Belly dancer stung with £50,000 tax bill because classes 'no

[The Dog]

Belly dancer stung with £50,000 tax bill because classes 'not educational'

Audrey Cheruvier, the 28-year-old director of the Fleur Estelle Belly Dance School, had believed her company was exempt from paying the tax because it was taught as a sport
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... ional.html

[Arthur Rubin]

Shouldn't this be in "Tax Policy and Practise"?

[webhick]

It does seem like it would fit better there...moving.

[operabuff]

The judge here was obviously pretty narrow minded, but that's characteristic of a certain kind of Briton. In my youth, I took a course called the "Philosophy of Mind." Professor Yalden-Thomson told us that neither Psychology or Sociology could be regarded as sciences because Oxford did not have a Psychology department and Cambridge did not have a Sociology department (or vice versa).

Now I'm willing to agree that there are some reasons why you might not regard them as serious academic disciplines, but I didn't regard the Oxbridge justification as particularly persuasive.

I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before belly-dancing is taught in English academic institutions. Probably too much to hope that she'll be able to get a tax refund when it happens.

[Famspear]

.....Professor Yalden-Thomson told us that neither Psychology or Sociology could be regarded as sciences because Oxford did not have a Psychology department and Cambridge did not have a Sociology department (or vice versa).....

I took an introductory course in sociology in college, and I do remember that it was odd that the instructor seemed "defensive" in her efforts, apparently, to persuade the class that sociology was a science, like chemistry or biology. I doubt if anyone in the class really cared, but it seemed to be important to her that we believe that.

Tom Lehrer has his own musical take on that:

Sociology
by Tom Lehrer:

Strange
Is the change
They're trying to arrange
Today, in sociology.

Fanatics
In their attics
Are learning mathematics--
Just for sociology.

Persuasion
By equation:
They all feel it's much more satisfactory.
They, in an ivory steeple,
Far away from all people--
They do research in sociology.

Guys
Who wrote lies
Now present them in disguise--
A cinch in sociology!

A tract
Quite abstract
Without one single fact:
Disblended sociology!

Birds
Who used words
Now all talk in terms of X and Y and Z.
They can take one small matrix,
And really do great tricks--
All in the name of sociology!

Joes
Who wrote prose
Now write algebra -- who knows?
It may be sociology!

They're
Everywhere
Full of Sigma and Chi squared
And full of sociology.

They consult
Sounding occult
Talking like a Mathematics PhD.
They can snow all their clients
By calling it science,
Although it's only sociology.

[operabuff]

They used to refer to them as "soft sciences." I don't think I've heard the term used recently. Belly dancing would probably fall more within the category of art than science.

[Pottapaug1938]

I've got the Tom Lehrer deluxe boxed set, and I've never heard of this song. It must be one of those songs which, like so many on the old Dr. Demento show, was never commercially released.

[Famspear]

I've got the Tom Lehrer deluxe boxed set, and I've never heard of this song. It must be one of those songs which, like so many on the old Dr. Demento show, was never commercially released.

Somewhere on the internet, there's a video (youtube or something) of him performing the song.

[notorial dissent]

That sounds like vintage Tom Lehrer. Will definitely have to track that one down then.