Tax Matters; Compliance with REMIC Provisions (a) Each of the Trustee and the Master Servicer covenants and agrees that it shall perform its duties hereunder in a manner consistent with the REMIC Provisions and shall not knowingly take any action or fail to take any action that would (i) affect the determination of the Trust Estate's status as a REMIC; or (ii) cause the imposition of any federal, state or local income, prohibited transaction, contribution or other tax on either the REMIC or the Trust Estate. The Master Servicer, or, in the case of any tax return or other action required by law to be performed directly by the Trustee, the Trustee, shall (i) prepare or cause to be prepared, timely cause to be signed by the Trustee and file or cause to be filed annual federal and applicable state and local income tax returns using a calendar year as the taxable year for the REMIC and the accrual method of accounting; (ii) in the first such federal tax return, make, or cause to be made, elections satisfying the requirements of the REMIC Provisions, on behalf of the Trust Estate, to treat the Trust Estate as a REMIC; (iii) prepare, execute and forward, or cause to be prepared, executed and forwarded, to the Certificateholders all information reports or tax returns required with respect to the REMIC, as and when required to be provided to the Certificateholders, and to the Internal Revenue Service and any other relevant governmental taxing authority in accordance with the REMIC Provisions and any other applicable federal, state or local laws, including without limitation information reports relating to "original issue discount" and "market discount" as defined in the Code based upon the issue prices, prepayment assumption and cash flows provided by the Seller to the Trustee and calculated on a monthly basis by using the issue prices of the Certificates; (iv) make available information necessary for the application of any tax imposed on transferors of residual interests to "disqualified organizations" (as defined in the REMIC Provisions); (v) file Form 8811 and apply for an Employee Identification Number with a Form SS-4 or any other permissible method and respond to inquiries by Certificateholders or their nominees concerning information returns, reports or tax returns; (vi) maintain (or cause to be maintained by the Servicers) such records relating to the REMIC, including but not limited to the income, expenses, individual Mortgage Loans (including REO Mortgage Loans), other assets and liabilities of the REMIC, and the fair market value and adjusted basis of the property of the REMIC determined at such intervals as may be required by the Code, as may be necessary to prepare the foregoing returns or information reports; (vii) exercise reasonable care not to allow the creation of any "interests" in the REMIC within the meaning of Code Section 860D(a)(2) other than the interests represented by the Class A-1, Class B-1, Class B-2, Class B-3, Class B-4, Class B-5 and Class B-6 Certificates; (viii) exercise reasonable care not to allow the occurrence of any "prohibited transactions" within the meaning of Code Section 860F(a), unless the Master Servicer shall have provided an Opinion of Counsel to the Trustee that such occurrence would not (a) result in a taxable gain, (b) otherwise subject either the Trust Estate or the REMIC to tax or (c) cause the Trust Estate to fail to qualify as a REMIC; (ix) exercise reasonable care not to allow the REMIC to receive income from the performance of services or from assets not permitted under the REMIC Provisions to be held by a REMIC; (x) pay (on behalf of the REMIC) the amount of any federal income tax, including, without limitation, prohibited transaction taxes, taxes on net income from foreclosure property, and taxes on certain contributions to a REMIC after the Startup Day, imposed on the REMIC, when and as the same shall be due and payable (but such obligation shall not prevent the Master Servicer or any other appropriate Person from contesting any such tax in appropriate proceedings and shall not prevent the Master Servicer from withholding or depositing payment of such tax, if permitted by law, pending the outcome of such proceedings); and (xi) if required or permitted by the Code and applicable law, act as "tax matters person" for the REMIC within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.860F-4(d), and the Master Servicer is hereby designated as agent of the Class A-R Certificateholder for such purpose (or if the Master Servicer is not so permitted, the Holder of the Class A-R Certificate shall be the tax matters person in accordance with the REMIC Provisions). The Master Servicer shall be entitled to be reimbursed pursuant to Section 3.02 for any taxes paid by it pursuant to clause (x) of the preceding sentence, except to the extent that such taxes are imposed as a result of the bad faith, willful misfeasance or gross negligence of the Master Servicer in the performance of its obligations hereunder. The Trustee shall sign the tax returns referred to in clause (i) of the second preceding sentence. In order to enable the Master Servicer or the Trustee, as the case may be, to perform its duties as set forth above, the Seller shall provide, or cause to be provided, to the Master Servicer within ten days after the Closing Date all information or data that the Master Servicer determines to be relevant for tax purposes to the valuations and offering prices of the Certificates, including, without limitation, the price, yield, prepayment assumption and projected cash flows of each Class of Certificates and the Mortgage Loans in the aggregate. Thereafter, the Seller shall provide to the Master Servicer or the Trustee, as the case may be, promptly upon request therefor, any such additional information or data that the Master Servicer or the Trustee, as the case may be, may from time to time request in order to enable the Master Servicer to perform its duties as set forth above. The Seller hereby indemnifies the Master Servicer or the Trustee, as the case may be, for any losses, liabilities, damages, claims or expenses of the Master Servicer or the Trustee arising from any errors or miscalculations by the Master Servicer or the Trustee pursuant to this Section that result from any failure of the Seller to provide, or to cause to be provided, accurate information or data to the Master Servicer or the Trustee, as the case may be, on a timely basis. The Master Servicer hereby indemnifies the Seller and the Trustee for any losses, liabilities, damages, claims or expenses of the Seller or the Trustee arising from the Master Servicer's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in preparing any of the federal, state and local tax returns of the REMIC as described above. In the event that the Trustee prepares any of the federal, state and local tax returns of the REMIC as described above, the Trustee hereby indemnifies the Seller and the Master Servicer for any losses, liabilities, damages, claims or expenses of the Seller or the Master Servicer arising from the Trustee's willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in connection with such preparation.
(b) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, each of the Master Servicer and the Trustee shall pay from its own funds, without any right of reimbursement therefor, the amount of any costs, liabilities and expenses incurred by the Trust Estate (including, without limitation, any and all federal, state or local taxes, including taxes imposed on "prohibited transactions" within the meaning of the REMIC Provisions) if and to the extent that such costs, liabilities and expenses arise from a failure of the Master Servicer or the Trustee, respectively, to perform its obligations under this Section 8.13.
