Veronica L. Foster - Page 9




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          title did not accurately describe her role at the company.  He               
          suggests that the company hired petitioner for her knowledge of              
          the beverage industry and not for her marketing knowledge.                   
          Petitioner’s counsel tried to show that her experience at Snapple            
          and her education at HBS were probably irrelevant to most of                 
          Refreshment Brands’s promotion activity.  Petitioner’s counsel               
          did not elicit any testimony or introduce sufficient evidence to             
          convince the Court of this interpretation of petitioner’s career             
          progression.  In any event, even if we were so convinced, we                 
          would still need to consider the second disqualification category            
          in section 1.162-5(b), Income Tax Regs.                                      
               B.  Qualification for New Trade or Business                             
               Petitioner’s counsel argues that petitioner was involved in             
          management for beverage companies before and after earning her               
          M.B.A. and that her new degree merely maintained or improved her             
          skills in working as an entrepreneur, project manager, or                    
          supervisor in the beverage industry.  Whether education maintains            
          or improves skills required by the individual in her employment              
          is a question of fact.  Boser v. Commissioner, 77 T.C. 1124, 1131            
          (1981).  A taxpayer must demonstrate a direct and proximate                  
          relationship between the education and the skills required in her            
          employment.  Kornhauser v. United States, 276 U.S. 145, 153                  
          (1928); Schwartz v. Commissioner, 69 T.C. 877, 889 (1978).                   








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