Sunday, January 9, 2011

Tax Policy Debate, Romanian Style (witches, mandrake, cat poo, the usual)

From the BBC:
Witches threaten Romanian taxman after new labour law

Romania's witches vow to take revenge on tax-hungry politicians.
Self-declared witches in Romania are preparing to curse the country's rulers publicly for taxing their profession under an amended labour law.

Poisonous mandrake plants are due to be hurled into the River Danube and queen witch Bratara Buzea has devised a spell involving cat dung and a dead dog.

Income tax of 16% and health and pension payments have been imposed.
It was not immediately clear how car valets and driving instructors, also taxed for the first time, would react.

Their professions, along with those of witch, astrologer, fortune teller and embalmer, were not listed in the previous labour code, and therefore not subject to tax.

But now they have been classified as self-employed....MORE