880
MACHINES CORP.
Kennedy, J., dissenting
this case. Before the premiums for a shipment of IBM goods of a certain value could be fixed, a premium rate had to be determined. The rate was a function of the risk factors specific to a particular shipment: "the place of origin and destination of the goods, the type of goods involved and how they were packaged, the time and distance of the trip, the route and mode(s) of transportation, and the amount of material handling expected during the trip." Premiums were then determined by multiplying the value of the goods by the shipment-specific premium rate. Stipulation of Facts
¶ 16, App. to Pet. for Cert. 39a. Cf. Holtom, Underwriting Principles & Practices, at 453-457 (discussing various factors taken into account in underwriting ocean marine insurance, such as nationality of the crew, vessel management, seaworthiness of the vessel, suitability of the vessel for specific cargo, packaging, season of travel, perishability, pilferage risks at ports of call, and risks of damage from accompanying cargo). The premium charged to insure a million dollars of goods for the short overland journey from IBM's computer factory in Richfield, Minnesota, to a customer in Quebec would be trifling in comparison to the premium charged to insure transport of goods of equivalent value from its factory in San Jose, California, across the continent east to New York and then by sea to Russia. Cf. Stipulation of Facts, App. to Pet. for Cert. 36a-37a; Brief for Respondent 3, n. 2. Given the stipulated, undeniable premise that premiums are graded by risk of loss, they are not a predictable proxy for a Congress intent upon taxing export value. Premiums are a rough proxy, however, for the income of foreign insurers, which is why a Congress intent on eliminating the income tax advantages of those insurers would structure § 4371 as it did.
Section 4371's requirement that the insurance cover domestic risks in whole or in part is further evidence that Congress did not intend it to operate as a proxy for taxing exports. A statute that exempts all exporters who use a
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