drugs? What I am requesting from the Department of the Treasury is to disclose all studies conducted by employees and legal representatives thereof dealing with the black-market economy of drugs. January 14, 2021

3. 2 Specifically, I am requesting for all studies dealing with lost revenue and adverse public health consequences as a direct result of the black-market economy of drugs. Part Two Which undergraduate, graduate and law schools have you Amy Jones, Julissa Hurtado, Michael E. McKenney, Matthew A. Weir, Christina M. Dreyer, Javier L. Fernandez, Lee S. Hoyt and Jesse Fenton previously attended and visited? What are your respective roles and responsibilities with the Department of the Treasury? How long have you been with the Department of the Treasury? What are your respective annual salaries with the Department of the Treasury? Has TIGTA ever participated in mediation sessions with the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) as a direct consequence of a FOIA request for records submitted to them? If yes, under which circumstances was it? Will you join me in moving to call upon all documentation of mediation sessions participated in by employees and legal representatives of TIGTA and OGIS since January 01st 2010 to be promptly disclosed either to my e-mail or in the alternative my mailing address? What I am requesting for the TIGTA is to disclose are (1) the academic background, professional responsibilities, and annual salaries of Amy Jones, Julissa Hurtado, Michael E. McKenney, Matthew A. Weir, Christina M. Dreyer, Javier L. Fernandez, Lee S. Hoyt and Jesse Fenton; (2) all documentation pertaining to mediation sessions participated in by employees and legal representatives of the TIGTA with OGIS and (3) all records within the possession of the Department of Treasury pertaining to I, W. It is TIGTA policy to process Privacy Act and FOIA requests under the statute that provides the greatest access to the requested records. Therefore, we have processed your request under the FOIA. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. Regarding Part One of your modified request, please note that this office only processes FOIA requests for copies of documents generated by or in the possession of TIGTA. The FOIA does not require an agency to respond to questions, conduct research, create documents or provide explanations to a requester. We construed your

4. 3 request as seeking information solely related to TIGTA records when referring to the Department of the Treasury. In response to Part One of your modified request pertaining to “studies conducted by employees and legal representatives thereof dealing with the black-market economy of drugs. Specifically, I am requesting for all studies dealing with lost revenue and adverse public health consequences as a direct result of the black-market economy of drugs,” the Office of Audit informed this office they have not issued any studies or audit reports on this subject. In response to Part Two of your modified request, you requested the following information be disclosed: 1) The academic background, professional responsibilities, and annual salaries of Amy Jones, Julissa Hurtado, Michael E. McKenney, Matthew A. Weir, Christina M. Dreyer, Javier L. Fernandez, Lee S. Hoyt and Jesse Fenton; In response to the request seeking the academic background of the eight employees, we are withholding this information pursuant to FOIA subsection (b)(6). In response to the request seeking the professional responsibilities of the eight employees, enclosed are copies of their Position Descriptions (PD) consisting of 29 pages. We are releasing the 29 pages in full. 1. Amy Jones – Supervisory Government Information Specialist. PD#06Z405. 2. Julissa Hurtado – Government Information Specialist. PD#05Z004. 3. Michael E. McKenney – Deputy Inspector General for Audit. PD#Z61003. 4. Matthew A. Weir – Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Compliance and Enforcement Operations). PD#Z61197. 5. Christina M. Dreyer – Supervisory Auditor (Performance). PD#03Z404. 6. Javier L. Fernandez – Supervisory Auditor (Performance). PD#Z91509. 7. Lee S. Holt – Supervisory Auditor (Performance). PD#Z91509. 8. Jesse Fenton – Auditor (Performance). PD#Z29973. In response to the request seeking the annual salaries of the eight employees, enclosed is a list of their 2020 annual salary (one page). We are releasing the one page in full. 2) All documentation pertaining to mediation sessions participated in by employees and legal representatives of the TIGTA with the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) since January 01st 2010. A search of TIGTA records located 69 pages responsive to this item from January 1, 2010 through June 1, 2020. We forwarded 46 pages to the Office of Government

