--- description: Tax day is nigh and John Oliver used his Last Week Tonight platform to urge taxpayers not to blame the IRS for their tax day woes title: John Oliver Gets Michael Bolton to Sing an Ode to The IRS image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch John Oliver Get Michael Bolton to Sing an Ode to the IRS by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2015 7:50 AM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2015 7:50 AM CUT Tax day is nigh and John Oliver used his _Last Week Tonight_ platform to urge taxpayers not to blame the IRS for their tax day woes — and instead save that ire for Congress. “The fact is, blaming the IRS because you hate paying your taxes is like slapping the checkout clerk because the price of eggs has gone up,” said Oliver. He noted that if people are angry about the amount of tax they pay, they should blame Congress, who are also responsible for setting the tax rate and for making frequent, confusing changes in the tax code. Oliver believes that the IRS is unfairly vilified by taxpayers, and their status as the universal scapegoat, gives Congress leeway to cut the agency’s budget, which results in fewer services and longer lines. To encourage people to spare the IRS, Oliver conscripted Michael Bolton to sing a stirring ode to the most maligned agency in the U.S. government. _Read next:_ [_Here’s What to Do If You Can’t Finish Your Taxes On Time_](http://time.com/money/3814342/tax-filing-extension-april-15/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3818945/john-oliver-michael-bolton-irs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3818945/john-oliver-michael-bolton-irs/"},"headline":"Watch John Oliver Get Michael Bolton to Sing an Ode to the IRS","datePublished":"2015-04-13T07:50:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:21:43.304Z","description":"Spare the IRS your ire","url":"https://time.com/3818945/john-oliver-michael-bolton-irs/","keywords":["Congress","Television","Tax","IRS","John Oliver","Last Week Tonight"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3818945/john-oliver-michael-bolton-irs/","name":"Watch John Oliver Get Michael Bolton to Sing an Ode to the IRS"}}]}] ```