Preface

One

Two

Three

Four
"Sarbanes-Oxley Blues," words and music written by Headwaters Co-Founder & Chairman Dave Maney

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Notes

Index

Jay Starkman is proud to release his new book, The Sex of a Hippopotamus: A Unique History of Taxes and Accountancy.

This remarkable book weaves entertaining and educational stories culled from tax accounting since biblical times. It presents the never-before-told story of how American and world history have been profoundly influenced by taxes. Unique, quirky, interlaced with personal accounts, and always enlightening, these amazing tax stories have involved some of our best- known leaders and celebrities.

• Barack Obama's legislative accomplishments include 15 tax reduction laws enacted in 2006.
• Martin Luther King survived a six-day jury trial, avoiding prison for underpaying his income tax by $318.81.
• President Franklin Roosevelt made two attempts at taxing income over $25,000 at a whopping 100 percent! And he saved Congressman Lyndon Johnson from prison for criminal tax fraud.
• Gandhi introduced nonviolent political struggle in a tax protest.
• California used racist taxes to exclude Chinese from the Gold Rush.
• The U.S. once taxed windows, salt, marijuana, and collected $1 million annually from an opium tax.
• Until 1935, Coca-Cola contained traces of cocaine. A special law allowed untaxed coca leaf imports.
• Abolish the IRS? Andrew Jackson actually did. But it came back 28 years later.
• Prior to 1933, U.S. presidents were exempt from income tax.
• Only one U.S. president has ever visited the IRS building.
• 89 million income tax returns filed each year should be unnecessary.
• Peter the Great taxed beards and turned Russia for the first time into a clean-shaven society.
• One U.S. president found time to write a 300-page book on taxes.
• The South's tithing tax helped supply Sherman in his march to Savannah.
• Outright taxpayer wins in Tax Court are a dismal eight percent.
• Just sixty years ago, the IRS was so corrupt that if you didn't offer the agent a bribe, he might have shaken you down for one. The commissioner went to prison.
• Al Capone and Wesley Snipes had tax problems that made headlines. Lesser-known tax problems faced Andrew Mellon, Alan Jay Lerner, Sergeant York, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Conway Twitty, Willie Nelson, Jack Benny and Groucho Marx.

Many fascinating tax stories fill this book, including tales about The Boss of the United States, the FairTax/sales tax rebellion, The Witch of Wall Street, gifts to Anna Nicole Smith, Liberace's garish "glamour and elegance," and Irving Berlin's songs.