Playing a game of Monopoly the other night, when I had to pay tax on my houses and hotels, my mind naturally drifted to monopolies in the tax world. According to NPD Group, QuickBooks and TurboTax are near monopolies, with a retail market share of more than 90%. Those brands are clearly winning. I lost the Monopoly game.

With the numerous changes in currency taking place in the world, I got to thinking about the workers on the pyramids in ancient Greece who were paid in beer and bread. It’s easy to think, “That was back in another world–couldn’t possibly happen these days.” Think again. When the ruble collapsed in 1998, some factory workers in Russia were paid in pickles. Not even pickles and vodka–merely pickle payments.

An accountant told me this week that Twix bars and Kit Kats are taxed at different rates (one is “candy” and the other is a “grocery item”). Is this true? If so, it certainly does not make any sense. Explain it to me like I’m a four year-old please.

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