Description: On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Tax Court reaffirmed the viability of the Investor Control Doctrine in Webber v. Commissioner. The case serves as a valuable example of what not to do with regard to the investment of assets supporting a variable life insurance contract purchased through a private placement transaction. In the end, however, the Webber court leaves a lot of questions unanswered—most significantly, the elusive answer to how to define investor control. This article examines the Investor Control Doctrine, as explained and applied by the U.S. Tax Court in Webber, and considers some of the open questions that remain after June 30, 2015.

Description: Primer on the federal income taxation of nonqualified annuities

Description: The American Council of Life Insurers provides an update on recent tax-related ACLI activity. Topics in this issue include (1) the NAIC's Principle-Based Reserves (PBR) Review Working Group and its exposed revisions to the Annual Statement Blanks; (2) ongoing communications with the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury to seek published guidance on PBR; (3) an update on tax reform activity in Congress; (4) the framework for change issued by the NAIC's Variable Annuities Issues (E) Working Group; and (5) the ERISA Advisory Council's development of model notices and disclosures for pension risk transfers.

Description: In February 2015, the Internal Revenue Service Chief Counsel appointed Alexis MacIvor as the chief of Branch 4 of the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions & Products). That branch (sometimes referred to by our readers as the “Insurance Branch”) has seven attorneys who work exclusively on issues concerning the taxation of insurance companies and the products those companies issue. Because of the importance of that branch’s work product to the issues that life actuaries must address every day, the Taxing Times Editorial Board and the Taxation Section Council thought our readers would appreciate the opportunity to meet Alexis and welcome her to the insurance tax actuarial community. Mark Smith of our editorial board recently met with Ms. MacIvor to talk about her background and her new role.