Reply To: So, What Would I Owe?

Wolf – if you were koneh knowing that you will have the expense of returning it, I would assume you would not have to give masser. Just like one only has to give masser of profits.

But that applies to business. Legitimate business expenses (i.e. those you must incur to make the profit) are deductible. This scenario differs in two very important ways:

1. I didn’t need to incur the expense. I could have chosen to just keep the $20 and end it. When I gave it back to her, it now becomes a gift, not an expense.

2. More importantly, this isn’t a business scenario at all. It’s a gift — and that may well be governed by different rules.

The Wolf