DocketNumber: Docket No. 66243
Judges: Mulroney
Filed Date: 12/10/1959
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 11/14/2024
1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*15
Petitioner is a mutual fire insurance company, specializing in insuring large industrial risks of around $ 2 million. It issues policies for terms up to 5 years upon insured making a large premium deposit, from which petitioner "absorbed" a certain sum each month and the "unabsorbed premium deposit" was returned to insured at the termination of the policy.
33 T.C. 490">*490 The respondent determined deficiencies in income tax of petitioner for the years 1952 and 1954 in the amounts of $ 12,985.01 and $ 43,410.35, respectively.
The sole question is whether petitioner, a mutual fire insurance company, is entitled to file its return and be taxed according to
FINDINGS OF FACT.
Petitioner is engaged in carrying on a mutual fire insurance business as a separate corporate entity in cooperation with and as a 33 T.C. 490">*491 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*17 member of a voluntary association known as the Associated Factory Mutual Fire Insurance Companies. This association consists of eight companies, all doing business in exactly the same way.
Petitioner specializes in insuring large industrial risks of good quality where the average risk is around $ 2 million. The policies it issues are for periods up to 5 years with the bulk of the business constituting 3-year policies. Petitioner's method of charging for insurance consists of requiring, at the time the policy is issued, a premium deposit, the amount of which, on a given dollar risk, is the same regardless of the length of term for which the policies are written and from which petitioner "absorbs" certain sums each month. The policies provide that upon termination the portion of the premium deposit that is "unabsorbed" shall be returned to the policyholder. The amount which is absorbed each month is determined by petitioner according to a formula whereby petitioner for each month takes its total expenses, adds thereto its total incurred losses, and then subtracts therefrom its investment income. Petitioner then calculates an appropriate contribution to reserve and the result is1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*18 translated into a percentage of its premium deposits in force and such percentage is absorbed or deducted and retained by petitioner. As stated, the balance or unabsorbed portion of the premium deposit in the month of termination is returned to the policyholder. It may also be used by the insured as a part of the deposit premium on renewal. The premium deposit rates are fixed by the Factory Mutual Rating Bureau, which is an organization whose members consist of the eight Factory Mutual Companies.
The large deposits required by the factory mutual group is to furnish the companies the necessary large amounts of capital or surplus, to enable them to meet the capital and surplus requirements of the various States, for the issuance of so many large risk policies. A general line mutual fire insurance company would not ordinarily acquire sufficient surplus to permit its writing such large risks as are written by the factory mutual group.
Petitioner filed its income tax returns for the years 1952 and 1954 with the district director of internal revenue at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its 1952 return was filed on Form 1120M pursuant to the provisions of
33 T.C. 490">*492 The petition asserts error in respondent's determination that petitioner is subject to the provisions of
OPINION.
The parties stipulate:
The sole issue now before this Court relates to the respondent's denial of petitioner's assertion that it is entitled to compute its Federal income tax liabilities on Form 1120 pursuant to the provisions of
(a) Imposition of Tax. -- There shall be levied, collected, and paid for each taxable year upon the income of every mutual insurance company (other than a life or a marine insurance company or a fire insurance company subject1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*21 to the tax imposed by
Petitioner admits it is a mutual fire insurance company and therefore taxable under
33 T.C. 490">*493 (a) Imposition of Tax. -- (1) In general. -- There shall be levied, collected, and paid for each taxable year upon the normal-tax net income and upon the corporation surtax net income of every insurance company (other than a life or mutual insurance company) and every mutual marine insurance company and every mutual fire insurance company exclusively issuing either perpetual1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*22 policies, or policies for which the sole premium charged is a single deposit which (except for such deduction of underwriting costs as may be provided) is refundable upon cancellation or expiration of the policy taxes computed as provided in section 13(b) and in section 15(b).
The parties are agreed that a perpetual policy is one that, by its terms at least, is unending (though it can be terminated) and it has the requirement of a single premium deposit large enough so that the earnings thereon, together with the earnings on other reserve funds, may be sufficient to pay all losses and expenses. Such policies provide in general for the return in full of the premium deposit upon termination, though termination in early years generally results in the deposit returned being reduced by a termination charge.
