Description: A look at the IRS initiative, the Industry Issue Resolution IIR Program, and its requested use to address the tax treatment of hedges of VA contract guarantees. The IIR Program is designed to address tax issues that are common to many business taxpayers and are frequently disputed.

Description: Overview of sessions and highlights from the 2012 Product Tax Seminar held in Washington DC in September 2012.

Description: The Wells Fargo case highlights the importance of creating and preserving documentation establishing actuarial and legal foundations for return positions.

Description: The article discusses court decisions on the tax basis and taxable gain in life insurance contracts.

Description: A tribute to Christian DesRochers and in memory of Charles (Bud) Friedstat

Description: SSAP 10R supersedes Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles No. 10, Income Taxes “SSAP 10” and the new provisions set forth in this accounting principle are effective for year-end 2009 statutory financial statements. If elected, they provide, where appropriate, the ability to admit additional DTAs by increasing the projected realization period from one to three years along with increasing the statutory surplus limitation from 10 percent to 15 percent, provided the entity exceeds certain risk based capital “RBC” thresholds. SSAP 10R also makes explicit and gives definition to the implicit valuation allowance of SSAP 10, and increases transparency through its expanded disclosure requirements for all entities regardless of whether electing the expanded recognition provisions.

Description: Summary of private letter ruling the IRS released in February 2013 regarding a partnership formed to hold and manage bank-owned life insurance contracts. The article follows up another article from the same authors in the May 2012 issue of Taxing Times regarding an earlier ruling on a similar structure.

Description: The article discusses a recent IRS private ruling on the application of the investor control doctrine to a variable contract for which the insurer proposed to add a new investment option. The new option closely paralleled a mutual fund that was open to public investment, i.e., it appeared to be a "clone," but the new option was itself not available outside of the variable contract. The IRS ruled that the doctrine did not apply.

Description: The Internal Revenue Code includes certain rules that apply when a taxpayer has a change in method of accounting. A special rule applies when a life insurance company changes its basis of computing reserves. The article discusses two recent court cases, Bosamia v. Commissioner and Capital One Financial Corp. v. Commissioner, that address change-in-method-of-accounting issues. The article examines whether and how the courts' conclusions in these two cases might apply to changes in basis of computing reserves to correct errors.

Description: When a life insurance company changes its basis for computing tax reserves, a special 10-year spread rule found in section 807(f) of the Internal Revenue Code applies to the change. But, what happens if the statutory accounting for original issue discount (OID) or bond premium changes? A discussion follows.