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and his travel (the business purpose requirement). See id.; see
also 41 C.F.R. sec. 301-7.2(a)(2) (1994 & 1996).
Nor do we agree with respondent that a taxpayer is precluded
from deducting travel expenses under section 162(a)(2) if he or
she does not pay for lodging or meal costs for his or her travel.
The mere fact that a taxpayer is furnished with meals and lodging
without charge while employed away from home does not necessarily
mean that he or she will not incur other ordinary and necessary
travel expenses. In fact, the Commissioner has recognized as
much in the subject revenue procedures wherein he states that
“the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses of an
employee for lodging, meal, and/or incidental expenses incurred
while traveling away from home will be deemed substantiated * * *
when * * * [the employer] provides a per diem allowance” to the
employee equal to the applicable M&IE rate. E.g., Rev. Proc. 96-
28, 1996-1 C.B. at 686. We also note that 41 C.F.R. sec. 301-
7.12(a)(2) (1994 & 1996) sets forth explicit rules which reduce
the M&IE rates when the Government furnishes meals to an employee
without charge and clarifies that “The total amount of deductions
made on partial days shall not cause the employee to receive less
than the amount allocated for incidental expenses.”
We turn to the applicable revenue procedures. Respondent
focuses on the fact that those revenue procedures provide that an
employee without a travel allowance may use the revenue
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