An ethical tax dilemma: Support of hobby versus trade or business in the presence of competing incentives and client pressure

The tax law treats hobbies and businesses in a significantly different manner. The ability to discern when an activity is a business and when it is a hobby is critically important. Unfortunately, tax practitioners face an additional challenge when making judgment decisions: competing incentives and pressure from the client. Practitioners not only have obligations to their clients but are also obligated to uphold the tax system. Balancing professional responsibilities with other incentives and pressures introduces an ethical dimension to the issue. In this case, you will have the opportunity to explore the hobby versus business question in the presence of client pressure and competing incentives. You will be required to research the technical tax issues and make appropriate recommendations. Rather than this being a mere tax law analysis, however, you also need to look deeper into the decision making process and examine the ethical issues involved. At the conclusion of the case, you will have demonstrated an understanding of both the technical tax issues and the ethical issues involved.

► Practitioners have duties to advocate for clients and also uphold the tax system.
► Balancing these duties with other incentives introduces ethical issues.
► The tax law treats hobbies and businesses in a significantly different manner.
► The case requires students to classify an activity as hobby or business.
► Students apply tax law and examine the ethical issues and incentives involved.