“How much do you love your husband?” asked the Internal Revenue agent. “Very much? A lot? About average? So, so? or “Not really?”

“Gee,” said Sarah, “I never thought about it. I guess I like him a lot except…”

“Check box ‘A lot,’” replied the agent, who paused, looked up and continued. ”Except what?”

“Well, There are the times that…,” she paused. “That’s really none of your business. Are you here to talk about our taxes or our love life?”

“Both.” he replied. “Under the new guidelines, we are looking at both. You see, the Congress had been looking at ways to balance the multi-trillion dollar deficit and, well basically, they looked at valuables that hadn’t been taxed before.”

“Honestly, at first, it seemed like a wisecrack when a senator joked that love was the most valuable thing that we have. He challenged the Congress asking, “So why don’t we tax that?”

“We read something about that,” Sarah said. “That didn’t pass, did it?”

“Fifty-four to 46 in the Senate. SB #853,” the agent said. “Money may not buy you love, but the love that you have is valuable… and taxable.”

Al Zagofsky