Tax Official Suspended Over Tax Form Joke

[truthpusher]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050204/D881MRIG1.html

Tax Official Suspended Over Tax Form Joke

Feb 4, 7:42 AM (ET)

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) - The city's tax superintendent has been suspended without pay for a week for trying to inject some humor in the city income tax filing instructions.

<snip>

The forms - with such lines as, "If we can tax it, we will," - were sent last week to all Middletown businesses and residents who pay city income tax.

<snip>

Among the lines that city officials didn't think were very funny was this one:

"Free advice: if you don't have a profit in a five-year period, you might want to consider another line of work."

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050204/D881MRIG1.html

[leftofcool]

1. Okay, maybe unprofessional

but some people just have no sense of humor.

Left of Cool

[maxsolomon]

2. southwest ohio

to paraphrase the joker: this region needs an enema!

[Betsy Ross]

3. Wouldn't you be more likely to read everything

if you knew there were some great zingers in the form and instructions?

[TahitiNut]

5. There is no such thing as an "officially approved" sense of humor

Once upon a time, IBM's Operating Systems source code was available and open to all customers. As a systems programmer in a large facility where extensive modifications and maintenance was performed, I (and my peers) got a great deal of entertainment from the internal IBM programmers who sprinkled the source code with puns, witticisms, humor, and other inventive interests. IBM quashed such coding 'personality' in the 70's ... and the task became far more boring.

[Journeyman]

7. Apple has a host of such "jokes" and gimmicks . . .

built into the operating system and sprinkled by vendors into the applications, too. Collectively, they're called "Easter Eggs." I imagine the PC versions of some of the programs (Adobe, Quark, etc.) have these items as well.

[papau]

8. There were a lot of nasty words in the code as I recall - indeed not as

bad as Fortran code - but still of DU Lounge quality pre-sex thread ban!

:-)

[TahitiNut]

9. Well, it wasn't censored, for sure ... at least not in the 60's and early

... 70's. Later on, it got downright dullsville.

[Sivafae]

12. reminds me of rules for taking passport photos

"There is no such thing as an "officially approved" sense of humor"

They say that one cannot be smiling in their passport picture. It is considered an "unnatural facial expression."

[Lisa]

6. and also, it does help break the ice ...

A lot of people are put off by official forms and regulations because they find them intimidating. Some quips might help relax them. The financial officers at my bank do this (along with making supportive comments) because they often have to deal with clients who are nervous or defensive.

[jdj]

4. does this mean we can get rid of Bush at the end of this year?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

10. I like

your sig line. May I use it in my dialy meditations? :)

[LiberalFighter]

11. Sound advice for someone that hasn't made a profit n 5 years

I sure don't consider it a joke.

[Liberty Belle]

13. Reminds me of the joke about the IRS new simplified tax form:

1. How much did you make last year? __________

2. Send it in!