Description: An interview with Sheryl Flum, chief, Branch 4, IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products) at the Internal Revenue Service, regarding her role at the IRS and current tax issues facing the life insurance industry.

Description: View the May 2014 Issue 2 Volume 10 of the Taxation Times

Description: The article discusses the role played by the "Blue Books" issued by the Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation and the authority accorded them by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Description: The article reviews the creation and interpretation of federal tax law, with specific application to the life insurance industry

Description: The article discusses changes to the Circular 230 regulations that govern practice before the IRS and queries whether the revised regulations will eliminate the use of disclaimers.

Description: An open letter to the Taxation Section of the Society of Actuaries from the newsletter editor, Kristin Norberg.

Description: The article provides a summary of the Taxation Session sponsored sessions at the Life and Annuity Symposium.

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 article provides a brief description of the major financial reporting systems applicable to insurance companies. It also discusses the interplay between book and tax accounting as well as a few of the more common differences among the accounting systems.

Description: Taxing Times -- Volume 11, Issue 2, June 2015