Opinion ID: 3064659
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Deep sea mariners

Text: [9] Kapp’s assertion that deep sea mariners were permitted to take the mariners tax deduction is patently unreasonable in light of the ruling in the Johnson case. In that case, which arose from conduct nearly identical to the conduct that is the basis of the injunction, the court stated “[w]e do not read the revenue procedures to allow a taxpayer to use the full M&IE rates when he or she incurs only incidental expenses.” Johnson, 115 T.C. at 227. Kapp unsuccessfully attempts to distinguish Johnson, but the clear implication of the holding is that taxpayers may not deduct meal expenses when no such expenses are incurred. Id. Kapp acknowledged as much himself in his The Professional Mariner articles. Kapp claims that he recently resumed the practice of taking a deduction on behalf of his deep sea mariner clients based on alleged approval of the position by Campos. In his declaration submitted in opposition to the government’s summary judgment motion Kapp stated that: I had a long meeting with IRS Agent George Cam- pos on August 12, 2005, during which I reviewed my legal position with him in detail . . . . At the end of the meeting, Mr. Campos sort of threw his arm around me and stated ‘Now I understand.’ Since Mr. Campos at no time during or after the . . . meeting stated that he disagreed with my position, or that my position was frivolous, I interpreted Mr. Campos’[s] statement as an endorsement of my legal position . . . [10] Even accepting the accuracy of Kapp’s description of his interaction with Campos, the conduct is not an affirmation of Kapp’s position allowing him to claim the deduction on 5150 UNITED STATES v. KAPP behalf of deep sea mariners, especially in light of the Johnson ruling. Because a well-informed analysis of the issue by a person knowledgeable in tax law would not lead to the conclusion that Kapp’s position had at least a one in three chance of being sustained on the merits, his position was unreasonable and not based on substantial authority.