Joseph A. and Sari F. Deihl - Page 58

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                    A    The men was a little bit easier because most                 
               of the time they would just have to have tuxedos.  Our                 
               requirement on the men was that they just couldn’t--you                
               can’t just walk into and buy a tuxedo at Men’s                         
               Wearhouse and expect somebody to say, “Gee, that’s a                   
               great looking piece of garment.”  It’s how it’s                        
               tailored and how it fits that has more intensity to it.                
                         *    *    *    *    *    *    *                              
                    Q    What was the rule with respect to the men as                 
               to whether they were to wear the clothing purchased by                 
               the company for reasons other than company purposes?                   
                    A    There was a six month rule: they had to                      
               rotate suits or tuxes, clothing, at least they couldn’t                
               wear the same tie and pushout or anything else like                    
               that.  And the suit had to be rotated out so that                      
               nobody saw them and they could say, “Hey, you were                     
               there in that suit yesterday or the day before.”  * * *                
                    Q    What was the rule, if any, with respect to                   
               whether the men could wear the clothing other than for                 
               a company function?                                                    
                    A    It was never stated as such but nobody did                   
               it, only because you were always overdressed whenever                  
               you went into something.  I mean when you--the exact                   
               same tie and shirt and went with the exact same suit so                
               it was a perfect fit and appearance.  Now, you may have                
               six different ties and shirts for that suit.  But, you                 
               know, if you walked down the street in it you would                    
               almost look like a model walking around.                               
               The test for the deductibility of clothing costs as ordinary           
          and necessary business expenses under section 162 rests on three            
          criteria:  The clothing must be (1) required or essential in the            
          taxpayer’s employment, (2) not suitable for general or personal             
          wear, and (3) not so worn.  Hynes v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 1266,            
          1290 (1980); Yeomans v. Commissioner, 30 T.C. 757, 767-768                  
          (1958); Bernardo v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-199.  In                  






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