????批評Airbnb、Uber等所謂“分享經濟”公司的人認為，這些公司設置獨特的股權結構，就是為了避稅。甚至有一些處于分享經濟邊緣的公司，似乎也在想方設法地避開美國國稅局。

????作為Uber公司的承保人，詹姆士河集團（James River Group）去年支付的稅率僅有12.6%。這甚至都不足標準普爾500指數成分股公司去年平均稅率（27%）的一半。美國的有效公司稅率為35%。

????那么，詹姆士河集團是如何成功避稅的？幾年前，該公司遷往一個小島。詹姆士河集團成立于2002年，公司總部最初位于北卡羅來納州教堂山。時至今日，公司網站顯示的通信地址依舊是北卡羅來納州羅利市。但早在2007年，該公司就被紐約對沖基金D. E. Shaw收購。該筆交易引發了兩起股東訴訟，并且為詹姆士河集團創始人支付了巨額費用。其中，馬修?布朗福曼獲得了6,000萬美元。他是布朗福曼家族的后裔，該家族曾經擁有酒業巨頭施格蘭公司（Seagrams）。

????D. E. Shaw將詹姆士河集團與一家位于百慕大的空殼公司合并，并將合并后公司的總部遷至這個小島。自2007年以來，這家公司一直為私人所有，但該公司預計將在本周四進行首次公開募股。詹姆士河集團計劃融資2.5億美元，發行1,100萬股。除了D. E. Shaw外，詹姆士河集團的另一個大股東是高盛公司（Goldman Sachs）。這讓Uber與高盛的關系更近了一層。最近，這家打車服務公司聘用高盛發行可轉換債券，高盛也一直希望成為Uber公司IPO的主承銷商。

????詹姆士河集團擅長為公司提供所謂超額保險，其承保范圍包括傳統保險不能賠償的損失。雖然Uber僅占詹姆士河集團業務的一小部分，但它是這家保險商增長最迅速的客戶之一。在2013年前九個月，詹姆士河集團從所謂交通網絡公司收取的保險費達到1,870萬美元，較2012年的170萬美元大幅提升。截至目前，公司今年已經獲取了4.15億美元的收入。

????目前尚不清楚這部分增長的業務收入是否全部來自Uber。這家打車服務公司承認從詹姆士河集團購買了責任險。問題在于，對于詹姆士河集團來說，為該公司承保是筆好買賣嗎？

????今年早些時候，Uber發表博文稱：“當車主個人的汽車保險拒絕賠償時，該公司的保單將負擔這筆費用。”但許多汽車保單通常并不涉及汽車商用范圍。因此，如果Uber的車主發生事故或造成乘客受傷或撞傷他人，由此產生的費用恐怕要由詹姆士河承擔。因此，雖然詹姆士河集團僅為Uber的美國業務承保，但1,900萬美元的保險費恐怕仍然有些捉襟見肘。對Uber的投訴意見之一是，該公司沒有為日益增多的車主提供足夠的保險。

????除此之外，詹姆士河集團的投資組合也是一個值得關注的問題。在其招股說明書中，詹姆士河集團表示，該公司并未按對沖基金的方式經營，但它愿意投資一些傳統保險公司認為風險過大的產品。例如，詹姆士河集團有20%的投資為銀行貸款。該公司表示，其投資的貸款平均信用評級為B級。而垃圾債券的最低評級為BBB+，甚至要高于詹姆士河投資的銀行貸款的平均評級。詹姆士河集團的IPO文件稱，這些貸款非常安全，因為它們屬于借款公司必須償還的優先債務。但如果這些公司持有的優先債務貸款被評為B級，那么這些公司的總體信用評級有可能低于垃圾級。詹姆斯河集團銀行貸款債券的平均收益為5.5%左右，這意味著該公司的投資比普通公司債券的風險更高。

????詹姆士河集團曾經出現過投資失誤。例如，去年該公司投資的波多黎各市政債券損失了210萬美元。

????不過，就其本身而言，銀行貸款不會對這家公司造成太大的損失。詹姆士河集團持有大量現金，并且投資了大批傳統的低風險公司債券和其他債務。但除了高風險投資組合外，它與一家新公司的業務往來日益頻繁，而向這家新公司出售的保險面臨未知的風險，將兩者結合起來，投資者有理由產生擔憂。

????當然，這家選擇為Uber承保的公司，愿意接受風險更高的投資組合，或許也并不會讓人感到意外。但Uber選擇詹姆士河集團，并決定不從其他公司購買保險，或許能讓我們對這家打車服務公司有更深入的了解，更不用說分享經濟公司愿意承擔的巨大風險了。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????Critics of Airbnb, Uber, and other companies in the so-called sharing economy argue that these companies are structured to avoid paying taxes. It appears that even companies on the fringes of the sharing economy are looking to dodge Uncle Sam.

