Carrie works as a full-time engineer. However, she loves writing books and spends about 15 hours a week doing so from her home office, which she uses exclusively for such purposes. She writes on average one book every 18 months, and when finished with a book, sells the copyright to a publisher. She has been doing so for about six years. However, her books have so far not been best sellers. She usually sells the copyright to each book for approximately a $5000 lump sum (not a royalty). She justifiably considers such a financial return a poor return for her time. When she first started writing books, she hoped to make enough money to quit her engineering job, but she is now losing hope of doing so. As part of the process of writing a book, Carrie will, on a few occasions every year, make research trips to nearby locations. She keeps records of these trips. She also occasionally hires an editor for advice about writing a book. The expenses for these (trips and paying an editor) amount to about $3000 a year.

Discuss whether Carrie is carrying on a business (citing authority where appropriate)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In light of the gave data it appears to be reasonable that Carrie is to be sure carrying on a business as an essayist in spite of not making critical ... View the full answer