Greek Crowd Besieges Tax Collectors

From the 20 August 1932 Adelaide Mail (excerpts):

Graziers Told to Resist Land Tax

Won’t Increase Their Liabilities

Want Abolition

The difficulty of finding money to pay the Federal land tax is forcing well-known men into an attitude of “passive resistance,” according to a statement issued by the Graziers’ Federal council.

Agents, it is stated, have advised their clients to sit down and do nothing, and men are gradually being led into this attitude rather than go one increasing their liability by further borrowing.

The article goes on to give a number of details about the tax, but no further information about the threatened resistance, alas.

More tax resistance overseas:

• “Local authorities on the Greek island of Hydra have denounced an attack by a local crowd on tax police after they detained a restaurant owner who did not provide receipts to clients.”

  The Friday incident happened after the inspectors wanted to transport the restaurant owner to Athens, an hour’s ride away by fast boat. They were set upon by a local crowd, which also attacked the boat’s crew.

  The police, along with the restaurant owner, had to retreat to the island’s police station, which was besieged until riot police arrived Saturday morning. Locals cut off the station’s electricity and water supplies. The owner was transported to Athens by coast guard ship Saturday.

• Meanwhile, wealthy Italians are parking their yachts in other Mediterranean ports to keep them from the snooping tax inspectors. Some 30,000 yachts have gone missing in the exodus.
• Half of the households in Ireland are still refusing to register for the Household Tax there, long after the registration deadline, according to tax resistance activists. “This is more than was achieved by Poll Tax non-payment which started off at 15% in the first year, 1989, and which only reached 45% boycott in the year of its abolition,” said Ruth Coppinger of Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes. “People realise that between property and water taxes, the charge will quickly rise to over €1,000 per year. The government’s persuading and threatening letters will only re-inforce people’s determination to resist.”