A key tax question is whether a separate and distinct asset is created.

"Being especially neat is not a problem; a compulsive style like that can be a distinct asset in some ways," Dr. Freund said.

The 1971 decision raised the question of whether a payment that did not create a "separate and distinct additional asset" could also be a capital expenditure.

The I.R.S. regarded these as capital expenses, but the lower courts said they were not because no "separate and distinct additional asset" had been created.

She'd be as distinct an asset to T&T as she had been to Padrugoi.

Ms. Rashad's intelligence proves a distinct asset, though.

While this could be a problem in some fashion quarters, in bridge, which depends on appealing to a low common denominator, it is a distinct asset.

That's a distinct asset so far as I'm concerned.

This was a distinct asset in his line of business; others in his profession had to work at being invisible.

A good jumper was a distinct asset to a team, and the Pollux's five saltatory champs had been of invaluable assistance.