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business judgment, based upon information that is as complete as
is reasonably obtainable. See Andrew v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. at
248.
Respondent asserts that petitioner's advances to Mark Mann
did not become worthless during petitioner's tax year ended July
31, 1992. In the role of pessimist, respondent notes that if, as
we have found, Mark Mann was deeply insolvent in July 1992, it is
likely that his financial position had been precarious in some
prior years. On the other hand, in the role of optimist,
respondent notes that at trial (in 1998) Mark Mann testified he
had made some progress with his remaining debts since 1992
(although he had not attained complete solvency).
Of course, we recognize that Mark Mann had been in
financial difficulty for some time prior to petitioner's tax year
ending July 31, 1992. We have found, however, that petitioner
had a reasonable expectation of repayment until the beginning of
that year, on the basis of Mark's employment (or potential future
employment) with petitioner, and his employment with another
firm. Therefore, we find that petitioner's right to repayment
for the advances had at least some value as of the beginning of
its taxable year ended July 31, 1992.
We also recognize that Mark was a young man (37 years old)
during petitioner's tax year ended July 31, 1992, and he had many
potential earning years ahead of him. However, around the
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