The Morriss Corporation is a very successful and profitable manufacturing corporation. The corporation just completed construction of new corporate offices, primarily for its top executives. The president and founder of the corporation, Mr. Timothy Couch, is an avid collector of artwork and has instructed that the lobby and selected offices be decorated with rare collections of art. These expensive works of art were purchased by the corporation in accordance with Couch’s directives. Couch justified the purchase of these artworks on the premise that (1) they are excellent investments and should increase in value in the future, (2) they provide an appropriate and impressive office atmosphere when current and prospective customers visit the corporation’s offices, and (3) the artwork is depreciable property and the corporation will be able to take sizable writeoffs against income. The Financial Vice-President of the corporation has requested your advice as to whether the works of art are, in fact, depreciable property. Prepare a research memorandum for the Financial Vice-President on this issue.
A partial list of research sources is provided below.
• Rev. Rul. 68-232, 1968-1 C.B. 70
• Shauna C. Clinger, 60 T.C.M. 598 (1990).
• Simon v. Comr., 103 T.C. 247 (1994), aff’d, 95-2 USTC ¶50,552 (2d Cir. 1995) nonacq. 1996-2 C.B.I.
• Liddle v. Comr., 103 T.C. 285 (1994), aff’d, 95-2 USTC ¶50,488 (3rd Cir. 1995)