The North West Life Assurance Company of Canada - Page 22

                                               - 22 -                                                  

            petitioner operates its insurance business in the United States                            
            through a U.S. permanent establishment.                                                    
                  Congress can override a convention provision by enacting a                           
            subsequent statute.  Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1, 18 (1957).                                
            Congress ratified the Canadian Convention in 1984.  Convention,                            
            Sept. 26, 1980, T.I.A.S. No. 11087, 1986-2 C.B. 258 (effective                             
            August 16, 1984).  It initially appears that Congress sought to                            
            override the Canadian Convention in the Omnibus Budget                                     
            Reconciliation Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330, by                            
            amending section 842 to incorporate subsection 842(b).  In the                             
            conference report to section 842(b), Congress stated, however,                             
            that it did "not intend to apply the general principle that, in                            
            the case of a conflict, a later enacted statute prevails over                              
            earlier enacted statutes or treaties".  H. Conf. Rept. 100-495                             
            (1987) 915, 983, 1987-3 C.B. 193, 263.                                                     
                  Respondent contends that we should construe the Canadian                             
            Convention so as to harmonize the convention with the statute.                             
            If, however, we find that the Canadian Convention and section                              
            842(b) conflict, respondent concedes that the Convention prevails                          
            and that no deficiencies in income tax or branch profits tax for                           
            the years at issue exist.                                                                  
                  Petitioner does not challenge the taxation of its actual                             
            ECNII or respondent’s calculations of its minimum ECNII for any                            
            of the years at issue.  Accordingly, if we find that the Canadian                          





Page:  Previous  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011