Seriously:

The city's tax superintendent has been suspended without pay for a week for trying to inject some humor in the city income tax filing instructions.

The attempt at humor by Linda Stubbs was called "misguided" by city Finance Director John Lyons.

The forms - with such lines as, "If we can tax it, we will," - were sent last week to all Middletown businesses and residents who pay city income tax.

Lyons said revised forms were sent out immediately at a cost to taxpayers of about $5,500.

Among the lines that city officials didn't think were very funny was this one:

"Free advice: if you don't have a profit in a five-year period, you might want to consider another line of work."

There is a level of professionalism that is needed for business, but customer service has never been the hallmark of government at any level. To me, this is similar to the antics of Southwest Airlines. Taxes, like emergency instructions, are a necessary evil. Adding an element of humor can be a very nice touch.