Banish the tax! Romanian witches 'frighten' lawmakers into voting against levy
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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Abracadabra, we'll turn all of you into toads!
That's what Romanian senators may have been fearing when they rejected a proposal to tax witches and fortune tellers.
Lawmakers Alin Popoviciu and Cristi Dugulescu of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party drafted a law where witches and fortune tellers would have to produce receipts, and would also be held liable for wrong predictions, a measure which was part of the government's drive to increase revenue.
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Romania's Senate voted down the proposal Tuesday. Popoviciu claimed lawmakers were frightened of being cursed.
It's unclear if Popoviciu and Dugulescu will try to redraft the law.
Maria Campina, a well-known Romanian witch, told Realitatea TV Thursday it is difficult to tax thousands of fortune tellers and witches partly because of the erratic sums of money they receive.
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Romania is in a severe economic downturn and is trying to raise revenue from taxes. The government hiked sales tax from 19 to 24 percent, and slashed public sector wages by one-fourth.
In 2009, Romania negotiated a euro20 billion ($26 billion) loan with the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the World Bank to help pay state wages and pensions last year, when the country's economy shrank by 7.1 percent.