As promised last week, here is part 2 of TAXTAXTAXTAXTAXTAX   Tax is used as a verb, a noun and an adjective.  Here are 10 common phrases using TAX.

1.  Pink tax.  This is not really a tax, but it is the higher prices charged for the same amount of women's items, compared to men's.
2. Sin tax.  This is the tax on harmful things, such as alcohol and cigarettes.
3.   Tax and spend.  This is how we describe a government.  He was attacking the tax and spend policies of his opponent.
4.   Death and taxes.  Something that is certain.  Winter used to be as certain as death and taxes, but not this year.
5. Tax shelter.  This is a technique used mainly by rich people to avoid paying taxes. President Trump has many tax shelters in Panama.
6.   Taxing (adjective).  Something or someone that is difficult or strict.  My Junior High English teacher was a very taxing woman!
7. No taxation without representation.  This was the rallying cry for the American Revolutionary War.  England was taxing the colonies, but they didn't have any representatives in parliament.
8.  File your taxes.  確定申告をする。We only have two weeks left to file our taxes.  Don't be late!
9. Tax return.　確定申告書　The forms used to file your taxes.  Have you finished filling in your tax returns?
10.   Death Tax．相続税　The final tax!　An estate or inheritance tax.

Before my computer crashed last year, I was planning on talking about the new 10% sales tax in my next post.  Unfortunately, my computer was down for three months, and now it's "old news".  Oh well, better late than never right?   On October 1st, the Japanese sales (consumption) tax, went up from 8% to 10%.  I was wondering how this compares to other countries.  Here are  a few to compare.  For a complete list, look here. The highest is, Bhutan, 50%!!! The lowest is, Oman and the USA, 0%!!! (see below). These countries are all the same as Japan, at 10%: Afghanistan Australia Cambodia Comoros Djibouti Haiti Indonesia Japan Laos Malaysia Mongolia Papua New Guinea Paraguay Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea Suriname Vietnam Here are some of the highest countries, at 24-27%: Hungary Croatia Denmark Norway Sweden Finland Greece Iceland While the USA doesn't have a national sales tax, there is a state sales tax that differs from state to state.  Click here to see a complete list. Alaska is 0%. (but there are some local taxes). California is the highest at 7.25%. My home state, Utah is 4.85%, confusing!! What do you think of the new tax?  More on this next week. Today's BGM, 

Taxman The Beatles One, two, three, four, one, two Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman Should five per cent appear too small Be thankful I don't take it all 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman If you drive a car, I'll tax the street If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman Don't ask me what I want it for (Ah ah, Mr. Wilson) If you don't want to pay some more (Ah ah, Mr. Heath) 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman Now my advice for those who die (taxman!) Declare the pennies on your eyes (taxman!) 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman And you're working for no one but me (taxman!)

As many of you know, I was born in Samoa.  Even though I don't have many memories, I feel a strong connection. I had a Samoan conch horn in my home in America.  I often blew on it.   A few months ago, I found this conch shell in a used shop in Akita, and decided to make my own horn.   After watching a few  "how to" videos on  YouTube, I started.   Cutting through the shell was much more difficult than I imagined. It took over an hour and I tried out many different kinds of saws.   Finally I was able to look inside.   Next I drilled out the core to make an opening.     Here is the final product.     [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="http://mj-eikaiwa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/200125_1429325.mp4"][/video] So what do you think?  I'm satisfied.  I'm still practicing and getting better little by little.  I'll show you this week.    

As promised, Happy New Year, Part 2.  Rats.   I found many more idioms about rats than mice.  Here are a few.

1.  Rat on someone.  Tell someone  about bad things you know.

1. Are you a man or a mouse? 

So sorry for the long absence, my old computer started dying in October, and was completely dead in November.  It has taken this long to buy and learn to use my new computer.  I'm beginning to look like this:   But at least I'm back.  Thanks for waiting. So, since last time, Happy Halloween: Happy Thanksgiving:   Merry Christmas: Happy Star Wars: And finally, Happy New Year!     Hope next year is wonderful for all of you, and for Japan . . . OLYMPICS!! Next year I will keep up my phrase page much better.  I promise!

  Congratulation to Japan on their unexpected victory over Ireland last Saturday! The next game is Japan VS Samoa.  As some of you know, I was born in Samoa . . . long ago.  Although I don't have any memories from that time.  I always have a soft spot in my heart for the land of my birth. So with this in mind, I will be cheering for Samoa this Saturday.  Good luck to both teams.  May the best team win! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC8MiS-0zbY A few beautiful photos of Samoan landscape.