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Given the fact that there are no regulations under section 845,
the Commissioner relies primarily on legislative history and her
experts’ opinions on industry standards to support her
determination that the Agreements had a “significant tax
avoidance effect” under section 845(b). In forming our opinion,
we look first to the law as written by the legislators, and we
consult the legislative history primarily to resolve ambiguities
in the words used in the statutory text.16 Landgraf v. USI Film
Prods, 511 U.S. , 114 S.Ct 1483 (1994); Consumer Prod. Safety
Commn. v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 108 (1980).
(...continued)
taxable year as exceeds $3,000,000.
(3) Small life insurance company deduction not
allowable to company with assets of $500,000,000 or
more.---
(A) In general.--The small life
insurance company deduction shall not be
allowed for any taxable year to any life
insurance company which, at the close of such
taxable year, has assets equal to or greater
than $500,000,000.
* * * * * * *
(b) Tentative LICTI.--For purposes of this part--
(1) In general.--The term “tentative LICTI” means
life insurance company taxable income determined
without regard to the small life insurance company
deduction.
16 In Western Natl. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Commissioner, 102 T.C.
338, 355 (1994), affd. 65 F.3d 90 (8th Cir. 1995), we stated that
the language used in subchapter L generally had the meaning
attributed thereto by experts in the field because Subchapter L
was drafted by the Congress in language peculiar to the insurance
industry. We do not interpret the term "significant tax
avoidance effect" according to an industry meaning, because we do
not find that the term has a specific meaning in the industry.
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