- 12 - investment and merchant banking. The facts support petitioner on that argument. Petitioner and Thurmond credibly testified that they were in the trade or business of investment and merchant banking. The totality of the circumstances shows that they sought to obtain financing in return for obtaining a percentage interest in various Kirshner entities. Multiple Kirshner documents show that petitioner was described as the managing director of Equisource Group and responsible for obtaining financing as well as pursuing possible acquisitions. Petitioner was also slated to be on the board of directors of Kirshner Global once financing was completed. He was listed as executive vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer, and director of Kirshner Content in the February 22, 1996, confidential private placement memorandum. The Court concludes that these activities were not merely investment activities or the management of petitioner’s investment but were part and parcel of petitioner’s trade or business. Thus, the Court finds that petitioner was engaged in a trade or business with respect to these expenses. With respect to the claimed bad debts, petitioner must establish that the debts had some value at the beginning of 2000 and became worthless by the end of the year. Milenbach v. Commissioner, 106 T.C. 184, 204 (1996), affd. in part, revd. inPage: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Next
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