Greenway v. Commissioner

1980 T.C. Memo. 97, 40 T.C.M. 24, 1980 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 482
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 31, 1980
DocketDocket No. 208-77.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1980 T.C. Memo. 97 (Greenway v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greenway v. Commissioner, 1980 T.C. Memo. 97, 40 T.C.M. 24, 1980 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 482 (tax 1980).

Opinion

JOHN GREENWAY, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Greenway v. Commissioner
Docket No. 208-77.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1980-97; 1980 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 482; 40 T.C.M. (CCH) 24; T.C.M. (RIA) 80097;
March 31, 1980, Filed
John Greenway, pro se.
Jeff P. Ehrlich, for the respondent.

TANNENWALD

MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION

TANNENWALD, Judge: Respondent determined a deficiency of $1,104.00 in petitioner's income tax for the taxable year 1975. By way of an amended return, petitioner claimed an overpayment of $338.83. 1 Concessions having been made, the issues*485 remaining for decision are whether petitioner is entitled to a variety of deductions.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts were stipulated and are found accordingly. The stipulation of facts, together with the accompanying exhibits, is incorporated herein by this reference.

Petitioner was a resident of Boulder, Colo., at the time he filed his petition herein. He filed his original individual income tax return, Form 1040, and an amended return, Form 1040X, for the year 1975 with the Internal Revenue Service Center at Ogden, Utah.

In 1975, petitioner was a professor of authropology at the University of Colorado, specializing in the field of ethnomusicology. Petitioner was also an author. He had written several published books and numerous articles and was working on at least one book, entitled The American Tradition, in 1975.

Petitioner bought a house for $36,000 in 1975, which he lived in for part of that year. Petitioner did substantial amounts of professional writing and preparation for classroom teaching in three rooms in his home during the taxable year in question. He used three rooms in order*486 to keep separate projects on which he was working simultaneously and did not use those rooms for any other purpose. The three rooms were petitioner's home office and constituted one-third of the area of the house. Petitioner also had an office at the university.

Petitioner had a large collection of books in his home related to his university teaching and other professional activities. Petitioner constructed a nine-shelf built-in bookcase of white pine, 12 feet long and 1-1/2 feet deep, in his living room to hold that part of his professional library dealing with music and musical instruments.

Approximately 20 of petitioner's books were damaged in the spring of 1975 by the seepage of rain into the apartment where he was living at the time. Petitioner had deducted the cost of the damaged books as a business expense for income tax purposes at the time he purchased them.

Petitioner sometimes brought to his classes to illustrate his lectures stone implements found in Australia and tape recorders or a phonograph for his ethnomusicology students to listen to and compare ethnic songs.

Petitioner had a collection of records of folk music of different cultures. He would record*487 music from his records onto tapes to facilitate comparisons of songs by his students and to eliminate the need to transport his records to his classes, thereby avoiding possible damage.

The University of Colorado deducted $60 from petitioner's salary in 1975 as a fee for use of parking facilities at the University while teaching.

On October 29, 1975, petitioner and a woman named Frances Snow bought a Toyota Land Cruiser automobile. They were registered as joint owners of the car. Petitioner expended $118.10 in 1975 for maintenance, insurance, taxes, and tags for that automobile.

Petitioner broke his back in the early part of 1975 and was compelled to take sick leave from his university teaching for the remainder of the year. An academic year at the University of Colorado consists of 181 days, exclusive of weekends.

As a result of his injury, petitioner was unable to do as much professional writing as he had in previous years and his earnings from such writing were less than his average in other years;

Petitioner was involved in an automobile accident in 1975 when his back injury interfered with his ability to operate his car's brakes. He was charged erroneously with*488 driving under the influence of alcohol.

Petitioner paid $1,400.64 to Western Cine in 1975 for the production of the negative and sound track of a 16 millimeter film called "At the Edge of the Old Stone Age." From this master film produced by Western Cine, petitioner could have additional prints made, which he intended to sell or rent to universities and other educational groups. Petitioner did not sell or rent, and did not expect to sell or rent, any copies of the film in 1975, because the brochure prepared for the purpose of soliciting offers had not yet been mailed to prospective customers.

Petitioner married Ruth Greenway (Ruth) in 1948. They had one child. They were divorced prior to 1975. A separation agreement between them, signed on December 31, 1965, provided in part:

6. There now exists a policy of life insurance upon the life of the minor child of the parties. Husband agrees that he will, during the minority of such child, maintain and keep current all payments of premiums due upon such life insurance policies, and will, upon the date of the attainment of majority of such child turn over ownership of such policy of insurance to said child.

7. Husband now*489 possesses a paid-up policy of life insurance with an approximate face value of $1,500.00, and a Metropolitan health insurance policy containing a death benefit of $5,000.00. Husband agrees to immediately irrevocably name Wife as the beneficiary of both of such policies. Husband further owns a TIAA Term Insurance policy upon his life with a decreasing death benefit. Husband agrees to irrevocably name Wife as beneficiary of such payment, Wife to accept such payment as trustee for the use and benefit of the minor child of the parties.

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Related

Paul Snyder and Helen J. Snyder v. United States
674 F.2d 1359 (Tenth Circuit, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1980 T.C. Memo. 97, 40 T.C.M. 24, 1980 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greenway-v-commissioner-tax-1980.