James J. Lencke and Janene B. Lencke - Page 24

                                       - 24 -                                         
          his mind and his time after his retirement as an insurance agent.           
          Thus, we think Red Caboose allowed Mr. Lencke to pursue, upon his           
          retirement, his interest in and the pleasures of collecting model           
          railroad equipment and memorabilia.  Although its operation                 
          extended petitioners' interest in model railroading into a more             
          formal pursuit, it does not necessarily follow that they were               
          primarily motivated by an intention to make Red Caboose a                   
          profitable venture.  While it is not required that a taxpayer               
          dislike an activity before it will be considered a business and             
          not a hobby, Jackson v. Commissioner, 59 T.C. 312, 317 (1972),              
          petitioners have not shown a profit objective with respect to               
          their model railroad activity.  Consequently, their interest in             
          operating Red Caboose has strong recreational and personal                  
          elements.                                                                   
               In reaching our conclusion that Red Caboose's operation was            
          not an activity engaged in by petitioners for profit, we have               
          considered that, before starting Red Caboose, they planned and              
          coordinated the activities to be pursued through Red Caboose,               
          visited model railroad shows, and sought advice from various                
          vendors of model railroad supplies, and that they promoted Red              
          Caboose by advertising in model railroad and toy magazines,                 
          publishing and distributing a two-page flyer listing Red                    
          Caboose's merchandise, creating business cards, and allowing                
          visitors to tour the model railroad collection displayed in the             
          basement of their home.  We have also considered that petitioners           




Page:  Previous  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011