in the Middle East and advised on some of the region's biggest transactions, including Emirates International Investment Co.'s $1.5 billion acquisition of a 3% stake in media giant Vivendi SA and Kuwaiti telco Zain in the failed $12 billion takeover attempt by Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates. His hire represents an increasing trend among private banks of hiring well-connected investment bankers to deal with ultra-high net worth clients, which banks generally view as those who bring more than $50 million in assets to be banked. Momdjian "brings with him deep relationships and unrivalled experience” which translates into thinking in terms of “Would I make this purchase if I didn’t have this business?” If the answer is no, than you more than likely have a deductible business expense. But it’s important to know the rules and to have proper documentation to substantiate the deduction. Some expenses receive considerably more scrutiny than others. The IRS loves to investigate automobile expenses as taxpayers are required to keep a mileage log, which can be a lot of work. Even though I have met only client who kept a log, I’ve represented clients in numerous audits and found other ways to substantiate the deduction to the satisfaction of the auditor. Here are some tips: - If you use an appointment book or calendar, save it along with your copy of the tax return. A mileage log can be reconstructed from those pages. - Save vehicle repair receipts as the odometer reading is recorded on them and total mileage for the year can be extrapolated if there is more than one receipt. Record your beginning and ending odometer reading in your appointment book on Jan. 1 and again on Dec. 31. - Travel, meals and entertainment expenses are close runner ups when it comes to scrutiny. Go to www.irs.gov and read Publication 463 to determine what you can and can’t deduct. Here’s what you need to know: - Travel, especially to vacation destinations like Las Vegas or Hawaii should be documented with more than purchase receipts to prove business intent. Save things like flyers advertising the trade show or the continuing education seminar or letters from prospective clients at that location in your tax file to prove the purpose of the trip was primarily for business. - On receipts for meals and entertainment mark the name of the person entertained and a brief note describing the business purpose. With more people working remotely, home office expenses have become another favorite target of the IRS. Here’s what you should know: - Take photographs of the house and the office area. The photos will serve two purposes: they will show the proportion of the business area compared to the personal living area to substantiate the amount of space claimed as well prove that there is in fact a business area. - Know the rules: The home office must be your principle place of business and must be used exclusively and on a regular basis for business purposes. 3.) Document sources o