5. 4 Information Service (OGIS), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), for consultation as the records contained OGIS equities. OGIS determined some of their equities warrant protection pursuant to FOIA subsections (b)(3) in conjunction with 5 U.S.C. § 574(j), (b)(5) and (b)(6). We are releasing 2 pages in full and 28 pages in part. A copy is enclosed. We are withholding 39 pages full. We are asserting FOIA subsections (b)(3) in conjunction with 5 U.S.C. § 574(j), (b)(5), (b)(6), and (b)(7)(C) as the justification for withholding. 3) All records within the possession of the Department of Treasury pertaining to I, W. We conducted a search of TIGTA’s investigatory indices on your name, (W. also known as Michael A. Ayele), and we did not locate any records responsive to your request. FOIA subsection (b)(3) in conjunction with 5 U.S.C. § 574(j), the section of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA), exempts FOIA disclosure of dispute resolution communications between a neutral and a party that may not be disclosed under the ADRA. FOIA subsection (b)(5) permits an agency to withhold inter-agency or intra-agency information that is considered to be part of the deliberative process. The type of information for which we assert the deliberative process privilege under subsection (b)(5) consists of draft memoranda which contain opinions or recommendations which are predecisional in nature. Internal agency documents containing opinions, deliberations and recommendations of Agency employees in connection with their official duties are protected from disclosure pursuant to FOIA subsection (b)(5) and the deliberative process privilege. Also incorporated within FOIA subsection (b)(5) is the attorney work-product privilege which protects documents, memoranda, factual material and background information, prepared or compiled by an attorney, or other individual working under the direction or supervision of an attorney, in contemplation of litigation. FOIA subsection (b)(6) permits the withholding of records and information about individuals when disclosure of the information could result in a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The withheld information consists of identifying information compiled with regard to individuals other than you. Releasing the withheld information would not shed any light into the Agency’s performance of its official functions, but instead could result in an invasion into the personal privacy of the individuals whose names and personal information have been withheld. As a result, the privacy interests of the third parties outweigh the public’s interest in having the information released. FOIA subsection (b)(7)(C) permits an agency to withhold “information compiled for law enforcement purposes the release of which could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” The withheld information consists of

6. 5 identifying information of individuals other than you. Releasing the withheld information would not shed any light into the Agency’s performance of its official functions, but instead could result in an invasion into the personal privacy of the individuals whose names and personal information have been withheld. The information was compiled for law enforcement purposes and the privacy interests of the third parties outweigh the public’s interest in releasing the information released. As a result, this information has been withheld in response to your request. For you information, you have a right to file an administrative appeal within 90 calendar days with NARA. Please address the letter and envelope as follows and reference case tracking number NGC20-537: Freedom of Information Act Appeal Deputy Archivist of the United States (ND) National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road College Park, Maryland 2074 Both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” Should you submit your appeal by e-mail, please send it to FOIA@nara.gov, also addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States. Please explain why you believe their response does not meet the requirements of the FOIA. All correspondence should reference NARA’s case tracking number. The cost incurred to process your FOIA request was less than $25.00, the threshold set by Treasury’s FOIA regulation, so no fees were assessed. Therefore, your request for a fee waiver is moot. If you have any questions regarding this response, please contact Julissa Hurtado, Government Information Specialist, at (202) 622-3087 or email Julissa.Hurtado@tigta.treas.gov and refer to Disclosure File # 2020-FOI-00138. Alternatively, you may contact me, TIGTA’s FOIA Public Liaison, at (202) 557-5616 or via email at Amy.Jones@tigta.treas.gov, for further assistance or to discuss any aspect of your request. In addition, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, NARA, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, MD 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at (202) 741-5770; toll free at 1 (877) 684-6448; or facsimile at (202) 741-5769. Finally, if you are not satisfied with this determination in response to your request, you may administratively appeal to TIGTA’s Office of Chief Counsel, which is continuing to

7. 6 process FOIA and Privacy Act appeals during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there may be delays in processing appeals submitted via U.S. mail or commercial carrier. Therefore, if you decide to appeal, we encourage you to use electronic means, either e-mail to FOIA.Reading.Room@tigta.treas.gov or fax to (202) 622-3339. If you must use mail, please address the envelope as follows: Freedom of Information Act Appeal Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration Office of Chief Counsel 1401 H Street, NW, Suite 469 Washington, DC 20005 Your appeal must be electronically transmitted or postmarked within 90 days of the date of this letter. Sincerely, (For) Amy P. Jones Disclosure Officer and FOIA Public Liaison Carroll Field Enclosures