Internal Revenue Service code stipulates that business expenses can be deducted provided they are “ordinary and necessary.” U.S. tax laws generally categorize what you spend to improve your appearance, general health or sense of well-being as personal expenses that are nondeductible.
But an exotic dancer going by the name of “Chesty Love” found a way around this. Cynthia Hess, an Indiana exotic dancer, convinced a tax court to uphold a deduction for her new breast implants. Because of a hereditary deficiency, Chesty Love had to settle for less earnings until her agent convinced her to increase her bust size first to a 56FF and then to 56N!
With her new bust and stage name, Chesty Love began seeing more earnings from her exotic dancing career. Deducting the expense of a breast enlargement from her tax return was lost on IRS bureaucrats however.
Special trial judge Joan Seitz Pate reasoned that for someone like Cynthia, top-heavy breasts are a business asset and the silicone implants are “stage props” and therefore can be deducted as a business expense on her taxes.
To back her decision, the judge equated the implants to work uniforms and clothing – commonly accepted expenses workers can deduct on their taxes. These deductions must satisfy two conditions: (1) required as a condition of employment and (2) unsuitable for everyday use.
Mrs. Hess didn’t have any trouble proving the first condition saying her breasts are a “costume” she requires to maintain her employment. As for the second stipulation, the court cited Cynthia’s testimony that says she would remove the implants each day if that were possible. Hess maintains that she will have the implants removed once her dancing career is over.
Cynthia also testified that she and her husband regularly endure off-color jokes and condescending comments from people they encounter regarding her, to say the least, exceptionally large bust size.