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The last factor looks to elements of personal pleasure or
recreation. It is obvious that petitioner enjoyed writing and
derived personal satisfaction in helping prostitutes seek a new
way of life. Nevertheless, "the fact that the taxpayer derives
personal pleasure from engaging in the activity is not sufficient
to cause the activity to be classified as not engaged in for
profit if the activity is in fact engaged in for profit as
evidenced by other factors". Sec. 1.183-2(b)(9), Income Tax
Regs.
Petitioner has succeeded in proving that he engaged in his
writing activity with a profit objective. There are admittedly
some factors in this case which indicate the absence of a profit
motive: Petitioner has a history of losses, he did not seek any
expert advice, and, arguably, there is a recreational element in
his writing. These factors, however, are outweighed by the facts
demonstrating that petitioner did engage in writing for profit.
And though his writing venture may have been speculative and his
expectation of profit unreasonable, that alone does not preclude
us from finding that petitioner was in the trade or business of
being an author during the years before us.
Respondent next asserts that, for 1993 and 1994, peti-
tioner's claimed expenses were not ordinary and necessary
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