Mustaches are top of mind in Movember for those hirsute men who wish to do some good with their facial hair. But there are those who go beyond just letting it grow once a year; these are men who have turned the mustache into a cause.
The American Mustache Institute and a noted tax professor have lobbied the IRS and Congress for a tax incentive for Mustached Americans called The STACHE Act Proposal (Stimulus To Allow Critical Hair Expenses). The rationale? “We’ve learned from studies that mustached Americans are earning about 4.3% more on average than the clean-shaven American,” says that noted tax professor, Dr. John Yeutter.
He goes on to say: “Given the clear link between the growing and maintenance of mustaches and incremental income, it appears clear that mustache maintenance costs qualify for and should be considered as a deductible expense related to the production of income under Internal Revenue Code Section 212.” Specifically, the STACHE Act offers incentives for people of Mustached American heritage in the form of a $250 deduction for expenditures for mustache grooming supplies in the determination of Adjusted Gross Income.
Brilliant! To date, our favorite example to illustrate the fallacy of equating correlation with causation has been that of the almost perfect synchronicity between drowning deaths in the US and the consumption of ice cream. While the two march in lockstep, ice cream consumption does not cause drowning nor vice versa. But the American Mustache Institute may have sprouted an even better example. Clearly, the task is now to advise all ambitious men of this newfound competitive advantage. But what of the women?
Posted by Kaan Etem