Final Word from Friday, January 30, 2004
At the Boston Tea Party in 1773, American patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor in protest over a British-imposed tax. "No taxation without representation" was their battle cry, and the event helped lead to the War of Independence. Similar mischief is brewing in the CR. An EU-imposed tax on diapers is splitting the coalition and getting moms up in arms. One mother told TV Nova that the tax will likely cause people to stop making babies. Existing babies don't have a vote on the higher tax and will pay the price of longer times between diaper changings. That's taxation without representation! Only ODS is laughing. Its loyal voters can afford the extra Kč 50 per pack of Pampers, but it could also win new votes, because only it has been warning of a loss of sovereignty to the colonial power in Brussels on tax and other issues. Procter & Gamble VAT increase