Bringing tax and insurance together

Asher Harris conducts a boutique law practice, which focuses on the United States tax aspects of risk management and global insurance. The unique aspect of the practice is the high-level understanding of both tax and risk management, which facilitates the integration of these two highly complex fields.

Because of his experience with one of the world’s most prominent law firms, and with one of the most highly respected reinsurance companies, Mr. Harris gives clients access to the type of expertise normally only available in large law firms, together with the personal attention, responsiveness, and cost-efficiency of a small law practice.

Clients include large multi-nationals corporations, both American and non-U.S., as well as some of the world’s largest insurance and reinsurance companies.

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Please submit enquiries to info@asherharris.com
I have worked with Asher for more than two decades, and I have always found him to be creative and careful in designing innovative risk transfer structures and customized solutions. Asher combines a best-in-class level of tax expertise with a deep understanding of insurance and reinsurance. I highly recommend him!
John Doucette, Reinsurance ExecutiveFormer President and CEO of Reinsurance, Everest Reinsurance Company
Asher Harris is the person you want to tackle complex situations. He brings insight, clarity and creativity to every problem he encounters. He cuts through technical matters and helps focus on the important issues so that time, money and resources can be directed effectively. Asher is a partner in debating strategic issues and a sounding board to vet alternate strategies. He always delivered what he promised and made sure we had answers even to the questions we didn't ask.
Heidi Hutter, CEOThe Black Diamond Group
I have worked with Asher on corporate and personal tax issues since 2006. His advice is always timely, practical and creative. He is well plugged in to current tax trends so I was always confident that his advice was appropriate to the situation.
Len GoldbergFormer CEO, Greenlight Reinsurance Company
We have used Asher's services for several projects related to United States FET, and we have always found him reliable and responsive, and highly knowledgeable in the area of United States insurance tax. I highly recommend him!
Jari Ostrovskij, Tax Council, Corporate TaxIf P&C Insurance
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A captive insurance company is an insurance company that is organized and owned by the parties that own the insured enterprise.  Under certain circumstances, insuring risks through a captive insurance company can be a more tax-efficient risk management technique than purchasing insurance from a third-party insurer.

State self-placement taxes are imposed by a state when risks within the state are covered by insurance that is not purchased from an insurer licensed within the state. There is no nationally accepted terminology for these taxes, which can be called self-placement taxes, self-procurement taxes, or taxes on independently-procured insurance. Under federal law, only the “home state” can impose these taxes. For any insurance program, the determination of the “home state”, and determining the scope of the taxes, can be highly complex.

The United States imposes a federal excise tax, known as FET, on insurance premiums paid to non-US insurance companies on risks that are located in the United States. The tax rate is 4% for direct non-life insurance, and 1% for reinsurance or life insurance.

A closing agreement is an agreement entered into between a foreign insurance company and the Internal Revenue Service.  By entering into a closing agreement, the insurance company agrees to comply with certain requirements of US tax law, such as filing returns and consenting to the right of the IRS to audit the company. In exchange, the IRS agrees that American companies that buy insurance from that insurance company are allowed to assume that the insurer is eligible for an exemption from FET under a tax treaty.