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Taxation - Income Tax - Insurance - Amounts Received By Stockholders Under Life Insurance Contract, C. V. Beck Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A corporation took out several policies of insurance on the life of its president, naming itself as beneficiary. Later, reserving the right to hypothecate the policies, it assigned them to a trustee who agreed to distribute the proceeds of the policies to the stockholders of record at the time of the president's death. At the death of the president the proceeds were paid by the insurance companies to the trustee who then paid them pro rata to the stockholders. At this time the corporation had on hand earnings equivalent to the amount of distribution, and there was no showing that …