In Soviet Russia, Tax Frauds You!

(I work in a hotel. A Russian guest in town for business purposes checks out, pays for his stay, and is handed his bill. He reads it carefully, practically staring at it.)

Coworker: “Is something wrong with the bill, sir? Did I misspell the name of your company?”

Guest: “No, not name.” *says something in Russian* “Breakfast!”

Coworker: “Oh, if you need a separate bill for the breakfast, that’s not a problem.”

Guest: “No! Tax!”

(The tax on the breakfast is actually higher than the tax on the hotel room itself, so we think that this might be confusing to him and that he probably thinks it’s too expensive.)

Coworker: “Sir, these are the tax rates in Germany. I’m afraid we cannot change that.”

(The guest still seems unhappy and mumbles something under his breath. Finally, I get what he was trying to say.)

Me: *to coworker* “Gosh, he doesn’t want to have the tax on the breakfast adjusted; he wants us to adjust the tax on the room and make it higher! That way, he’ll get more money back from his company than he actually paid here!”

Coworker: “Sir? Is that what you wanted us to do?”

Guest: “Yes! Yes! You can change for a new bill?”

Coworker: “No.”

Guest: “Why not change?”

Coworker: “Because that would be illegal. Have a nice day, sir!”

(He left rather disappointed.)