Baucus Confirmed as Ambassador to China

Legislative Activity

Baucus Confirmed as Ambassador to China

Last week, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China.  Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) will assume the committee chairmanship, with speculation that the empty committee seat will be filled by Mark Warner (D-VA), although other names, like Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), are floating as well.

While indicating for some time an intention to pursue tax extenders quickly,  Wyden has only recently begun to reveal details on an approach for broader tax reform under his leadership of the committee.

Regulatory Activity

IRS Issues Revenue Ruling on Treatment of Life Insurance Reserves

On February 4, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Rev. Rul. 2014-7 on the treatment of life insurance reserves under section 807, which sets forth how tax professionals should treat a variable contract where some or all of the reserves are accounted for as part of a life insurance company’s separate account reserves.

Rev. Rul. 2014-7 is set to be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2014-9, which will be released February 24.