The issue does not stand alone since it cannot be precisely understood apart from separately reading the brief s facts. The extreme brevity leads to ambiguity. In the second version, the question can be interpreted as a moral or judgment issue rather than a legal one. A legal brief, however, should focus on the latter. In short, it is one sentence that clearly and concisely states the tax law the case created without reference to either the facts or the issue.
Tax professionals can use rules of law to resolve issues arising in practice.
A rule of law that does not stand alone may be difficult to apply to a client s fact pattern. In short, the holding tells one what was decided and provides a legal rule that can be applied in future cases. The examples below relate to the same judicial decisions as issues 1 and 2 above. The sales contract affects the source of the transaction s profit. When omitted, the holding may require more careful reading to be certain of the result.