The US Tax Court has denied a taxpayer the deduction for qualified domestic production activities under section 199 of the US Internal Revenue Code (IRC) when the taxpayer used advertising materials printed by a third party for its direct mail advertising business (ADVO, Inc. & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Docket No. 17247-10, 24 October 2013). The taxpayer was a US corporation that engaged in direct mail advertising, i.e. distribution of advertising materials by mail in the United States on behalf of the taxpayer's clients. The advertising materials at issue were supplied by the taxpayer, but the taxpayer contracted...