Graduation Contingency Kills Alimony Deduction
In this case, the divorce decree clearly states that the support payments will terminate upon the graduation of the youngest child. With this kind of contingency, the statute compels us to characterize the payments as child support. The fact that the divorce decree specifies that the payments are to be deducted by Mr. Johnson is not controlling
Tax Court Denies Amway Losses – Again
My first suggestion is that if you want to have a side business to make personal expenses deductible (which is something that you should not do at all, by the way), Amway is about the worst thing to pick. People with persistent Amway losses do not do well in Tax Court. The other is that if you expect that a side activity will ultimately be profitable, you might want to consider suspending the losses under Code Section 469. Although in principle, this does not immunize you from being attacked under Section 183, as a practical matter it does since you are not getting a current benefit. You will get the benefit when the activity becomes profitable or you abandon it.
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Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.