How would you interpret the last sentence?
Two airplane tickets purchased, air-coach to Mexico and back, at a cost of $191 each. A breathtaking sum, but all in the line of duty; Arthur Gold (the lawyer) says it can be worked out for some reduction in the tax later on.

How would you interpret the last sentence: it can be worked out for some reduction in the tax later on?
Does it mean they could make the sum of traveling be part of the tax the novelist needed to pay later?
PS: The narrator was a novelist.
Thanks! And it’s from The Lacuna.

Question

How would you interpret the last sentence?
Two airplane tickets purchased, air-coach to Mexico and back, at a cost of $191 each. A breathtaking sum, but all in the line of duty; Arthur Gold (the lawyer) says it can be worked out for some reduction in the tax later on.

How would you interpret the last sentence: it can be worked out for some reduction in the tax later on?
Does it mean they could make the sum of traveling be part of the tax the novelist needed to pay later?
PS: The narrator was a novelist.
Thanks! And it’s from The Lacuna.

Answer

It sounds like he is referring to a tax deduction here in the States.  When a business prepares its taxes to find out how much money it owes the government, certain business expenses are deducted from the income, which then lowers the amount of tax owed (which is usually a percentage of the income. If the income is lower, the taxes are lower).

Answer

I suspect it means that he could claim it as a deduction on his taxes because it could be classified as business travel if it was related to research for a novel.