Peter K. Chow - Page 12

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          3.  Disability Benefits                                                     
               Included in the stipulated exhibits for this case is                   
          literature from Met Life detailing petitioner’s long-term                   
          disability insurance which provides an explanation of the taxable           
          consequences resulting from the payout of disability benefits.              
          At trial, petitioner testified that he had selected “Option 3”3             
          as his long-term disability plan, and asserted that because his             
          monthly contribution (an amount equal to one-sixth) for the                 
          premium was deducted from his paycheck ‘after taxes’ that he                
          should accordingly be entitled to exclude from his gross income             
          that amount attributable to his contribution (one-sixth of the              
          approximately $78,000 paid as disability income by Met Life in              
          2000).                                                                      
               However, it is clear from the information provided in the              
          Met Life literature that petitioner is misguided in maintaining             
          this position.  First, at LTD-2,4 the brochure describes the                
          taxability of the payouts, stating that “since [the employee]               
          paid for the cost of the LTD coverage on a before tax basis ...             
          the LTD benefits are taxable when you receive them.”  Then, at              
          LTD-14, the brochure reads:                                                 



          3“Option 3” bases long-term disability benefits on 60                       
          percent of the participant’s pre-disability income.                         
          4“LTD” refers to Met Life’s long-term disability policy                     
          brochure.                                                                   




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