????James River Group, Uber’s insurer, paid a tax rate of just 12.6% last year. That’s less than half the average rate paid by companies in the S&P 500 last year, which was 27%. The effective U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%.

????How did James River Group manage to avoid the tax man? A few years ago, it moved to an island. James River Group was formed in 2002 and was originally based in Chapel Hill, N.C. The company’s website still lists its mailing address as Raleigh, N.C. But in 2007, the company was acquired by New York-based hedge fund D. E. Shaw. The deal sparked two shareholder lawsuits and huge payouts for James River’s founders, including $60 million for Matthew Bronfman, a scion of the family that once owned liquor giant Seagrams.

????Shaw merged James River with a Bermuda-based shell company, and moved the combined firm’s headquarters to the island. The company has been private since 2007, but it is expected to sell shares to the public in an IPO on Thursday. James River aims to raise about $250 million and sell 11 million shares. In addition to Shaw, James River’s other major shareholder is Goldman Sachs. That gives Uber yet another tie to Goldman, which was recently tapped to lead a convertible-bond offering for the ride-sharing company and is angling to do Uber’s IPO.

????James River specializes in offering corporations so-called excess insurance, policies that cover damages not covered by traditional insurance. Uber accounts for a small piece of James River’s business, but it is one of its fastest growing accounts. James River collected $18.7 million in premiums from so-called transportation network companies in the first nine months of 2013, up from just $1.7 million in 2012. The company has brought in $415 million in revenue this year.

????It’s not clear if all of that growing business comes from Uber. The ride-sharing company has said that it buys its liability insurance from James River. The question is whether James River is getting a good deal for covering that risk.

????Earlier this year, Uber published a blog post saying its corporate insurance policy “provides back up cover when/if a driver’s personal auto insurance denies the claim.” But many auto insurance policies do not cover drivers when they use their cars commercially. So James River could be on the hook for the whole tab when an Uber driver causes an accident or hurts a passenger or runs someone over. So, $19 million to cover all of that doesn’t seem like much, even if James River is only covering Uber in the U.S. One of the complaints about Uber is that it doesn’t have enough insurance to cover its growing fleet of drivers.

????On top of that, there’s James River’s investment portfolio. In the prospectus for its IPO, James River says it does not operate like a hedge fund, but it’s willing to invest in some things that traditional insurance companies deem too risky. For example, James River has about 20% of its portfolio in bank loans. The company says the loans it invests in have an average credit rating of B. The cutoff for junk bonds is BBB+, which is a few notches above what James River’s average banks loans are graded. James River’s IPO documents say the loans are safe because they tend to be some of the first obligations that the companies it lends to have to pay back. But if the first obligation loans those companies hold are given a B rating, those company’s overall credit rating is probably even junkier. The bonds in James River’s bank loan portfolio pay an average yield of nearly 5.5%, suggesting the company’s investments are far riskier than typical corporate bonds.

????James River has had some investing missteps. In the past year, for instance, it lost $2.1 million on a stake in Puerto Rico municipal bonds.

????Still, on their own, the bank loans aren’t likely to do much damage to the company. James River holds a lot of cash, and it has a large portfolio of traditional, lower-risk corporate bonds and other debt. But combine James River’s risky investment portfolio with the fact that it has a growing business with a fairly new company where the true risk of the insurance it is selling is likely unknown and then you have something to be nervous about.

????Of course, it’s probably not that much of a surprise that the company that chooses to insure Uber is also comfortable with more risk than usual in its investment portfolio. But the fact that Uber went with James River and decided not to pay up to get insurance elsewhere may tell you a little bit more about the ride-sharing company, not to mention the sizable risks sharing economy companies are willing to take.