Petitioner admits it does not issue perpetual policies. But petitioner argues that, in
every mutual fire insurance company exclusively issuing either perpetual policies, or policies for which the sole premium charged is a single deposit which (except for such deduction of underwriting costs as may be provided) is refundable upon cancellation or expiration of the policy * * *
It is petitioner's argument that it falls squarely within the "or" provision; that it issues policies "for which the sole premium charged is a single deposit," and that this premium, except for deduction of underwriting costs (equivalent, so petitioner argues, to its "absorbed" amounts), "is refundable upon cancellation or expiration of the policy."
Respondent's position is that the "or" provision of the statute is not to be construed as descriptive of another type of insurance policy, other than the perpetual type, but merely explanatory of the 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*24 perpetual type policy and it has the function of describing policies that might be term in form but perpetual in fact. Petitioner, while admitting the word "or" can sometimes have an interpretive meaning, 33 T.C. 490">*494 argues on brief "the expression 'either-or' must be taken as a correlative conjunction clearly presenting two completely distinct types of mutual fire insurance company operations,
The point is that the intent of Congress to present different, alternative
Petitioner's argument is that the "or" provision does not say the policy there described is to be termless and, therefore, a term policy, for a term as short as 1 year, is within the alternative presented. But there are other plain indications in the statute, and in the history of this legislation that show quite clearly the "or" provision was employed merely to present an alternative policy of the same continuing type as a perpetual policy, even though it might not be specially termed a perpetual.
The general history of the legislation imposing taxes on mutual and stock insurance companies shows the two are taxed on very different bases. Stock, fire, and casualty insurance companies have long been subject to tax under the provisions of
Until 1942 almost all mutual fire insurance companies were specifically exempt from taxation (section 101 (11) exempting mutuals with gross income of not more than $ 75,000) and those not so exempt were taxable under
The Revenue Act of 1942 made no substantial change in the tax scheme of stock companies other than life. However, it did tax most mutual insurance companies on either their net investment income at the corporation rates, or on the sum of their net premiums (after deduction of dividends) and gross investment income at 1 per cent, whichever method produced the larger tax. The new taxing provisions in the Revenue Act of 1942 constituted a complete revision of
The committee bill, therefore, proposes to tax mutual insurance companies other than life or marine upon that one of the following two bases which produces the greater tax. One of these bases is net investment income, to which are applied the rates applicable to corporate incomes generally. The other base is the gross amount of income from interest, dividends, rents, and net premiums, less dividends to policyholders and wholly tax-exempt interest. To this base the rate of 1 per cent is to apply. * * * [S. Rept. No. 1631, 77th
There is no question but that petitioner became taxable under the Revenue Act of 1942. Petitioner admits this. Moreover there is specific reference in the legislative history to the factory mutual fire insurance companies.
In
(b)(2) Net premiums. -- "Net premiums" means gross premiums (including deposits and assessments) written or received on insurance contracts during the taxable year less return premiums and 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*29 premiums paid or incurred for reinsurance. Amounts returned where the amount is not fixed in the insurance contract but depends upon the experience of the company or the discretion of the management shall not be included in return premiums but shall be treated as dividends to policyholders under paragraph (3);
33 T.C. 490">*496 (3) Dividends to policyholders. -- "Dividends to policyholders" means dividends and similar distributions paid or declared to policyholders. The term "paid or declared" shall be construed according to the method regularly employed in keeping the books of the insurance company;
In the Ways and Means Committee Report on the Revenue Act of 1942, there is discussion of the effect of
"Similar distributions" include such payments as the so-called
The Senate Finance Committee Report on the Revenue Act of 1942 also specifically mentioned the factory mutual companies. The Senate Report No. 1631, 77th
Regulations 111, section 29.207-3, make further specific reference to the factory mutual fire insurance companies, again stating the words "similar distributions" as used in the statute "include such payments as the so-called unabsorbed premium deposits returned to policyholders1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*31 by factory mutual fire insurance companies."
After the passage of the Revenue Act of 1942, petitioner filed its returns as a mutual company under
We turn now to the legislative history of the pertinent part of
The addition to
SEC. 129. MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES ISSUING PERPETUAL POLICIES.
