Romanian Witches foresee demand from tax inspector
Pastor Dale Morgan
Romanian Witches foresee demand from tax inspector*
By Monica Petrescu in Bucharest
(Filed: 03/09/2006)
The Romanian taxman is stirring up a cauldron of trouble for witches
whose tax-free spells are costing the treasury millions of pounds a year
in lost revenue.
Vampirism, spells, hexes and curses are still big business in the
country, providing a black-market income – and relatively luxurious
lifestyle – for about 4,000 women who peddle their services both in
Romania and abroad.
Spell menu
The witches can command between £9 and £90 for a spell, a significant
sum in Romania where the average monthly salary is £150. Businesses have
been known to consult them in an effort to boost profits, and the
witches even had a stand at a recent export trade fair.
Yet despite their commercial success, only one is officially registered
to pay tax – Gabriela Ciucur, 31, from Targu Jiu in eastern Romania, who
sees up to seven clients a day and charges around £6 a session.
She gives receipts to her clients for work that includes star-gazing,
fortune-telling and talking to the dead.
She said: "I registered myself because I wanted to sleep peacefully at
night after hearing the taxman was going to start checking on witches
who make lots of money, have luxury houses and don't pay anything to the
state."
Across the country, tax officials are gathering details of local witches
and sending them to Bucharest where their incomes can be assessed by the
"Taxe Si Impozite" – the Romanian Inland Revenue.
"They need to be made to follow the same laws as everyone else," said
Andrei Chiliman, the mayor of Bucharest's First District, and the first
official to risk the witches' wrath by ordering a census. Since then,
others have followed his lead.
"If they sell something, whether it's a potion or a curse, they need to
pay tax," Mr Chiliman added. "And by registering them we will allow
unsatisfied customers to sue them if they don't get what they paid for."
The witches are not hard for the taxmen to find as most advertise daily
in newspapers, and live in expensive flats or houses. They are
infuriated by the census, seeing sinister figures bearing
self-assessment forms looming in their crystal balls.
Maria Campina, 57, a self-proclaimed White Magic Queen and leader of the
Romanian witches, said: "Why should we pay taxes when we don't get
anything from the state? Everything we know was passed on from other
witches. My mother taught me and I will teach my daughters.
"The state has not educated us. If they set up a witchcraft academy with
the tax money, then we would pay – but until then we won't be paying
anything.
"We already do a lot for our country. Whenever there is an important
Christian celebration, we perform a ritual to protect the country from
natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes, and ask for prosperity
for Romania. That has to be worth more than any tax income."
So far, Mr Chiliman has survived any curses that may have been aimed at
him by the 20 witches in his area. "You only need to see what sort of
places they live in to know they are earning a fortune," he said, "and
that means they owe the taxman huge amounts of money."
Emil Popescu, from the Romanian tax office, said: "Witches are not
exempt from tax, and we are gathering information to make sure they pay
their fiscal dues like everyone else."
He added that even though the witches said they were casting spells to
make the country prosper, it could not be used to reduce their tax bills.
"We cannot accept payment in kind," he said.