Description: In March 2010, Congress codified the judicial economic substance doctrine in an effort to raise revenue as part of the health care reform legislation.1 The law provides for strict liability penalties of 20 percent for understated taxes and refund claims that result from transactions that lack economic substance. In July 2011, the commissioner of the Large Businessand International Division LB&I of the IRS evidently recognized this state of uncertainty and issued very helpful guidance to all LB&I examiners to fill the void on guidance for economic substance..

Description: This article discusses the ruling on the new BOLI arrangement and addresses three aspects of the tax treatment of the arrangement: (1) the LLC’s taxation as a partnership as opposed to an investment company, (2) the deductibility of interest expenses by the LLC and its members, and (3) the excludability of death benefits under the Policies, which began life as employer-owned life insurance contracts.

Description: A discussion of the ramifications, facts and rules associated with loss reserves and underwriting reserves that are held by foreign subsidiaries for life insurance and annuity contracts.

Description: In TAM 201149021, the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) National Office has ruled that an insurance contract that insures against a decline in market value of assets leased to third parties is not an insurance contract for federal income tax purposes.

Description: This article is a companion to “They Go Bump in the Night: Life Insurance Policies and the Law of Material Change,” an article written by John T. Adney and Craig R. Springfield (May 2012 Taxing Times Supplement) that describes the various material change rules found in the Code, highlighting the complexities insurers face in navigating through these rules when a life insurance contract is materially changed. The Adney and Springfield article also addresses the difficulties in interpreting the tax law requirements under the various effective date rules contained in the Code sections affecting life insurance contracts.

Description: An actuarial model that provides financial incentives to providers to offer patients an approach that can reverse chronic disease and reduce health care costs

Description: This article comments on the editorial policies of the Actuarial Research Clearing House publication.

Description: The article discusses what actuaries mean by "acting in the public interest." While the article is focused on the U.S. environment, it includes materials describing how other actuarial organizations are addressing this critical issue. The article concludes with observations that explaining to the public what the actuarial profession means by "acting in the public interest" is important for both the public and the members of the U.S. actuarial profession.