Barmes v. Commissioner

ORDER

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue disallowed a depreciation deduction on two automobiles and a casualty loss deduction1 for the repair of a pond that Marvin and Barbara Barmes claimed on their 1994 income tax return and penalized them for negligently underpaying their tax. The Tax Court affirmed the Commissioner, and the Barmeses brought this appeal. We affirm.

During 1994 the Barmeses operated Barbara’s Gift Shop and Barmes Wholesale, principally from commercial space in Vincennes, Indiana. Though they owned a home in rural Frichton, about seven miles away, the Barmeses spent…