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activity; (7) the amount of occasional profits, if any, which are
earned; (8) the financial status of the taxpayer; and (9)
elements of personal pleasure or recreation. No one factor is
conclusive, and we do not reach our decision herein by merely
counting how many of the nine enumerated factors support each
party’s position. Carter v. Commissioner, 645 F.2d 784, 787 (9th
Cir. 1981), affg. T.C. Memo. 1978-202; Dunn v. Commissioner, 70
T.C. at 720. We consider these factors seriatim.
(1) Manner of Carrying on the Activity
The parties have stipulated the accuracy of petitioner’s
Schedule C for each year in issue. Supra note 2. Also,
respondent did not determine, and does not assert, that
petitioner omitted to report any receipts from his videotape
activity. From the foregoing, we conclude that petitioner’s
books and records, though sparse and relatively informal, were
adequate for a trade or business.
By the end of 1992, petitioner was faced with a record of
fluctuating gross receipts which were trending somewhat downward,
and losses which were more-or-less consistently increasing.
Supra table 6. He had spent about $80,000 on equipment. His
reported losses from his videotape activity, including straight-
line depreciation, aggregated about $55,000, plus whatever he
reported on his 1990 tax return. Supra table 6, note 2. His
reaction to this state of affairs was to buy another $75,000 of
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