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case. The preponderance of the evidence leads to the conclusion
that the activity was not engaged in for profit.
Petitioner relies on Gestrich v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 525
(1980), affd. without published opinion 681 F.2d 805 (3d Cir.
1982), for support of his position that his attempts at obtaining
a recording contract amount to an active trade or business. In
that case, we held that the taxpayer was engaged in the trade or
business of being an author because his primary effort was
directed toward his self-employment as a writer, he spent a
significant amount of time working on his book, he had been paid
for his works in prior years, and he was actively attempting to
have his book published. Gestrich v. Commissioner, supra at 529.
For the reasons set forth above, petitioner’s case is
distinguishable from Gestrich.
Petitioner also relies on a case in which the Court of
Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a lower court’s oral
finding that a taxpayer was not engaged in a trade or business as
a photographic journalist or author, where the taxpayer spent 30
hours per week on his nature photography project, shot 200 rolls
of film, produced 3,000 slides, submitted his work unsuccessfully
to several publishers, and maintained detailed technical records
regarding his endeavor to produce a photographic book. Snyder v.
United States, 674 F.2d 1359, 1362-1363 (10th Cir. 1982). The
appellate court in that case did not make its own finding that
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