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expenditures, which, if deductible at all, must be amortized over
the useful life of the asset.” Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S.
687, 689-690 (1966).
Expenses incurred in defending a business and its policies
from attack are generally ordinary and necessary--and deductible-
-business expenses. See, e.g., Commissioner v. Heininger, 320
U.S. 467 (1943) (a dentist's mail order business faced ruin when
the Postmaster General deprived him of access to the mails; the
Supreme Court held that his legal fees, incurred in litigating
the propriety of the Postmaster General’s order, were properly
deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses);
Commissioner v. Tellier, supra (holding that the taxpayer’s legal
costs “incurred in his defense against charges of past criminal
conduct” arising out of his business activities were deductible
under section 162). On the other hand, no current deduction is
allowed for a capital expenditure. See sec. 263(a); INDOPCO,
Inc. v. Commissioner, supra at 83.
A particular cost, no matter what its type, may be
deductible in one context but may be required to be capitalized
in another context. Simply because other cases have allowed a
current deduction for similar expenses in different contexts does
not require the same result here. For example, in Commissioner
v. Idaho Power Co., 418 U.S. 1, 13 (1974), the Supreme Court made
the following observation about wages paid by a taxpayer in its
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