Simon v. Comm'r
United States Tax Court
Ps claimed depreciation deductions under the accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS), sec. 168, I.R.C., on two 19th-century violin bows that Ps actively, regularly, and routinely used in their trade or business as full-time professional violinists. R disallowed these deductions. R argues that the bows are depreciable under ACRS only if Ps prove the useful life of each bow under the law that applied before ACRS.
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Ps claimed depreciation deductions under the accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS), sec. 168, I.R.C., on two 19th-century violin bows that Ps actively, regularly, and routinely used in their trade or business as full-time professional violinists. R disallowed these deductions. R argues that the bows are depreciable under ACRS only if Ps prove the useful life of each bow under the law that applied before ACRS. R also argues that the useful lives of the bows are indeterminable because the bows are treasured works of art that appreciate in value and for which it is impossible to determine…
1DissentHamblen, C.J.
I respectfully submit that the basis for the majority’s allowance of a depreciation deduction in this instance is sophistical and wrong. The majority would create a tax shelter for musicians, which, in my judgment, is based on incorrect legal analysis and some findings of fact that are unsupported by the record. The statutory interpretation of sections 167 and 168 is wrong in this context. Pertinent legislative history regarding determinable useful life is ignored. The antique violin bows are treasured "works of art” that for 71 years the Internal Revenue Service has treated, with…
2Cases cited17 opinions
- United States v. CorrellSupreme Court of the United States · 1967
- Lindheimer v. Illinois Bell Telephone Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1934
- American Automobile Assn. v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1961
- Massey Motors, Inc. v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1960
- Commissioner v. Idaho Power Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1974
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