Tax Equity And Financial Responsibility Acts Of 1982 And 1983 (TEFRA)
Legislation that redefined life insurance and raised taxes on life insurance companies. Among the provisions were new rules for some life insurance products, including a definition of flexible premium life insurance, and an increase in life insurance company taxes. Congress was concerned that a policyholder could take a substantial amount, say $1 million, and, after putting a few dollars toward a life insurance premium, put the remainder into a tax-free investment vehicle. One of two tests had to be satisfied for a policy to qualify as life insurance: the cash surrender value policy could not exceed a net single premium, and the death benefit had to represent a certain percentage of the cash value, which declined as the policy-holder got older. For example, at age 40, the death benefit must be 140% of cash value. The second rule closed a loophole on tax-free withdrawals from annuities. Prior to 1982 annuity holders could withdraw their initial premium tax free at any time. The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable. The older 1959 tax code devised a shorthand formula for determining taxes paid by insurers. The formula worked when interest rates were low, but as they soared, insurers found ways to reduce the increased tax bite. The 1982 code introduced a stopgap measure designed to raise taxes on life insurers by $3 billion.
Popular Insurance Terms
Use of a life insurance policy dividend by the owner of a participating policy. Here the policy dividend is left with the insurance company to accumulate at a guaranteed minimum interest ...
Same as term Application: written statements on a form by a prospective insured about himself, including assets and other personal information. These statements and additional information, ...
Legislation mandating that factors taken into account in the calculation of premium rates for automobile insurance include the insured's driving record, annual miles driven, and years of ...
Maximum that an insurance company can underwrite. The limits of coverage that a property and casualty company can underwrite are determined by its retained earnings and invested capital. ...
Coverage that exceeds the normal insurance capacity of an insurer or reinsurer. ...
Endorsement to an existing policy or a separate policy covering loss of rental income to the property owner, caused by the damage or destruction of a building, rendering it unrentable. The ...
One of two bureaus that writes forms and files standard rates for inland marine insurance. The other is the inland marine insurance bureau. ...
Trust in which rights to make any changes therein are retained by the grantor. At the grantor's death all rights become irrevocable. This type of trust has several advantages: it can avoid ...
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