Barry D. and Suzanne B. Whalley - Page 15

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          estimate, the Court will closely scrutinize a taxpayer whose                
          inexactitude is of his own making.  Cohan v. Commissioner, supra;           
          DeMauro v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1994-460, affd. without                 
          published opinion 82 F.3d 404 (3d Cir. 1996).  Given that Mrs.              
          Whalley is a police lieutenant, we can reasonably infer that she            
          incurred cleaning expenses for her uniforms and was required to             
          pay union dues.  However, with respect to the purported purchase            
          of Mrs. Whalley's police uniforms, no evidence was presented to             
          establish that the Hayward Police Department required police                
          officers to purchase their own uniforms.  Petitioners' failure to           
          submit any records to substantiate such expenses weighs heavily             
          against them.  Accordingly, under Cohan, we allow petitioners to            
          deduct $300 for 1992 for the cost of dues and cleaning uniforms.            
          However, we sustain respondent's determination as to the $3,790             
          balance.                                                                    
               B. Books and Motivational Tapes                                        
               For 1991 and 1992, Mrs. Whalley deducted $36 and $467,                 
          respectively, for motivational tapes, cassettes, and books, such            
          as The Confident Woman; as well as magazines and newspapers, such           
          as Self, Working Woman, and the Valley Times.                               
               Petitioners have failed to establish how such expenses are             
          connected to Mrs. Whalley's job as a police officer, and not                
          merely expenses for her own personal growth and entertainment.              
          Thus, we find that such amounts constitute personal expenditures            






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