LAW firm can’t claim wedding As business expense

A Quebec judge has ruled against a law firm that tried to deduct the cost of a lavish wedding for the daughter of one of its partners as a business expense. Judge Daniel Bourgeois ruled last month that Spiegel Sohmer could not write off the $75,000 the firm reimbursed to lawyer Robert Raich and that Raich needs to pay taxes on the amount as a benefit. The decision says Raich, a tax lawyer, had argued that he’d thrown the sumptuous Montreal wedding for his daughter in part to strengthen ties with the firm’s clients. Raich claimed nearly half the cost of the $169,000 wedding on an expense account, reasoning that 97 of the 218 guests were his clients or business associates. The firm reimbursed him $75,242, and claimed the amount on its 2012 tax filing.