Posted by Urbie Watrous on January 28, 2004 at 12:29:49:
In Reply to: Re: Writing off a new horn posted by Rick Denney on January 27, 2004 at 17:45:52:
Why make a value judgment by saying "you've lied to the IRS?" You haven't lied -- you've simply taken a deduction the tax laws encourage you to take.
Horns are by no means the only kind of equipment that gets depreciated then sold (and taxes paid on). It happens with trucks, machines, buildings... any kind of capital equipment used in business. True, the idea of depreciation is that at the end of five (or three, or some number -- in the case of a building, I think it's 20 years or something like that) of years, the item is supposed to have decreased in value to where it's worthless -- but sometimes, that doesn't happen and the item retains its value. There's nothing unethical about depreciating the item, then selling it later, as long as you pay the taxes you're obligated to pay.
Urb