Taxed Beyond Belief

Lewis Black operates on a sliding scale from irritated to completely unhinged, and the IRS provides plenty of fuel for the latter. The catalyst for his frustration here is the American tax system, specifically the reality that nobody actually understands how to file their returns. Black argues that citizens just sign the bottom of the form, hand it over, and assume this is the year they finally go to jail.

His ultimate advice for tax season preparation is to get in the bathtub and touch yourself in your dirty places, because at least then you’re not getting screwed by the government.

Aired as a half-hour broadcast on Comedy Central in 2002, the set caught Black just as his national profile was rising through his regular “Back in Black” commentary segments on The Daily Show. The material bridges the gap between his earlier showcases and the theater specials he would film later in the decade. To bolster his own frantic shouting, he even plays a soundbite from Senator John McCain advising people to avoid their taxes at all costs. The routine was later bundled into the 2003 Unleashed DVD release.