Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company and Subsidiaries - Page 39




                                                -39-                                                   
            reserves, see Utah Med. Ins. Association v. Commissioner, supra,                           
            it is not conclusive.  As stated in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v.                                
            Commissioner, 96 T.C. 61, 110 (1991), revd. on other grounds 972                           
            F.2d 858 (7th Cir. 1992):                                                                  
                  The objectives of State regulation * * * are not identical                           
                  to the objectives of Federal income taxation.  State                                 
                  insurance regulators are concerned with the solvency of the                          
                  insurer.  McCoach v. Insurance Company of North America,                             
                  244 U.S. 585, 589 (1917). * * * In contrast, Federal tax                             
                  statutes are concerned with the determination of taxable                             
                  income on an annual basis.  Burnet v. Sanford & Brooks Co.,                          
                  282 U.S. 359, 365 (1931).                                                            
            The record does not establish that the State regulators would                              
            have been concerned with excesses in petitioner’s reserves.                                
            Thus, their silence on this point is not necessarily                                       
            significant.                                                                               
                  Given the clear directive of the regulations regarding the                           
            Commissioner’s discretion to review the amount of deducted loss                            
            reserves, and the holding in Hanover Ins. Co. v. Commissioner,                             
            69 T.C. 260 (1977), upholding the validity of these regulations,                           
            there is no merit to the argument that the Commissioner’s review                           
            function is supplanted by the certifying actuaries or the State                            
            regulators.  A taxpayer's determination and reporting of unpaid                            
            losses and loss expenses to a State insurance commission does                              
            not limit the Commissioner’s obligation to enforce the                                     
            regulations and to examine and adjust, as necessary, the amounts                           
            claimed for Federal income tax purposes.  See Home Mut. Ins. Co.                           
            v. Commissioner, 639 F.2d 333, 339-340 (7th Cir. 1980), affg. in                           





Page:  Previous  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011