Heartland Institute Condemns Neal/Menendez Tax Bill

Published October 14, 2011

Washington, DC — The Heartland Institute today condemned Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Richard Neal’s (D-MA) companion bills imposing new taxes on offshore affiliated reinsurance transactions.

Eli Lehrer, Heartland’s vice president for Washington, DC operations, said the bills (S. 1683 and H.R. 3157) would make it impossible for non-U.S.-based companies to engage in the near-universal insurance industry practice of transferring risk within insurance company groups.

“Representative Neal and Senator Menendez have proposed a tax that will help a few large insurance companies while hurting consumers all over the country. The proposed tax is a terrible idea and will hurt the economy, decrease the availability of insurance, and destroy jobs, ” said Lehrer. “It’s an awful idea that deserves speedy rejection.”

Lehrer can be reached at 202-615-0586 or [email protected].


The Heartland Institute is a 27-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus, Ohio. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.