July 28, 2016 (Houston, TX) – Capstone Associated Services, Ltd. has again strengthened its bench responding to the 2015 Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, otherwise known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2015. The December 2015 act imposed significant ownership restrictions for Internal Revenue Code Section 831(b) electing captives, and significantly increased the cap on premiums, calling for major restructuring of many captive insurers.
The Feldman Law Firm LLP, Capstone's affiliated law firm, proudly announces that Kenneth Anderson has joined its practice, to focus on restructurings necessitated by the 2015 PATH Act and other captive insurance corporate matters. Mr. Anderson, a 2003 graduate of Cornell University's Law School with a William & Mary undergraduate degree, joins Capstone's newest tax professional, Paula Little, CPA.
"We wholeheartedly welcome Ken to our team. He joins us after having practiced as a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and Baker Botts in Houston, among other firms," commented Stewart Feldman, Capstone CEO. "Adding Ken to our deep bench of lawyers with more than 50 years of captive talent further solidifies The Feldman Law Firm's position as the dominant legal team in the mid-market captive world."
"We had ongoing inquiries from clients over the last few months to address the changes in the ownership and insureds of our client captives," commented William Blankinship, Director - Southeast for Capstone. "Clients have come to realize, many too late, that their captive managers lack the talent to address the new act. At the same time, with increased IRS audits of specific captive managers' clients, we've seen a more thorough client evaluation of their existing captive manager. Many clients now realize that these captive managers have only clerical and administrative services supporting them in an audit conducted by state or federal taxing authorities or by the domiciles. When examined, clients find that the required work was never done and that the planning is a failure."
"New clients have brought their concerns with their existing 'captive manager' to Capstone, utilizing our 'captive health check-up' program," commented Lance McNeel, Capstone's Vice President - Business Development. "The client realizes the depth and track record of Capstone and The Feldman Law Firm. For example, I'm one of six team members with professional property & casualty insurance certifications. With my 30+ years in the insurance industry and the CPCU and ARM designations, along with the certifications held by the rest of our team, we are able to design, implement, and administer a proper captive arrangement drawing upon 100+ years of insurance experience. And our ability to draw upon the tax, corporate, and insurance expertise of The Feldman Law Firm makes Capstone unmatched in offering clients a comprehensive package."
"Captive planning requires the design and ongoing oversight of a professional team of corporate, tax, insurance and regulatory lawyers, along with tax accountants with insurance expertise. This is on top of the obvious need for property & casualty insurance professionals such as CPCUs, CICs, ARMs and claims managers. We have seen repeated instances in which clerical captive managers are unable to provide audit support and defense for their clients when challenged by the IRS," explained Steve Cohen, head of the tax department at The Feldman Law Firm LLP. "After having successfully handled 55 audits, rulings and tax cases involving captives, we have an appreciation for the sophistication of the work and the wide range of challenges made to it. Many administrative providers calling themselves 'captive managers' disclaim all responsibility for tax and legal services, leaving their clients in a very weak position when the inevitable challenge of the planning comes."
Editor’s Notes: As of CURRENT_YEAR, Capstone has been operating for CAP_YEARS_NUMBER years and has formed over CAPTIVE_FORMATIONS captives. In addition, The Feldman Law Firm LLP has been operating for LAW_YEARS_NUMBER years and has successfully resolved over TAX_CONTROVERSIES tax matters. As of CURRENT_YEAR the cap on 831(b) captive insurance premiums is CURRENT_PREMIUM_CAP million.