MetLife to Take $792 Million Third-Quarter Charge

By Leslie Scism 

Life insurer MetLife Inc. said it would take a $792 million charge against third-quarter earnings to reflect that it may owe more federal taxes for past years, prompted by an adverse court ruling earlier this month involving other companies in a similar tax dispute.

The nation's biggest life insurer said it stands by its tax treatment, but said the charge "is the result of the company's consideration of recent decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upholding the disallowance [by the Internal Revenue Service] of foreign tax credits" claimed by other companies. MetLife's action relates to tax years 2000 to 2009 and involves the tax treatment of a wholly-owned U.K. investment subsidiary of MetLife.

"There has been no change in the company's position on the disallowance of its foreign tax credits" by the IRS, the company said Wednesday. "MetLife continues to contest the disallowance of these foreign tax credits by the IRS as management believes the facts strongly support the company's position."

MetLife said the noncash, after-tax charge to operating earnings and net income would be 70 cents a share. The company also said it does not expect any additional charges related to this matter.

In the third quarter of 2014, MetLife reported net income of $2.1 billion, or $1.81 per share.

MetLife's statement didn't name the companies that were the subject of the appellate court ruling earlier this month. According to the ruling, they are Bank of New York Mellon and American International Group Inc. Their disputes involved hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign tax credits.

MetLife's regulatory filing for its second-quarter earnings cited a disagreement with the IRS over foreign tax credits. It said the IRS in April had issued a "Statutory Notice of Deficiency" for years 2000, 2001 and 2002, asserting that MetLife owes additional taxes and interest for these years "primarily due to the disallowance of foreign tax credits."

MetLife added in the filing that "the transactions that are the subject of the notice continue through 2009, and it is likely that the IRS will seek to challenge these later periods."

Write to Leslie Scism at [e-mail]

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September 16, 2015 16:25 ET (20:25 GMT)

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