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Tax Themed April Fool's Day Hoaxes

Rush Limbaugh, a radio talk-show host famous for his support of conservative issues, declared his belief that the U.S. government should raise taxes for the poor because "they're the wealthiest poor in the world." Many of his listeners called in to applaud his belief. Later Limbaugh confessed that he does not actually support such a belief and chastised his listeners for being "too quick to believe anything that hits a hot button."

A Dutch radio program announced that the government planned to distribute its budget surplus equally among tax-payers. The announcement received an excited response from listeners. Unfortunately, it was not true.

The Kokomo Tribune, based in Kokomo, Indiana, reported that city officials planned to increase local property taxes in order to fund construction of "a modern and handsomely furnished health and social club for local public officials and retired public officials." The article pointed out that "our public officials are hard-working individuals who deserve a convenient place for recreation." It went on to quote a local official who said, "We believe the idea will be well received by our citizens. It will mean an increase in taxes, but this is well accepted by people when they realize that it is for a good thing."

A radio station in Hawaii announced that Congress had authorized an amendment to the recently passed Hawaii Statehood Bill (admitting Hawaii to the union as the 50th state). According to this amendment, all the income taxes that Hawaiians paid during the previous year would be refunded to them. Thousands of people called up the station to find out how to claim their refund.