Steven H. and Anna J. Jensen - Page 7

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               This policy was never considered an investment.  It has                
               NEVER been referred to as a “pension or annuity”.[8]                   
               Petitioners have set forth no plausible legal theory to                
          support their argument that the distribution in issue is                    
          nontaxable.  Although it is true that as a general rule, proceeds           
          of life insurance contracts paid by reason of the death of the              
          insured are excludable from gross income, see sec. 101(a)(1), the           
          proceeds of the contract in issue were not paid by reason of Mr.            
          Jensen’s death, but rather because of the surrender of that                 
          policy.  Moreover, petitioners’ reliance on a statement from the            
          Department of Veterans Affairs is misplaced because such                    
          statement does not apply to the policy in this case (No. 264261),           
          and, further, the distribution in issue was not a payment of                
          insurance dividends,9 nor was it a payment from the Department of           
          Veterans Affairs.10                                                         




               8  Petitioners disagree with respondent’s characterization             
          that the distribution is from a pension or annuity.  The fact               
          that respondent erroneously characterizes the distribution as               
          from a pension or annuity has no bearing on the resolution of the           
          issue in this case.  Clearly, the distribution resulted from                
          petitioners’ surrender of the policy.                                       
               9  Insurance “dividends”, in general, “may be excluded from            
          income as a reduction of premium, at the time of the periodic               
          payment of premiums”.  Estate of Wong Wing Non v. Commissioner,             
          18 T.C. 205, 209 (1952).                                                    
               10  Generally, payments of benefits due under any law                  
          administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs are exempt               
          from taxation.  See 38 U.S.C sec. 5301(a)(1) (Supp. III 2003).              





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