Bill Text: FL S0484 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Discriminatory Taxes/Reinsurance

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-04-26 - Ordered enrolled -SJ 546 [S0484 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-S0484-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2011                                     SM 484
       
       
       
       By Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       20-00438-11                                            2011484__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to oppose any effort to impose new
    4         discriminatory taxes that would significantly limit
    5         the use of reinsurance provided by companies located
    6         outside the United States.
    7  
    8         WHEREAS, reinsurance plays a vital role in managing and
    9  spreading risk for companies in nearly all segments of the
   10  insurance business, and
   11         WHEREAS, as a means of managing capital, all large insurers
   12  make use of “affiliated” reinsurance purchased from companies
   13  within the same group, and
   14         WHEREAS, such affiliated reinsurance serves a valid and
   15  important risk-transfer purpose that provides significant
   16  additional primary insurance capacity, particularly in areas
   17  such as crop, windstorm, general, liability, products liability,
   18  and aircraft insurance, and
   19         WHEREAS, insurance groups that are not based in the United
   20  States currently pay taxes on reinsurance transactions which are
   21  functionally equivalent to the taxes paid by United States-based
   22  insurance groups, and
   23         WHEREAS, a major study from the economic research and
   24  consulting firm, The Brattle Group, concluded that policies
   25  intended to reduce the use of affiliated reinsurance by
   26  companies whose headquarters are located outside the United
   27  States would result in a 20 percent reduction in the supply of
   28  reinsurance and a significant increase in the price of primary
   29  insurance for consumers and businesses, and
   30         WHEREAS, such taxation would significantly limit the
   31  ability of many insurers to manage their capital and, thus,
   32  undermine the international risk-management practices at the
   33  heart of international reinsurance markets, and
   34         WHEREAS, a broad coalition of industry, consumer, and free
   35  market groups have spoken out against discriminatory taxation of
   36  offshore affiliated reinsurance, NOW, THEREFORE,
   37  
   38  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   39  
   40         That the Congress of the United States Congress is urged to
   41  oppose any effort to impose new discriminatory taxes that would
   42  significantly limit the use of reinsurance provided by companies
   43  located outside the United States.
   44         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
   45  dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
   46  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
   47  United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
   48  the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.