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Dec. 3, 2008

Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning

Don Terry: Lifetime, no see

Dec. 2, 2008

Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world

Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack

Dec. 1, 2008

Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings

Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?

Nov. 28, 2008

Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be

Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?

Nov. 26, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership

Andrea Simantov: Shades of life

Nov. 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence

The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!

Nov. 24, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'

Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends

Nov. 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov. 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review April 8, 2005 / 28 Adar II, 5765

Best comedy writers work for the IRS

By Lori Borgman

Lori Borgman
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | I have a long-standing tradition of getting surly at tax time. This happens to many people, but is especially likely to happen to those of us who are self-employed.

The husband, whom I find to be thorough and honest to the point of obsessive, sometimes questions the accuracy of my record keeping. At such times, I am prone to turn on him and his manila envelopes stuffed with receipts, check registers, pay stubs and computer printouts and affectionately refer to him as a dinosaur. He responds with some crack about how do I think I'd look in an orange jumpsuit, and the next thing you know we are in that Ladies Home Journal feature, "Can This Marriage Be Saved?"

The husband knows it is important to keep me in good humor while working on taxes. He often does this by giving me interesting things to read from the 1040 instruction booklet. Last year he supplied me with entertaining material on tax deductions that include yachts, luxury vacations, golf outings and trips to Vegas. He believes that if my hands are holding reading material, they are less likely to be rifling through his highly-organized records or inching around his neck.

This year he has thoughtfully directed me to the section of the instruction booklet titled "Other Income." In the middle column of page 27 of form 525, you will find, in bold print, BRIBES. "If you receive a bribe, include it in your income."

There's more. In addition to bribes, the IRS would also like you to report kickbacks. "You must include kickbacks, side commissions, push money or similar payments you receive in your income . . . "

So I guess you go to H&R Block, hand over the W-2s and say, "Oh, by the way, add in 15 grand under other income for a construction contract I threw to my brother-in-law." Maybe if you pay your 23 percent in taxes, nobody bats an eye or asks for an explanation.

The IRS would also like you to report — ready? — illegal income. "Illegal income, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity."

My question is this: Do you just write the amount of income from illegal drugs on line 21, or do you also draw an arrow into the margin and scribble, "Meth lab good this yr., pls don't tell Momma, her heart ain't that strong."

Finally, the IRS would also like you to report stolen property. "If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless in the same year, you return it to its rightful owner."

"Hello, IRS? Yes, I'd like to amend my tax return from two years ago. Well, I have some stolen property, DVD players, computers, fine jewelry, you know, the usual, and I just realized I forgot to report it under other income. Now, can I just amend that on-line or do you want me to come down to the IRS office in person?

"OK, sure. Does it matter to you if I come down in my own car or, say, borrow a BMW out of the bank parking lot, as long as I assess fair market value for next year's return?"

Whoever said the Feds don't have a sense of humor must not have been filing tax returns. This light-hearted tax moment has been brought to you courtesy of the IRS and the dinosaur.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Lori Borgman is the author of , most recently, "Pass the Faith, Please" (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) and I Was a Better Mother Before I Had Kids To comment, please click here. To visit her website click here.

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© 2005, Lori Borgman

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