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on his playwriting in a businesslike manner.
The second factor that the regulation lists is the expertise
of the taxpayer or his advisers. Sec. 1.183-2(b)(2), Income Tax
Regs. We cannot imagine an individual better qualified for the
playwriting trade than petitioner. He has a Ph.D. in drama and
has published numerous pieces on dramatic criticism and theory,
as well as his own poetry. His educational and professional
background meet and perhaps exceed the level of taxpayer
expertise we found in Churchman. (Though we also note that
academic employment is no prerequisite for expertise in
writing,16 as the achievements of insurance executives,17 nurses,18
and shut-ins19 attest.)
The third factor is the time and effort expended by the
taxpayer in carrying on the activity. Sec. 1.183-2(b)(3), Income
Tax Regs. The sheer extent of petitioner’s documentation
supports the proposition that he approached his playwriting in a
businesslike manner. Furthermore, petitioner has been
16 Dana Gioia, “Can Poetry Matter?” 267 The Atlantic 94-95
(May 1991) decrying “migration of American literary culture to
the university.”
17 See Harold Bloom, “Wallace Stevens, A Comprehensive Study
Guide” 16 (2003).
18 See Frances Winwar, “American Giant, Walt Whitman and His
Times” 253 (1941).
19 Richard B. Sewall, “The Life Of Emily Dickinson” 474
(Harvard University Press Paperback Edition, 1994).
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