(a) Taxability Under (1) by inserting in paragraph (1) after "every mutual marine insurance company" the following: "and every mutual fire insurance company exclusively issuing either perpetual policies, or policies for which the sole premium charged is a single deposit which (except for such deduction of underwriting costs as may be provided) is refundable upon cancellation or expiration of the policy";
The bill, which 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*33 was passed by the Senate and concurred in by the House (with a change of the section number to 135) goes on to provide in subsequent sections that the single premium deposit for the described companies shall not be included in gross income; that the described companies shall not be taxable under
The motive force behind the enactment of this amendment was the inequitable treatment of
The report of the Senate Finance Committee with respect to this bill explains the difficulties of companies issuing perpetual policies or single premium policies where losses were paid out of investment income. It shows quite clearly the purpose of the bill was to grant relief to those companies.
We have set forth in a footnote extracts from the report of the Senate Finance Committee and the Conference Committee report with respect to this bill. 33 T.C. 490">*498 of Congress to cover the factory mutuals under the bill; or, in fact, any mutuals other than those paying losses from investment1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*34 income.
1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*35 The fact that the amendment is entitled "Mutual Fire Insurance Companies Issuing Perpetual Policies" is an indication that the amendment is to be limited to companies that can be said to be perpetuals or single premium continuing policies. As pointed out earlier, the legislative history of the Revenue Act of 1942 shows references to the factory mutuals and the deliberate inclusion of these companies under that statute. There is not a word in the legislative history of the 1943 amendment of
Other language of the reports shows the amendment was to apply to those companies that derive by far the largest part of their income from investments and meet their losses from this fund. This is true of the perpetuals but not at all true of the factory mutuals, where the largest proportion of income is from premiums.
Examination of the annual statement submitted to the State insurance commissioners and the tax returns of the petitioner show that it had the following:
Statutory premiums | Premiums earned on | ||
Year | Investment income | earned | factory mutual basis |
1952 | $ 266,061.36 | $ 3,379,067.22 | $ 942,883.06 |
1954 | 347,187.62 | 3,761,514.00 | 994,543.13 |
Taking the figures most favorable for the petitioner, those which adjust the earned premiums to the factory mutual basis, it is quite apparent that petitioner does not "derive by far the largest portion of their [its] income from investments" nor does it meet its losses and expenses from this fund; rather its "main income is from premiums" 1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*37 which applies to mutual companies as a class issuing the "ordinary type of short-term policies." (S. Rept. No. 627.) It is obvious such a company as the petitioner was not meant to fit under
When we proceed to the provisions of the 1943 amendment with respect to the tax base of the described companies, it is even more clear that a factory mutual such as petitioner was not intended to be included. The amendment provided the described companies were not to include the premium deposits in income, and, likewise, they were to receive no deduction for dividends paid to the policyholders. If petitioner is right, then the amendment does not provide for any source of income to it except its investment income. Since it is obvious that petitioner's operation is such that it is not intended it will ever have enough investment income to pay losses and expenses, the amendment would, if literally applied to petitioner, provide for no tax.
33 T.C. 490">*500 Even petitioner would not argue for a1959 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15">*38 legislative intent that it be exempt. Petitioner tries to adjust the law to its operation by reporting its premium income (absorptions of deposit premiums) in the returns it filed under
In petitioner's operation the "absorptions" are for the purpose of creating a fund to pay losses -- the usual purpose of premium payments in the ordinary mutual -- and such absorptions are not at all similar to the "surrender charge" or "termination charge" of a perpetual (made only in early years) where losses are paid out of investment income.
A reading of
The interpretation placed upon
The fact that the provisions of the Act do not fit petitioner's operation, and the overwhelming legislative history, compel us to hold petitioner was not within the mutual fire insurance companies described in
1. The pertinent portions of
2. Mutual Fire Insurance Companies Issuing Perpetual Policies.
Under existing law, fire insurance companies issuing perpetual premium policies are discriminated against by being taxed under
* * * *
Section 129. Mutual Fire Insurance Companies Issuing Perpetual Policies.
This section, for which there is no corresponding provision in the House bill, provides for the taxability of fire insurance companies exclusively issuing perpetual or refundable single premium policies under
* * * *
Amendment No. 80: This section, for which there is no corresponding provision in the House bill, provides that mutual fire insurance companies exclusively issuing perpetual or refundable single premium policies, shall be taxed substantially as stock insurance companies other than life and mutual marine insurance companies under