Government Crackdown on Romanian Witches

It’s not a good time to be a Romanian Witch. Back in January 2011, the profession of witchcraft was given a degree of legitimacy by the government of Romania when a new tax law was passed which grabs some of their earnings.

Witches were upset enough about the tax law that they hurled poisonous mandrake plants into the Danube as part of a hex on government officials. Whereas in America you curse the IRS with your mouth, these Romanian witches curse the tax man for real.

W2 forms, eh? Let's see what Mandrake says about that!

Romania, a very superstitious country (including its President Traian Basescu, who wears purple clothing sometimes to ward off evil spirits), has been hit by the recession and needs more revenue. The new law takes 16% of witches income, which comes from – uh, witching services.

Detractors of the law include Bratara Buzea, a 63 year old “queen witch”, who was once sent to jail in the late 70s by Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (who had his own personal witch). Buzea said she was going to cast a spell against the government using a dead dog and some cat excrement. Now that’s some hardcore magic right there!

Bratara Buzea - Queen Witch of Romania

As if being taxed isn’t enough, the Romanian government has now introduced a bill that will fine or imprison witches who make predictions that don’t come true! Buzea promises to fight the bill, saying to the AP: “They can’t condemn witches, they should condemn the cards.” Sounds reasonable to us, and besides we’re not about to argue with a Queen Witch from Romania. No frickin way.

The new bill also requires practitioners of witchcraft to get a permit and give receipts to customers for services rendered. Like a real business! We can’t wait for the television commercials from WitchCo.