Simon v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
103 T.C. 247 (1994)
- Written by Bradley Marzola, JD
Facts
Richard and Fiona Simon (plaintiffs) were professional violin players for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1985, both Richard and Fiona purchased a violin bow made by Francois Tourte. Tourte was considered the premiere violin bow maker, and each bow was made in the nineteenth century. Older violins and older bows produced better sound than newer counterparts, and frequent use of a violin bow deteriorated the quality of sound produced by a violin. When Richard and Fiona bought the Tourte violin bows, the bows were relatively unused. By the time of trial, both bows had noticeably deteriorated. Although each bow had deteriorated with respect to sound quality, each bow had also increased in fair market value as an antique. The Simons deducted an amount for depreciation of recovery property on their 1989 tax return, based on the accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS). The commissioner of internal revenue (commissioner) (defendant) issued a notice of deficiency against the Simons as a result. The Simons petitioned the United States Tax Court for a redetermination.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Laro, J.)
Dissent (Hamblen, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
