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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Assets of an insurer that are due and payable in the current year but have yet to be received by the insurer. ...
In insurance, agreement between an insurer and an insured under which the insurer has a legally enforceable obligation to make all benefit payments for which it has received premiums. ...
Coverage in the event an insured's negligent acts and/or omissions involving the construction of a new one- or two-family residential structure result in bodily injury and/or property ...
Wording in life insurance policies to determine the order of deaths when the insured and the beneficiary die in the same accident. For example, if the insured is deemed to have died first, ...
in PERSONAL PROPERTY insurance, coverage is for personal property items that are movable, that is, not attached to the building's structure (the home), such as television sets, radios, ...
Length of time in life and health insurance in which an employee can apply for and pay the first premium without having to show evidence of insurability (take a physical examination). The ...
Transfer of property without payment. ...
Method of integrating an employee's Social Security or other retirement benefits with a qualified retirement plan. Some employers offset (reduce) retirement or disability income benefits ...
Trading of stock to enhance portfolio performance and reduce taxes. This practice is followed when the investor has accumulated losses on stocks and sells these stocks in order to use the ...
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