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Toby Keith's "I Love This Tax Problem"

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In 2003, country music superstar Toby Keith released "I Love This Bar," the first single from his Shock'n Y'All album. (For those of you under age 25 or so, an "album" is . . . oh, never mind.) Billboard predicted the song would become "a beer-joint staple for years to come," and it promptly shot to #1 on the charts, selling over a million copies.

"I Love This Bar" is just one of Keith's odes to drinking — he's also scored hits with "Whiskey Girl," "Get Drunk and Be Somebody," and "Get My Drink On." "Red Solo Cup," his 2011 smash, made the red plastic cups the symbol of "party time" for the under-30 set. Naturally, with that sort of appeal, Keith had to open a bar of his own. Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet pioneered the concept, opening dozens of Margaritavilles anywhere middle-aged men of a certain disposition gather to recall their youth. If Jimmy can do it, why can't Toby?

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"Ardente!" is Portuguese for "Hot!"

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Tax collectors generally don't choose their line of work for the pay. Glassdoor.com, a gossipy website covering salaries and careers, reports the average Revenue Agent earns $73,967. Careerbliss.com tells us the average criminal investigator earns $99,000 — which makes sense considering there's at least a chance they get shot at while working. That's not bad coin . . . but it's hardly enough to party with the rich and famous.

But what's true here in the United States may not be true in the rest of the world. Our neighbors to the south in Brazil have been transfixed lately by a sordid scandal of glitz and bling featuring — you guessed it — a gang of tax collectors, accused of helping construction companies evade over $200 million in taxes.

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What's Not to "Like"?

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Let's imagine, just for a minute, that you decided on a new line of work: ripping off the IRS. How do you think you would launch your new business? Maybe you'd open a secret bank account in one of those "sunny places for shady people" like the Cayman Islands or Bahamas. You might rent a secret flop house where you could hide evidence of your crimes. And you'd probably look for someone who could make you a fake passport, just in case the heat comes down and you have to flee the country under a secret identity.

You probably wouldn't post anything about your new career online, would you? Right? But if you're Rashia Wilson — the self-appointed "first lady of tax fraud" — you'd brag about it all on Facebook! Why play it safe and discreet when you can

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Party Time at the IRS

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You probably don't think a conference for a bunch of IRS bureaucrats would be much fun. Apparently, though, the IRS knows how to throw a party. Back in 2010, they hosted an event dedicated to "Leading into the Future" for 2,609 executives and managers in the Small Business/Self-Employed division. (You're excited already, aren't you?) It turned into a $4.1 million boondoggle, complete with first-class air travel and Presidential Suites at three different hotels, that even Jay Gatsby might appreciate.

We'll never know how many of our friends at the party woke up hung over the next morning. But predictably, someone blew the whistle on "excessive spending," and now we have another IRS scandal on our hands. Last week, the party poopers at the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a 56-page report titled

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Help Wanted

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On March 8, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the unemployment rate had edged down to 7.7% for February. That's good news compared to the high of 10.1% registered back in October, 2009. But unemployment is still unacceptably high, and surveys show Democrats and Republicans alike are citing jobs as our most pressing problem.

You might think that with jobs still scarce, employers would have their pick of applicants. In fact, the New York Times recently reported that some employers are requiring bachelors degrees for positions like file clerk, dental hygienist, cargo agent, and claims adjustor that don't require college-level skills. Nevertheless, there's one pretty important organization who's having trouble with jobs — and that employer, surprise surprise, is our old friend the IRS. It's a cushy enough gig — air-conditioned offices, great holidays and benefits, no heavy lifting, and flexible schedules that let you hit the road before traffic gets ugly. So, what's the problem?

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Protecting Your Most Important Assets. Your Intellectual Property Rights.

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When you think about protecting company assets, several things probably come straight to mind, such as land, buildings, machinery, inventory and vehicles. In many instances companies overlook their intellectual property (IP), which can be one of their most valuable assets. By understanding the different types of intellectual property and how they can be protected against infringement you can help your business stay ahead of the competition.

Your business 'intellectual property' can include: