Changes For Georgia Captives? Not Yet

Changes For Georgia Captives? Not Yet

By Caroline McDonald

NU Online News Service, Feb. 19, 9:58 a.m. EST?An attempt to expand captive legislation in Georgia by augmenting the types of captives allowed and reducing premium tax is temporarily on hold, according to a captive expert.

But, a new strategy being cobbled will come into play once the gubernatorial election is complete, according to Kevin Doherty, president of the Atlanta-based Georgia Captive Association

"In Georgia, the bottom line is that nothing is happening. It's an election year and it's extremely tight budget times. We made our proposals through the governor's office but we were never really successful with getting them on the agenda," said Mr. Doherty.

The governor's office, he said, was open to the suggestions, but the legislature wanted to "adopt a do-nothing attitude right now."

The next step, he said, is to hire a lobbyist. "We can't do it without the assistance of a professional. Unfortunately, that's the way government works. You can't do it without significant help."

Mr. Doherty, a partner with the law firm of Gladstone, Doherty & Associates in Atlanta, said he still hopes to see two legislative changes adopted: the addition of employee benefits captives and a reduction of the state's premium tax. The premium tax is currently as high as 4.75 percent or as low as 3 percent on a Georgia-based risk, "and zero for non-Georgia-based risk," he said.

Premium tax legislation was proposed last year, but was never moved out of committee, he explained.

"I think if we play our cards right we can get it done next year," Mr. Doherty continued. "These legislators are not really experienced with captives. What seems to us like a very significant piece of legislation isn't as significant to them in the overall scheme of things."

Mr. Doherty, whose firm also has an office in Nashville, Tenn., continued that he hopes to initiate some legislative changes for captives in Tennessee, as well, once this year's governor's election is complete. Currently, Tennessee has five captives, according to the Tennessee Department of Insurance.

"Tennessee is in a budget crunch, too, but I think they would be very open to any changes that would help bring in revenue," he said.

The difficulty, he reiterated, is in getting people to understand the revenue possibilities, "because the revenue numbers really aren't that large. The whole point of captives is to avoid taxation."

A successful domicile enjoys indirect benefits by bringing "more white collar jobs and tourism to the region," he said.