"Is it any wonder that everyone hates the IRS?" John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight. "Dealing with them is obligatory, it often functions badly, and it combines two of the things we hate the most in life: someone taking our money, and math." But after listing all the reasons to hate the tax collectors — yes, including the recent scandals — Oliver said he will attempt the impossible: Getting you to have a "small amount of sympathy for the IRS."
Doing such a hard, extremely boring job takes "a weird kind of heroism," Oliver started, but everything you hate about the IRS is also the fault of Congress, which controls how much you pay in taxes, changes the tax code on a confusingly regular basis, and has created a host of problems by slashing IRS funding out of GOP anger. "The fact is, blaming the IRS because you hate paying your taxes is a bit like slapping your checkout clerk because the price of eggs has gone up — it's not her fault," Oliver said. So he planned a token of reluctant appreciation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
North Korea (sort of) welcomes tourists againUnder the Radar 'Hermit kingdom' allows foreign visitors for the first time since 2020 – but only in limited areas
-
Today's political cartoons - February 23, 2025Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - loser's game, unexpected consequences, and more
-
5 slow on the draw cartoons about Democrats' response to TrumpCartoons Artists take on taking a stand, staying still as a statue, and more
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
