AccountingWEB presents our favorite funny, quirky quotes of the year to give you a good feeling for the debates and discussions that have gone on around the accounting profession in 2003 related to the IRS and taxation.

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1. "Is it legal? I'm not prepared to say yes or no ... I don't think it's a very good idea," former IRS Commissioner Donald Alexander on the revelation that the IRS was in a co-marketing agreement with H&R Block. The IRS selected thousands of names from its "marketing database" according to taxpayer criteria requested by H&R Block to market tax software. FULL STORY

2. "Too many deck chairs are rearranged," Sen. Max Baucus expressing continued concern over the actions of IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson as he creates the team and shifts some of the organizational structure to help best run the Internal Revenue Service. FULL STORY

3. "Attorneys and accountants should be pillars of our system of voluntary compliance, not the architects of its circumvention," IRS Commissioner Mark Everson speaking on crackdowns of tax shelter abuses. FULL STORY

4. "April 15 is ingrained in our national psyche," William Stromsem, director of taxes at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, in response to a proposal to extend the tax filing deadline to April 30 for those who file electronically. FULL STORY

5. "Tax preparers and banks are...taking money that could otherwise be used to pay bills or build a nest egg for a home or education," said Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney of the National Consumer Law Center in Boston who is leading the charge to curb perceived abuses of excessive interest rates issued for tax refund anticipation loans by H&R Block and others. FULL STORY

6. "We're looking at a number of things but I can say with certainty that next year we will do things differently," Tom Allanson, senior vice president of Intuit's Consumer Tax Division, over the controversy surrounding embedded code intended to curb software piracy in TurboTax software, interpreted by some as "spyware" and rejected by many customers this year. FULL STORY

7. "The IRS needs to ensure that this bizarre loophole isn't abused." The Sierra Club, an environmental protection group, speaks out against a tax loophole that encourages small-business owners to buy gas-guzzling SUVs that contribute to global warming. FULL STORY

8. "Where is my tax liability in the law?" Texas tax protester Gene Chapman, who embarked on a 40 day hunger strike dressed in an Indian garment much like that worn by Mahatma Gandhi, was waiting for a satisfactory answer to his simple question. FULL STORY

9. "The very notion of unleashing an army of private bill collectors on this country ought to give us pause." Representative Earl Pomeroy on a Senate proposal to allow the IRS to use private collection agencies to help recover the approximately $13 billion in unpaid taxes. FULL STORY

10. "Paying taxes and not being allowed to vote is tantamount to taxation without representation," fifteen year old Miranda Rosenberg, who recently filed a tax return for income earned in a part time job, in an effort to amend the Florida constitution to lower the voting age to 16. FULL STORY

11. "This is definitely a great way to relieve any anxieties or headaches for our guests," CPA and bed & breakfast innkeeper Kevin Marshall on the Dutch Iris Inn’s special tax getaway weekend that includes deluxe accommodations, breakfast for two, and preparation of federal and Connecticut state taxes ready to go at checkout time. FULL STORY