Overview
Court of Appeals Allows for Refund of Excise Taxes on Reinsurance: In Validus Reinsurance, Ltd. v. United States, D.C. Circuit No. 14-5081, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determined that the excise tax under section 4371 did not apply to wholly foreign retrocessions. At issue were excise taxes that Validus had paid on premiums for certain retrocessions (reinsurance policies purchased by reinsurers) that were purchased from foreign entities not doing business in the United States. While concluding that retrocessions constituted reinsurance (the district court determined that retrocessions were not reinsurance within the meaning of section 4371), the Court of Appeals, using the presumption against extraterritoriality, determined that there was no indication that Congress intended section 4371 to apply to wholly foreign retrocessions and therefore Validus was not liable for the excise tax on those transactions.