Toward a More Systematic Drafting and Interpreting of the Internal Revenue Code: Expenses, Losses and Bad Debts

Abstract

upposE that you, as a reasonable man, are asked whether the following two sets of rules mean exactly the same thing. If they do and if you intend to communicate your message as effectively as possible, which of the two sets would you choose to state the organizational rules of your law school? Set 1 A. The financial committee shall be chosen from among the general committee. B. No one shall be a member of both the general and library committees unless he is also on the financial committee. C. No member of the library committee shall be on the financial committee., Set 2 A. The financial committee shall be chosen from among the general committee. B. No member of the general committee shall be on the library committee. We suspect that most readers will have little difficulty in deciding the second question; but even after careful reading of the two sets of rules, they will remain a little puzzled as to whether both sets say the same thing. We further suspect that lawyers waste a great deal of their mental energy by using inadequate and inappropriate intellectual tools to figure out similar logical problems in their everyday work. A symbolic logician could quickly ascertain that the two sets of rules are equivalent and relieve his mind to focus on the more important problem of deciding which is the more appropriate choice.