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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Physical damage to one's person. The purpose of liability (casualty) insurance is to cover bodily injury to a third party resulting from the negligent or intentional acts and omissions of ...
Interest earned on dividends from a participating life insurance policy left on deposit with the insurance company and subject to taxation. ...
Error, misstatement, or breach of duty by an officer or director of a company that results in a lawsuit against the company. directors and officers liability insurance covers claims arising ...
Policies that have been sold to and paid for by an insured, but not yet delivered to the insured. ...
Option in a participating policy under which dividends are used to purchase fully paid-up units of whole life insurance. This option deserves careful consideration by young families since ...
Acts or omissions that result in suits against an individual and/or residents of the individual's household for actual or imagined bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party. ...
Intense combustion resulting in a flame or glow. In order for the fire peril to be covered under property insurance, the fire must be a hostile fire, not a friendly fire. ...
Yearly renewable term (YRT) life insurance under which an insured can usually re-apply for term insurance every fifth year at a lower premium than the guaranteed renewal rate. If the ...
Provisions added to an original insurance policy that alter or modify benefits and coverages of the contract. For example, a homeowners insurance policy can be endorsed to cover a ...
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