I had the same issue, after doing a few mods to my car, and freaked out thinking I had somehow messed something up. I got the idea to remove the plastic trim around the base of the steering column and saw this same tab. I saw no real purpose for it, aside from freaking me out and annoying the hell out of me, so i went at it with a pair of side-snips. Problem solved. I came across this forum/post after deciding to find out if it actually served a purpose. Lol