On December 20, Congress voted to pass a comprehensive tax reform bill (the “Act”), and today, the President signed the Act into law. The Act represents the most significant reform of the U.S. tax code in over 30 years.
The Act is generally consistent with the proposals contained in the bill released by the Senate on November 14 (the “Senate bill”), but also incorporates certain provisions of the bill released by the House of Representatives on November 2 and amended thereafter (the “House bill”). The Act also removes some provisions that were contained in both earlier draft bills, and includes some new provisions that were contained in neither draft bill.
This memorandum describes some of the important features of the legislation which will impact the taxation of insurance companies, and highlights certain areas where the Act diverges from the earlier draft legislation.