Description: This article discusses key tax issues that exist under current law with respect to asset rebalancing and hedging transactions that an insurance company might undertake.

Description: On April 24, 2015, Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed regulations (REG-108214-15) that provide guidance regarding when a foreign insurance company’s income is excluded from the definition of passive income under Section 1297(b)(2)(B). The proposed regulations are directed at hedge funds that purport to establish a foreign reinsurance company in an effort to avoid treatment as a passive foreign investment company (PFIC), but could have unintended consequences for traditional insurance companies.