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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Additional amount of surplus generated by an additional amount of capital to be included in the surplus above that required by the statutory requirements. This additional surplus is ...
Elements common to all life insurance policies. While state insurance laws do not prescribe the exact words that must be in a life insurance policy, certain standard provisions must be ...
Coverage for musicians and other providers of musical services such as musical instrument dealers. Musical instruments, service equipment, and sheet music are insured on an all risks basis ...
Conditions found in employee benefit plans such as pensions, under which minimum requirements, such as 20 years of service, must be met by an employee to qualify for benefits. ...
Irrevocable living trust (rights to make any changes are forfeited by the grantor permanently) in which the grantor forfeits control of all assets placed in the trust. However, the grantor ...
Policies that have been sold to and paid for by an insured, but not yet delivered to the insured. ...
Difference between the yield on earning assets and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities. ...
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