Croatia has a new government, and today is the first day of its revamped tax regime. It is supposed to pull the country out of recession, for the government promises to buttress investment with all its might. Taxes have thus been raised across the board, starting with the value-added tax, which is now set at twenty-five percent like in several rich Scandinavian countries. As I argued almost exactly two years ago, this is how cat-herding works in this country (“Taxation in Croatia Explained,” February 18, 2010). Taxes are raised arbitrarily and tax collection is entrusted to dishonest and amateurish officials. If they are not successful at filling the government coffers, taxes are raised again. And so on, and so forth. The only remaining mystery in my original argument is the connection between contemporary Croatia and Persia of old. Well, there is a popular belief here that Croatians are not of Slavic but of Persian origin. Cat-herding is in their genes, that is. Voila!

To James O’Donnell

Addendum (December 16, 2013)

When I wrote this piece early last year, I had no idea that I, too, was to be hunted down by the new Croatian government. As of the date it was written, foreign pensions are being taxed, as well. And how. No-one informed me about the change, though. I learned about it completely by chance nearly a year later (“More on Pensions and Taxes: From a Letter to a Friend,” January 17, 2013). So far, I have coughed up six-thousand and eight-hundred euros to cover all my tax obligations since the new tax law was passed. The last payment of one-thousand and six-hundred euros has been submitted only today. From now on, I will be paying about three-hundred euros every single month, which amounts to a reasonably good pension in this country. Although I do not mind paying taxes, I certainly mind the way my money will be spent in Croatia. Most of it will go to cover salaries of government employees, who presently represent about a half of the entire Croatian workforce. If only they were sent back to Persia, where they surely belong—if not by their genetic origin, then by their frame of mind.