97-018
Response
April 2, 1997
REQUEST
LETTER
Re:
COMPANY A Medical Savings Accounts
Dear
Mr. Marrelli:
Our
firm represents COMPANY A, a federally chartered financial institution which
plans to offer Medical Savings Accounts in Utah.
COMPANY
A's accounts will allow the account holder to access the account by use of a
Visa Debit Card. Allowing the account holder access in this manner will not
permit COMPANY A to comply with the monitoring requirements of the existing
Utah Medical Savings Account Act. Utah Code §§ 31A-32-101 through 31A-32-107.
Because
of this problem, COMPANY A proposes to offer Utah residents a federal medical
savings account which is not intended to qualify for exemption or deduction on
Utah state taxes. To make certain that the account holder is aware of this
limitation, the account agreement would contain the following disclosure:
"This
is a Federal Medical Savings Account. This Account is not set up or
administered in compliance with the requirements of the Utah Medical Savings
Account Act, Utah Code §§ 31A-32-101 through 31A-32-107. Funds deposited to or
withdrawn from this account will not qualify for exemption or deduction on Utah
State taxes".
I
am writing to request that you confirm your agreement that offering the above
described account to Utah residents will not be a violation of Utah State Law.
My
client is anxious to proceed so anything you might do to expedite your response
would be greatly appreciated.
Very
truly yours,
NAME
April
2, 1997
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE ZIP
Advisory
Opinion - Medical Savings Account
Dear
NAME,
Your request regarding the Medical Savings
Accounts administered by COMPANY A has been referred to our office for
response. We believe that your proposed
disclosure statement is reasonable notice to Utah participants that they may
not claim deposits to these accounts on
their Utah returns.
Thank you for taking time in advance
to clarify this issue with us.
For
the Commission,
Richard
B. McKeown,
Commissioner