In a baffling move, the Internal Revenue Service is poised to unilaterally change the rules for “captive” insurance companies, a policy that will drive business out of the
United States.

It is unclear whether the tax agency actually has the regulatory authority to make this change, and the IRS in the past has tried to use regulations to overturn existing law, so anything is possible. In any event, a report from the Cayman Islands shows that low-tax jurisdictions are looking forward to taking advantage of the IRS’s initiative:

A recent Internal Revenue Service proposal to remove tax deductions for certain U.S. captives may drive more companies to go offshore, with Cayman and Bermuda the prime beneficiaries of the change. If approved, this proposal would eliminate the ability of U.S. captives to claim tax deductions for money set aside in reserves to pay for future claims and losses. Instead, these deductions would only be allowed at the time the actual claims are paid out, potentially leading to millions of dollars in taxes being collected up front.

…Vermont has been the only real onshore competitor for Bermuda and Cayman as large numbers of U.S. companies have turned to captives, transforming this once exotic product into a mainstream choice on the global market place. …To date, Bermuda leads the captive market with about 870 companies, followed by Cayman (756) and Vermont (562).