Harper Group v. Commissioner

96 T.C. No. 4, 96 T.C. 45, 1991 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 4
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJanuary 24, 1991
DocketDocket No. 33761-85
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 96 T.C. No. 4 (Harper Group v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harper Group v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. No. 4, 96 T.C. 45, 1991 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 4 (tax 1991).

Opinions

JACOBS, Judge:

Respondent determined the following deficiencies in petitioners’ Federal income taxes:

Year Deficiency
1981. $5,224,177
1982 . 2,114,098
1983 . 3,439,865

After concessions, the issues for decision are: (1) Whether insurance premiums paid by certain domestic subsidiaries of The Harper Group (Harper) to Rampart Insurance Co., Ltd. (Rampart), an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Harper, are deductible under section 162,1 and if not (2) whether the premiums paid by certain foreign subsidiaries of Harper to Rampart constitute constructive dividends to Harper.

Amounts paid for insurance are deductible business expenses. Sec. 162; sec. 1.1624(a), Income Tax Regs. Amounts set aside for the payment of anticipated losses through reserves or otherwise, as a plan of self-insurance, are not.2 Spring Canyon Coal Co. v. Commissioner, 43 F.2d 78 (10th Cir. 1930); Pan-American Hide Co. v. Commissioner, 1 B.T.A. 1249 (1925); Humana Inc. v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 197, 213 (1987), affd. in part and revd. in part 881 F.2d 247 (6th Cir. 1989). Captive insurance transactions, such as the one before us, straddle the fence between ordinary insurance and self-insurance.

The deductibility of premiums paid to a captive insurer3 has been before this and other courts on numerous occasions. See AMERCO & Subsidiaries and Republic Western Insurance Co. v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. 18 (1991); Gulf Oil Corp. v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 1010 (1987), affd. on this issue, revd. on other issues 914 F.2d 396 (3d Cir. 1990); Humana Inc. v. Commissioner, supra; Clougherty Packing Co. v. Commissioner, 84 T.C. 948 (1985), affd. 811 F.2d 1297 (9th Cir. 1987); Carnation Co. v. Commissioner, 71 T.C. 400 (1978), affd. 640 F.2d 1010 (9th Cir. 1981). See also Beech Aircraft Corp. v. United States, 797 F.2d 920 (10th Cir. 1986); Stearns-Roger Corp. v. United States, 114 F.2d 414 (10th Cir. 1985), affg. 577 F. Supp. 833 (D. Colo. 1984); Crawford Fitting Co. v. United States, 606 F. Supp. 136 (N.D. Ohio 1985); Mobil Oil Corp. v. United States, 8 Cl. Ct. 555 (1985). Except for AMERCO & Subsidiaries and Republic Western Insurance Co. v. Commissioner, supra, Crawford Fitting Co. v. United States, supra, and Humana Inc. v. Commissioner, supra (in part), the arrangement involved in each of those cases, although styled as insurance, was found to be self-insurance.

The case law in the captive insurance arena draws a dichotomy between true insurance and arrangements which have been found to constitute, in substance, self-insurance. For the reasons hereinafter set forth, we find that Harper’s captive insurance arrangement falls on the insurance side of the line; thus, we conclude that the premiums paid by the Harper domestic subsidiaries to Rampart are deductible business expenses.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulation of facts and accompanying exhibits are incorporated herein.

Background

Harper is a California corporation that had its principal office in San Francisco, California, at the time the petition was filed. It is a holding company which directly and indirectly owns subsidiaries in the United States and throughout the world. The subsidiaries engage in a number of businesses related to the international shipment of cargo by air and sea, including freight forwarding. Each subsidiary handles an extensive variety of cargo and incurs liability in different capacities, such as an indirect air carrier, an airline agent, an ocean freight forwarder, a steamship agent, a breakbulk agent, a clearing agent, and a customshouse broker.

Air freight operations are conducted principally through Harper’s wholly owned subsidiary, Circle Airfreight Corp. (CAC), a California corporation, and CAC’s foreign subsidiaries. Ocean freight operations are conducted principally through Harper’s wholly owned subsidiary, Harper Robinson & Co. (Harper Robinson), a California corporation.

During the years in issue (1981-83), Harper Robinson owned 60 percent and CAC owned 40 percent of Western Navigation (Far East), Ltd. (WNFE), a Hong Kong company. WNFE was Harper’s operating subsidiary in Hong Kong, engaging in both air and ocean freight forwarding. WNFE owned 100 percent of Rampart, a Hong Kong company.

In the course of their international air and ocean freight forwarding businesses, Harper’s subsidiaries incur legal liability under bills of lading, forwarder receipts, air waybills, tariffs, contracts, etc., pursuant to appbcable treaties, statutes, and international law for loss or damage to their customers’ cargo.

International freight forwarders customarily obtain marine liability insurance (for both ocean and air shipment) for protection against potential liability. Customers of freight forwarders and indirect air carriers customarily obtain shipper’s interest cargo insurance to supplement the liability coverage provided by applicable treaties, statutes, and international law.

Prior to 1969, Harper purchased marine legal liability insurance and its customers purchased shipper’s interest insurance through various unrelated insurance companies. In 1969, CAC and Harper Robinson obtained marine cargo insurance through an open cargo policy with Commercial Union Insurance Co. (Commercial Union), which is unrelated to Harper and its subsidiaries.4 The Commercial Union open cargo policy not only insured the legal liability of CAC and Harper Robinson but also allowed them to provide shipper’s interest cargo insurance to their customers.

Harper and 13 of its domestic subsidiaries (which included CAC, J.R. Michels, Inc., and Circle Airfreight Japan, Ltd.5 filed consolidated Federal income tax returns for the years in issue. In the consolidated returns, deductions were claimed for insurance premiums paid to Rampart by the three aforementioned domestic subsidiaries of Harper as follows:

Domestic subsidiaries 1981 1982 1983
CAC $894,935 $831,015 $879,313
J.R. Michels, Inc. 117,000 117,000 117,000
Circle Airfreight Japan, Ltd. 28,800 28,800 28,800
1,040,735 976,815 1,025,113

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96 T.C. No. 4, 96 T.C. 45, 1991 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harper-group-v-commissioner-tax-1991.