R000666
Wednesday, March 13, 2002 5:34 PM
Presumed Loss Calculations
Dear Sir:
I am a certified public accountant who is involved in advising some of the
families of the September 11th attacks. I have reviewed the final
regulations with respect to the Victim Compensation Fund, issued by the
Department of Justice on March 7, 2002. I have developed a model to
determine economic loss based on the Department's recently issued,
Explanation of Process for Computing Presumed Economic Loss. I would expect
that using the explanation and the accompanying tables I should be able to
replicate the calculation of the amounts reflected in the revised tables of
Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss.
As a test case, I tried to calculate the presumed loss of a married decedent
with one dependent who was 30 years old and earned $100,000 at the time of
death. Unfortunately, I have not been able to come close to the amounts in
the Table. My calculation of combined economic and non-economic loss totals
$3,992,028 compared to $3,007,608 as reflected in the table, representing a
difference of $964,420. I have reviewed my calculations as well as the DOJ
Explanation and the accompanying tables to no avail. This is very
perplexing. Obviously, I have misinterpreted something somewhere, but I am
at a loss as to where.
I would ask that you please provide an example illustrating how the presumed
economic losses were determined. I have attached herewith a copy of my
calculations for your review if you choose to do so.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Very truly yours,
Individual Comment