180
Thomas, J., concurring in judgment
This result is compelled by the language of the statute. Congress must change the statute's words if a different result is desired as a matter of tax policy.
Justice Thomas, with whom Justice Scalia joins, concurring in the judgment.
Today the Court announces that there is "no one test," ante, at 175, to determine whether a home office constitutes a taxpayer's "principal place of business" within the meaning of 26 U. S. C. § 280A(c)(1)(A), and concludes that whether a taxpayer will be entitled to a home office deduction will be "dependent upon the particular facts of each case," ante, at 175. The Court sets out two "primary considerations," ibid., to guide the analysis—the importance of the functions performed at each business location and the time spent at each location. I think this inquiry, "subtle" though it may be, ibid., will unnecessarily require the lower courts to conduct full-blown evidentiary hearings each time the Commissioner challenges a deduction under § 280A(c)(1)(A). Moreover, as structured, the Court's "test" fails to provide clear guidance as to how the two-factor inquiry should proceed. Specifically, it is unclear whether the time element and importance-of-the-functions element are of equal significance. I write separately because I believe that in the overwhelming majority of cases (including the one before us), the "focal point" test—which emphasizes the place where the taxpayer renders the services for which he is paid or sells his goods—provides a clear, reliable method for determining whether a taxpayer's home office is his "principal place of business." I would employ the totality-of-the-circumstances inquiry, guided by the two factors discussed by the Court, only in the small minority of cases where the home office is one of several locations where goods or services are delivered, and thus also one of the multiple locations where income is generated.
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