John D. and Karen Beatty - Page 6

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          also supported by reasonable inferences drawn from petitioner's             
          testimony.  After reducing the gross receipts by the cost of                
          goods sold, petitioner computed his gross profit and gross income           
          from the prisoner meal program to be $41,412 and reported that              
          amount on the appropriate lines of the Schedule C.  Because no              
          expense deductions were claimed on the Schedule C, $41,412 was              
          also reported as net profit. Petitioners included this $41,412              
          amount in the amount reported as business income on line 12 of              
          Form 1040 of their 1991 Federal income tax return.                          
                                       OPINION                                        
               In her amendments to answer respondent has taken the                   
          position that petitioner improperly reported the meal allowances            
          as income from a trade or business separate and apart from his              
          employment as Howard County sheriff.  According to respondent, by           
          providing meals to the county prisoners, petitioner was                     
          discharging a duty imposed upon him as a county employee, not as            
          the proprietor of a separate trade or business.  Consequently,              
          respondent contends that the $109,952 received by petitioner as             
          meal allowances should be considered additional compensation paid           
          to petitioner as an employee of Howard County, and includable in            
          his income as such.  Respondent further contends that any costs             
          incurred by petitioner in connection with the program should be             
          considered employee business expenses, deductible only as                   
          miscellaneous itemized deductions on petitioners' Schedule A.               
          Respondent goes on to argue that if the meal allowances are                 
          considered additional employee compensation, and the costs                  





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