Double, Double, Toil and ... Taxes

It just doesn't pay to be a witch in Romania any more.

According to this article from the Associated Press, practicing witches in Romania are now subject to fine and imprisonment if the fortunes they tell to paying customers are not true. Witches, not surprisingly, argue they shouldn't be blamed for the failure of their tools."They can't condemn witches, they should condemn the cards," Queen Witch Bratara Buzea told an Associated Press interviewer, reminding us of the old adage that it's a poor workman who blames his tools for his shortcomings. Ms Bratara went on to note that if people don't provide their real identities, dates of birth or other personal details, a fortune teller could render incorrect predictions and be unfairly charged for the results. "What about when the client gives false details about themselves?" she asked. "We can't be blamed for that."

Some cynical commentators have argued that this move, on top of a new tax on witches imposed by the government in Bucarest in January, is an attempt to distract the public from the nation's serious economic problems. The January change to the law designated witchcraft as a taxable profession, required witches to have a permit and provide their customers with receipts, and barred them from practicing near schools and churches. Angry witches, lacking expensive American-style lobbying skills, responded by dumping poisonous mandrake roots into the Danube River in an attempt to put a curse on the government.

It's no wonder that Christine O'Donnell made a point of declaring she wasn't a witch when running for the US Senate in Delaware ... as a Tea Party candidate, she'd have opposed taxing witches on multiple principles.

So...

Be careful how you do that old black magic - somebody may decide to put a tax on it. And don't let the airlines know, or they'll charge extra to let you carry that crystal ball on board and slap a new fee on your black cat.

Have a good day. It's in the cards.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo