A new collection of tax quotes, to be published on April 15 by TAX NOTES magazine, offers a glimpse at the lighter side of taxation. Featuring almost 900 snippets of comment and comedy, the collection demonstrates that tax humor isn't always an oxymoron. A few examples:

• There is one difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist - the taxidermist leaves the hide. - Former IRS Commissioner Mortimer Caplin
• A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. - George Bernard Shaw
• It's time we tell the bar associations and the IRS to shove their opinions up their cash cows. - Rep. James Traficant
• The Eiffel Tower is the Empire State Building after taxes. - Anonymous
• [The Internal Revenue Code is] about 10 times the size of the Bible - and unlike the Bible, contains no good news. - Sen. Don Nickles
• [A tax loophole is] something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is a tax reform. - Former Senator Russell B. Long
• Do senators introduce tax bills because the tax system is a mess? Or is the tax system a mess because senators introduce tax bills? - TAX NOTES columnist Martin A. Sullivan
• When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income. - Plato

The quotes were collected by Jeffery L. Yablon, a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Shaw Pittman. The entire collection can be found on the Tax Analysts web site.

TAX NOTES is a weekly magazine covering federal, state, and international tax issues, with occasional forays into tax humor.