Tax Court ruling holds CEO could deduct legal fees incurred in defending against suit by disgruntled investor

In Ramig, TC Memo 2011-147, the Tax Court has concluded that a chief executive officer (CEO), who was also a board member and minority shareholder, could deduct legal fees in defending against charges that he made misrepresentations to an investor in the company. The legal fees were deductible under Code Sec. 162 as the ordinary and necessary expenses of his business of rendering services to his company as an employee.  The IRS argued that the suit
was against Ramig personally, not as CEO of the company, and that the expenses of defending the suit were therefore unrelated to the conduct of a trade or business.

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