William James Courville - Page 7

                                        - 7 -                                         

          the activity.  These factors are not merely a counting device               
          where the number of factors for or against the taxpayer is                  
          determinative, but rather all facts and circumstances must be               
          taken into account, and more weight may be given to some factors            
          than to others.  Cf. Dunn v. Commissioner, 70 T.C. 715, 720                 
          (1978), affd. 615 F.2d 578 (2d Cir. 1980).  Not all factors are             
          applicable in every case, and no one factor is controlling.                 
          Abramson v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. 360, 371 (1986); Allen v.                 
          Commissioner, 72 T.C. 28, 34 (1979); sec. 1.183-2(b), Income Tax.           
          Regs.                                                                       
               Petitioner has been playing golf since he was 13 years old             
          and clearly gains personal pleasure in the game.  While                     
          petitioner participated in numerous tournaments as an amateur               
          golfer, with some success, prior to engaging in his golfing                 
          activity in 1991, he never worked in any capacity as a                      
          professional golfer.  Petitioner appears to have spent a                    
          significant amount of time and effort in carrying on his golfing            
          activity.  However, this time and effort has been without much              
          success both from a professional and a financial standpoint.  To            
          date, petitioner has failed to qualify to participate in any PGA            
          sponsored tournament.  Despite his lack of success in qualifying            
          for any tournament, petitioner has only taken four golf lessons             
          to improve his skills since engaging in the activity.                       







Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011