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Tax Court Writes Off Lawyer's Deduction for Prostitutes

By Robert J. Ambrogi

A veteran New York tax lawyer has lost his legal battle to claim tax deductions for more than $100,000 he spent on prostitutes and pornography. But, hey, you can't blame a guy for trying. William G. Halby, a tax lawyer first admitted to practice in New York in 1956, claimed the deductions as medical expenses. His visits to prostitutes and his purchases of books and magazines constituted sex therapy, he contended. Over two years, he claimed deductions for $108,086 spent on prostitutes and $7,373 on books, magazines, videos and pornographic materials. But in a decision issued this week, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that Halby's sex therapy was not an allowable deduction. Petitioner?s payments to various prostitutes were personal expenses not prescribed by a doctor and not intended to treat a medical condition. Petitioner is not entitled to deductions for these amounts. Petitioner is likewise not entitled to deductions for amounts paid for books and magazines on sex therapy and pornography. The purchases were not for the treatment of a medical condition but were instead personal items. At least it can be said that Halby was meticulous in claiming these deductions. The Tax Court said that he kept track of...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on September 17, 2009 (boomark / email).