Effective Writing 10th Edition by Claire May,Gordon May

Exercise 9

In December 2013, one of your clients, Tim Huffman, donated a valuable piece of art to a local charity to be auctioned at its annual fundraising auction. When Mr. Huffman donated the art, it was appraised for $20,000. However, at the auction held on January 20, 2014, it sold for $35,000. Mr. Huffman claims that the appraisal was obviously wrong and that the value of what he donated was obviously $35,000. Consequently, he wants to deduct $35,000 on his 2013 tax return. Write a letter to Mr. Huffman discussing the tax implications of the appraisal and subsequent sale of the art he donated. Use the principles of effective document design discussed in this chapter. Chapter 9 discusses letter writing.