From ’s DEIA.com comes this story of war tax resistance in the Basque country:
Left Bank Collectives in Bilbao denounce “alarming and exorbitant” military spending
Left Bank Collectives denounced, in front of the seat of the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia in Bilbao, the current “alarming and exorbitant” military spending. During the protest, they submitted 20,000 pennies to satisfy part of the fine that was attached to two participants in the tax resistance campaign.
In this regard, representatives of the advisory center for women of Barakaldo and Sestao indicated that during this tax season, several hundred people have performed war tax resistance, and explained that “now that the deadline for submitting taxes passes, some people are finding that in the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia their current accounts are being seized in demand for partial payment of money withheld on the tax return that was destined for military spending.”
“For this reason, we submit part of the fine that the Diputación requires in pennies. In particular, 20,000 pennies were handed in to meet part of the fine that was attached this year to two participants in the tax resistance campaign,” they said.
With this “symbolic” action, they intend to denounce the current “alarming and exorbitant” military spending in our society, while “many [social] necessities” they find are “without coverage.”
Additionally, they protested that “military spending” at the level of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country is “at 1,966.69 million euros, 9 percent more in comparison to last year.”
There’s something kind of… I don’t know… petulant maybe? about the pay-your-bill-in-pennies idea that makes it unappealing to me, but I think I may just be being persnickety. The press love it, so it’s a good opportunity to get your point-of-view out. And the inconvenience it causes to the tax collector probably offsets somewhat the money received.
