Monday 4 April is in Gaul the deadline for tax declaration. And for some of us, tax cheating is a thrilling, exciting sport, at least as fascinating as can be boxing or tennis. And it pays more if you are a little smart, without damaged rib or knockout.

So, Sunday 3 April was an upset-but-laughing day, with some last minute calls to evaluate the gamble and produce a state of the art faked-but-true looking tax declaration form.

Now, the funny thing is: 80% of the time, girls are AGAINST tax cheating, while 80% of boys cheat or at least, would like to - but for that, they would have to cheat their girl too, and it exceeds their capacity.

Yet, in Paris, it is really to cheat, and we enjoy it.

A very reliable insider, from the best source, ie the Ministry of Finance, indicated to me in January than 87% of the Parisians were tax cheaters, versus 46% in the other cities and countryside. The reason is quite simple: you can change your address as much as you want in a big city, and it makes the taxmen mad. You don't even need to live there, or to have a room. You just send a letter to the taxman, "Dear Taxman, I'm now living here, please send your ugly stuff in that backstreet"– and it is done! You put in motion a crazy little thing with your file moving from a district to another, and it put everything back to zero, at the bottom of the pile – like manager Robert de Niro in the movie Casino, if you remember the scene. . I even know some sarcastic people who enjoy indicating the local tax office as their new address. And it works in this mammoth state. I personally choose a more dazzling address some years ago. The Ecole Nationale d'Administration, where is trained the taxmen elite.

Tax cheating is a true, esthetical noble sport, IMO.

Posted by the Joker: "Tax cheating is a true, esthetical noble sport, IMO".

Joker, do you live in the USA? Do you know who I work for?

I'm a government tax auditor. We used to be called revenuers, and before that, Inquisitors.

(Not to worry--that IS what I do, but we're not as bad as people would like to believe)

I think he lives in Paris.
I hope no French tax Inquisitors are reading your post Joker!

LOL--NO one expects the Inquistion (couldn't resist).

I always thought it was a hobby kinda like model trains.