Note 10: Income Taxes

The Company’s income taxes and the related effective tax rates for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 are as follows:


	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
In millions	2012		2011		2012		2011
Income (loss) before income taxes	$	795	$	(147)	$	816	$	(1,910)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$	214	$	(284)	$	225	$	(772)
Effective tax rate		26.9%		193.2%		27.6%		40.4%

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, the Company’s effective tax rate applied to its income before income taxes was lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily as a result of the Company’s decrease in the valuation allowance, the release of a portion of the reserve for uncertain tax benefits and the benefit of tax-exempt interest income from investments. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Company’s effective tax rate applied to its loss before income taxes was higher than the U.S. statutory tax rate as a result of the Company’s tax-exempt interest income from investments, income earned in non-U.S. jurisdictions, which is being taxed at less than 35%, and a reduction in the valuation allowance.

For interim reporting purposes, the Company has calculated its effective tax rate for the full year of 2012 by adjusting annual forecasted pre-tax income for mark-to-market income, fair value adjustments, capital gains/losses, and other adjustments, when projecting its full year effective tax rate. The Company has accounted for these items at the federal applicable tax rate after applying the projected full year effective tax rate to actual six-month results before discrete items.

Deferred Tax Asset, Net of Valuation Allowance

The Company establishes a valuation allowance against its deferred tax asset when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. All evidence, both positive and negative, needs to be identified and considered in making the determination. Future realization of the existing deferred tax asset ultimately depends, in part, on the existence of sufficient taxable income of appropriate character (for example, ordinary income versus capital gains) within the carryforward period available under the tax law.

As of June 30, 2012, the Company reported a net deferred tax asset of $1.4 billion. The $1.4 billion net deferred tax asset is after a $194 million valuation allowance. As of June 30, 2012, the Company had a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset related to losses from asset impairments and realized losses from sales of investments as these losses are considered capital losses, have a five-year carryforward period, and can only be offset by capital gain income. The June 30, 2012 valuation allowance reflects a decrease of $42 million from the December 31, 2011 valuation allowance of $236 million. The decrease in the valuation allowance for the six months ended June 30, 2012 was primarily due to the generation of capital gain income.

The Company has concluded that it is more likely than not that its net deferred tax asset will be realized. In its conclusion, the Company considered the following evidence (both positive and negative):

•

Due to the long-tail nature of the financial guarantee business, MBIA Inc.’s insurance subsidiaries, without regard to any new business, will have a steady stream of scheduled premium earnings with respect to the existing insured portfolio. Additionally, MBIA Corp.’s announcement in February 2008 of a temporary suspension in writing new structured finance transactions and a permanent cessation with respect to insuring new CDS contracts, except in transactions related to the reduction of existing derivative exposure, would not have an impact on the expected earnings related to the existing insured portfolio.

•

The Company performed taxable income projections over a fifteen and twenty year period to determine whether it will have sufficient income to offset its deferred tax asset that will generate future ordinary deductions. In this analysis, the Company concluded that premium earnings, even without regard to any new business, combined with investment income, less deductible expenses, will be sufficient to recover its net deferred tax asset. The Company’s taxable income projections used to assess the recoverability of its deferred tax asset include an estimate of future loss and LAE equal to the present value discount of loss reserves already recognized on the balance sheet and an estimate of LAE which is generally insignificant. The Company does not assume additional losses, with the exception of the accretion of its existing present value loss reserves, because the Company establishes case basis reserves on a present value basis based on an estimate of probable losses on specifically identified credits that have defaulted or are expected to default.

•

While the ratings downgrades by the rating agencies have significantly adversely impacted the Company’s ability to write new insurance business, the downgrades did not have a material impact on earnings from the existing insured portfolio, which the Company believes will be sufficient to absorb losses in the event that the cumulative unrealized losses become fully impaired.

•

With respect to installment policies, the Company generally does not have an automatic cancellation provision solely in connection with ratings downgrades. For purposes of projecting future taxable income, the Company has applied a discount to adjust for the possible cancellation of future installment premiums based on recent data. With regard to upfront policies, to the extent that the issuer chooses to terminate a policy, any unearned premium reserve with respect to that policy will be accelerated into earnings (i.e. refundings).

•

As of June 30, 2012, the Company had approximately $18 million of deferred tax assets related to net unrealized losses on investments included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). The Company intends to hold these investments until maturity or until such time as the value recovers. As such, the Company expects that the related deferred tax assets will reverse over the life of the securities.

After reviewing all of the evidence available, both positive and negative, MBIA believes that it has appropriately valued the recoverability of its deferred tax assets, net of the valuation allowance, as of June 30, 2012. The Company continues to assess the adequacy of its valuation allowance as additional evidence becomes available. The Company’s recent financial results have been volatile which has impacted management’s ability to accurately project future taxable income. Continued volatility or losses beyond those projected may cause the Company to conclude that certain of the deferred tax assets within the total deferred tax assets of $1.4 billion as of June 30, 2012 may not be realizable. The Company performs an analysis every quarter to review its conclusion as to the ability to realize the deferred tax asset.

Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes

It is the Company’s policy to record and disclose any change in unrecognized tax benefits (“UTB”) and related interest and penalties to income tax in the consolidated statements of operations. In the first six months of 2012, the total amount of UTB decreased as a result of settling the 2004-2009 Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) examination and the 2005-2007 New York State examination, partially offset by a reserve for current year tax positions.


In millions
Unrecognized tax benefit as of December 31, 2011	$	47
The gross amount of the increase/(decrease) in the UTB as a result of tax positions taken:
During a prior year		-
During the current year		18
The amounts of decreases in the UTB related to settlements with taxing authorities		(25)
The reduction in the UTB as a result of the applicable statute of limitations		-

Unrecognized tax benefit as of June 30, 2012	$	40

MBIA’s major tax jurisdictions include the U.S. and the United Kingdom (“U.K.”). MBIA and its U.S. subsidiaries file a U.S. consolidated federal income tax return. The IRS has concluded its field work with respect to the examination of tax years 2004 through 2009 and on January 12, 2012, the Joint Committee on Taxation notified the Company that the results of the IRS field examination were reviewed and accepted.

The U.K. tax authorities are currently auditing tax years 2005 through 2009.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a 2008 capital loss carryforward of $155 million which will expire in 2013. The Company also had a cumulative NOL carryforward of $943 million, which will expire from tax years 2029 through 2031, and a minimum tax credit carryforward of $22 million, which has an unlimited carryforward period.