2007 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 22">*22 PURSUANT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 7463(b), THIS OPINION MAY NOT BE TREATED AS PRECEDENT FOR ANY OTHER CASE.
POWELL, Special Trial Judge: This case was heard pursuant to the provisions of
Respondent determined a deficiency of $ 2,214 and an accuracy- related penalty under
Petitioner alleges that in 2002 he was engaged in the business of providing motorcycle lessons to other parties. Petitioner allegedly operated the business, Safe Cycle, as a sole proprietorship. On Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, of his 2002 return petitioner reported income of $ 425 received from two alleged clients and claimed deductions totaling $ 8,621 as follows:
Car & truck expenses | $ 1,721 |
Advertising | 50 |
Depreciation | 5,472 |
Office expense | 75 |
Supplies | 104 |
Other expenses | 1,199 |
The "other expenses" include $ 550 for Internet service. However,Safe Cycle did not have a Web page. Petitioner did not obtain a business license, liability insurance, or a bank account for Safe Cycle. Petitioner did not "do any kind of financial analysis", nor did he prepare a budget for the motorcycle2007 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 22">*24 activity. He "just shoestringed it." Respondent disallowed the claimed deductions.
Petitioner's 2002 tax return was prepared by "My Tax Man, Inc.", which was organized and operated by Daniel Gleason. Mr. Gleason was subsequently enjoined from promoting, marketing, or selling fraudulent tax schemes by a Federal District Court. Petitioner had discovered Mr. Gleason through an advertisment.
Discussion
A. Business Activity
Furthermore, generally, under
Petitioner presented little evidence concerning many of the factors contained in the regulations. 2 We, therefore, focus on the factors that form our decision.
What concerns us most is the lack of any2007 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 22">*27 financial planning whatsoever. Petitioner "had basically faith" in his belief that he would make a profit. Moreover, there is nothing in the record to reasonably suggest that the activity, as petitioner operated it during the year in question, would ever be profitable. He may have had a written business plan, but a plan without any financial data would have been useless.
Furthermore, there is little to distinguish the personal aspects of the activity from the business aspects. Petitioner had no business license, no business insurance, no business bank account, and no books of accounts that one would generally associate with a trade or business. We also note that most of petitioner's expenditures (helmet, jacket, etc.) would relate to a hobby as well as a business activity.
In sum, we do not find that petitioner's motorcycle activity constituted a trade or business entered into for profit.
We focus on whether petitioner was negligent in deducting expenses of his motorcycle activity on his tax return. Petitioner launched into this activity with little, if any, experience in running a business to teach others to operate motorcycles. He had no financial idea of how he could get customers in sufficient number to meet the expenses of starting and operating such a business, and he maintained no meaningful records. Petitioner used a tax return preparer, but there is no indication that the return preparer was competent. On the other hand, petitioner had ridden motorcycles for many years as a hobby, albeit perhaps of a different nature. Petitioner has not satisfied the Court that profit, rather than hobby, was the motive for his expenditures. 3 We sustain respondent's determination under
2007 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 22">*29 Reviewed and adopted as the report of the Small Tax Case Division.
Decision will be entered for respondent.
1. Unless otherwise indicated, subsequent section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the year in issue.↩
2. Petitioner does not argue, nor does the record establish, that petitioner satisfied the requirements of sec. 7491(a).↩
3. Respondent has established his burden of production under sec. 7491(c).↩